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Sign Language with Prospector

We did American Sign Language with Panorama when she was a baby. Her first sign, “more”, appeared at about 10 months old.

By thirteen months old, she was actively using 26 signs (eat, banana, milk, up, bath and similar), and occasionally used about 17 more (animal nouns like cat, butterfly, bear, pig). Within a few more months, she could identify all of the colors using sign language, outdoor things like grass, tree, river, and bridge, and family members. (I have some video on my other hard drive that I will have to find and post to show you what you might expect. At the time I thought it was very cool, but looking back now, I find it amazing that she could say so much.)

We actively taught her signs until she was about two. Her spoken words came along with the signs, and I believe that the enhanced two way communication through sign language increased her interest in speaking. If you’d like to learn more, check out this pdf with a summary of the latest research.

Read more…

First Thoughts on the New BabyKicks Diaper

We had the opportunity to beta test the New BabyKicks diaper over the past month or so.

The new diaper is an adjustable one size fitted pocket diaper. There are color coded snaps so that you can adjust the diaper for very small babies through toddlers. The snaps work pretty well, and I have had no trouble getting the diaper adjusted to fit Prospector.

While regular pocket diapers are typically a shell to hold inserts, the BabyKicks diaper works well with or without an insert. For the first few weeks, I didn’t realize that there was a pocket, so I used them without a Joey Bunz, and they worked great. Once I started stuffing the diaper, I noticed increased performance. The diaper absorbed more, and the hemp material close to his skin stayed much drier.

I’d have to say that when used with a hemp insert, these diapers work just as well as disposables during the day and for nap time. I still need to put them through their paces overnight, but I am optimistic. Of course, you will have to change your baby a little bit more often, but in reality, shouldn’t we be changing them every two hours or so anyway? I think disposables have made me lazy when it comes to changing.

Technically speaking, these are not “all in one diapers” because they don’t have the semi-waterproof exterior, so you could benefit from using a cover. I only have a few covers, and I only really use them when we are out and about, so you can get away without one.

You can read the particulars about the new diaper and order yours here. 

More to come!

Reading with Panorama: Update

A few weeks ago I posted that Panorama really wanted to learn how to read. I started with a book called: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

We tried that book, and it seemed OK for the first few days. The book is laid out so that it tells the parent EXACTLY what to say, and leads the child through some sound exercises. For whatever reason, Panorama just didn’t like it, and a few minutes into the lessons she would start squirming around and every sound was “starfish” instead of “eeeeeeeeeeeee” or “aaaaaaah”. Starfish, eh? Lovely.

But she still wanted to read, and so I dug out some Bob Books that we had piled up in a corner. Bob Books are simple little stories using small words. Each story is about 10 pages long with one simple sentence on each page, such as “The cat had a rag hat.” As you work through the books in order, you build skills. The first books focus on the sounds like: at, ag, as then you move up to uff, ug, etc.

What we’ve been doing is reading the book together, then I write out the words in the book that we “don’t know” and we talk about the sounds. After finishing the book, I’d have her brainstorm words that rhyme with the key sound from the book. Then we read it again- this time, she is the “lead”. Over the course of two or three days, she’s be able to finish the book by herself.

Read more…

Life Tip: Don’t Hang Your Keys Over the Trash Can

This was a really bad move. We’ve mysteriously lost two minivan keys in the past six months. Hmmm…

Frustrations and Something New

I’ve had a hard time the past few weeks with disposable diapers. Prospector has hit a growth spurt, which has prompted an increase in milk consumption, and therefore an increase in wet diapers. I’ve been using disposables (several brands) during his naps and at night, only to have him wake up TOTALLY SOAKED through his onesie, pajamas and sleeping bag. The other day, I finally smacked myself across the face and said “GET OVER your fear of using cloth at night, Dana. He’s soaking wet AS IT STANDS. It isn’t like he could be more soaked.” Since then, I’ve been using cloth (prefolds, fitted and pockets) and found ALL of them to be superior at keeping his clothes dry. I’ll write up more on this later (chapter deadlines this week), because I definitely have developed some favorite folds and techniques recently.

One of the diapers I’ve been using is the new BabyKicks fitted diaper. It’s pretty awesome- it has the best of a few worlds. It’s the BabyKicks hemp that we love from the prefolds, it has room for stuffing in a Joey-Bunz, and it has adjustable snaps for adjusting to the perfect fit.

Until I get my camera cord back from the dear husband, check out the BabyKicks site for some more info, photos and how-to.

Panorama Hosts a Princess Tea Party

It’s been a busy few weeks here at our house! My first born turns four this month, and we celebrated with a few of her friends at Mrs. Peapod’s Tea Cottage in Fruitland, Maryland.

Since my house is the size of a shoe box and my creativity is extremely limited, I had been searching for months to find the perfect venue for a little girl’s birthday party.

Now, I am not all that into the big birthday parties, but this year there will be a bash for Prospector’s first birthday in September, so I wanted Panorama have a chance to have her own special day. I also wanted it to be a small crowd, and something that the kids would remember. I found Whitney at Peapods in the nick of time.

Peapods should be the subject of another post, because it is a great little shop. Whitney is the owner of Peapods, a boutique that sells high end children’s clothes, toys and accessories on consignment. Recently, she acquired an adorable little house next door to Peapods and turned it into a girls’ dream.

While the exterior of this tiny cape cod is still in its original condition, Whitney has renovated and decorated the interior in grand style. There is a formal seating area for serving tea (pink lemonade) and gourmet cupcakes….

A waiting area for the Paparazzi to snap the grand entrance…

A craft room for bedazzling and decorating dolls for each girl (or other crafts of your choosing)…

And the upstairs is the “Dress Room” which is a virtual Cinderella’s Closet of costume-quality dress up gowns, wands, tiaras, gloves, feather boas and more.

Each girl chose a dress, and was treated to a princess “makeover” of nail polish, hair sparkle and fairy dust…

Whitney handled the invitations, the crafts, the party favors, the food, and everything else. There was a “helper” to assist the girls with their crafts, dressing, and tea service, so parents could leave and enjoy a drink at the nearby Ruby Tuesday if they wanted.  Whitney was also able to handle getting some fruit and vegetable trays for what I called the “Princess Entourage” of parents who came by to check out the magic.

Even my mother, a woman of demanding standards, kept commenting on the high quality of everything. I absolutely cannot say enough about what a wonderful experience this was for Panorama and her friends.

The invitations were gorgeous, and included fancy envelopes.

The favors were princess hats stuffed with sunglasses, lipgloss, candy jewelry, stickers and more (there are four hanging from the banister in the photo below)…

Peapods and the Cottage are located on Route 13 (Fruitland Boulevard) in Fruitland, Maryland, which is just south of Salisbury. It is convenient to Sussex County Delaware (Delmar, Laurel, Seaford, Millsboro, etc.), and honestly, worth the drive from places like Cambridge, Easton, Rehoboth Beach, Dover, Ocean City Maryland and really, anywhere on the Eastern Shore.

While the cottage is an absolute dream for little girls, I could also see it being a terrific venue for a bridal or baby shower, ladies luncheon, or other occasion.

You can reach Whitney at 410-334-3600 and through her website at http://www.peapodsteacottage.com/

More updates on my adventures in diapering coming this week!