Rookie Moms

Warning: like a sugary treat, use of the computer is addictive. You probably already know this since you are reading a website… but know that if your baby is old enough to point, you may be introducing an activity he is going to ask for over and over again.

We have recently started using the games on FisherPrice.com for entertainment. The one pictured here is my favorite. It’s in the toddler section. I sit Julian on the desk, very close to the monitor, and show him the different animals.

Other computer activities:
Looking at pictures of family members
Watching animations on NickJr.com
Download baby songs from LeapFrog.com

Go on a trip. See the world. Expand your baby’s horizons or at least your own.

I am absolutely dying to take Holden on a big vacation some place fabulous (that doesn’t involve visiting relatives — sorry folks!). Our baby was a souvenir of our round-the-world honeymoon. We joke that he was made in Europe and discovered in Africa… so he has the travel bug even if he doesn’t know it yet. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are spending time in the very country where Holden was found. And they’re not afraid to be there with toddlers (and a nanny or two, but still!).

I am envious that Julian went to Mexico during his first year and that he is back there now! I subscribe to Travel Zoo’s Weekly 20 Travel Deals to fuel my fantasies. I dream about Portugal, Argentina, and Australia. I read Have Kid Will Travel cover to cover and I realize that travelling with kids at different ages is varying amounts of pleasure and pain. I want to live it.

Have you taken your baby on any amazing adventures? Inspire me!

Apparently, once your baby can wave “hello”, he can begin signing other things, too. If you’re convinced (and I am), start signing a few things consistently around 8 months.

We started with “more” and “eat” and “nursing”. Julian started responding around 11 months by doing these signs back to us. I have to admit that his “nursing” looked very much like “bye-bye” and sometimes I thought he was telling total strangers that he wanted to nurse.

At 14 months, his vocab is still limited to about 5 words, so the signs have been really amazing. Our number one favorite baby sign is “help”, which is tapping both hands against his chest. He uses this to tell us that he wants us to open a drawer, help with a toy, or reach something that he can’t reach. Much more civilized than pointing and grunting.

I recently ran into a rookie mom named Yael at the park. She told me that she teaches a music, play and signing class called Signing Smart. It sounds like a fun way to learn. For Berkeley parents, the info is below. For parents everywhere, check out this link to find a class near you: http://signingbabyshop.com/classes/

When: Wednesdays from 11:15 - 12 noon, starting mid-June
Where: Congregation Netivot Shalom, which is in Berkeley at 1316 University (2 blocks west of Sacramento).
Cost: $150 for 10 weeks
What: 45 minutes of singing and signing, and includes all the materials - the Signing Smart Beginner Handbook, the Treasure Chest DVD, and an American Sign Language glossary DVD
How: Call Yael at 510.847.5683 or send her an email at yael@signingsmart.com

If you can’t commit to a class, try renting a video. Check NetFlix.

Lately, I have been experimenting with many different ways to get dinner on the table with minimal fuss. I was a freakin’ industrial engineer in college and I’ve been a management consultant for over ten years. Why is this so hard for me?! Apparently during those working-sans-baby years, I was just eating dinner out all the time or having cereal.

One suggestion that Alec and I are going to try is to make tomorrow’s dinner tonight. That is, after we’ve been fed and Holden has been put to bed, we are going to make dinner for tomorrow. We did do this a few times by mistake… like when we thought beef stew or lasagna was something we could just throw together in time for tonight and had to eat something (like my old friend cereal) while cooking.