Healthy Moms Healthy Babies

Join us every Tuesday night for our free webinar series, where we’ll be covering everything from how to have a great pregnancy to how to get your kids to eat more vegetables.

Opt in to this series at www.healthymomshealthybabiespresents.com

Teach with WeeHands!

WeeHands  has been in the news a bit over the last week. On February 3rd, WeeHands and The Baby Signing Book was in the Toronto Sun and just about every newspaper across Canada. WeeHands founder, Sara Bingham, was featured on Keith Wann ASL Radio last night and on Mompreneur Wellness this morning. Our DVD, WeeHands At Home was also featured on Babyvibe.ca! 

Word is spreading about WeeHands! That means we are getting more and more requests for WeeHands classes in places we don't yet have Instructors! We need your help! If you would like to bring WeeHands baby, toddler or preschool classes to your community now is the time to apply to teach!

If you are interested in setting your own schedule, running your own business (full or part time), sharing your knowledge and experience with others and making a positive impact in the lives of families in your community, then the WeeHands Instructors team is for you!

Apply to teach with WeeHands today!

Babbling with Britt

Name: Britt Michaelian

Number of Children: 3

Age of children: 5, 9, 11

Your child's first word story:  My oldest daughter was very quiet and more of an observer when she was a baby.  She loved to babble and sing and my husband and I had a bet about what her first word would be.  Of course he thought, "Dada" and I thought "Mama".  Well, as it turned out, her first word was... "Ball".   Makes sense though, since she loves SOCCER so much!

Funny thing your child said as a toddler:  My oldest used to mix up her s's and her f's, so when she would say, "That's so sunny!" instead of "That's so funny."  It was pretty cute.  Although I did have to translate for her quite often.  :)

Joys regarding being a mom entrepreneur:  Well, of course I love being a lifestyle mom entrepreneur because I work from home, so I get to spend as much time as I want with my kids.  But, more importantly, the joy that comes from being a mom entrepreneur has to do with the fact that I have 3 daughters who look up to me and they see the power of following my passions and dreams.  They know that when they grow up, they can do the same thing.  I am their role model and I cherish that, so it helps me to really make decisions that are well thought out and that consistently bring me in the direction of my goals.

Challenges of being a mom and an entrepreneur:  One of my biggest challenges of being a mompreneur who works from home is that it can be difficult to turn off my working brain!  I have found that I have to have strict rules about my schedule and I only allow myself to work while the kids are at school (for the exception of a weekly webinar or 2 ;)  My friend Kimberley Blaine (aka: @TheGoToMom) told me that she shuts her cel phone and her computer off at 5pm everyday and while I'm not there yet... that's the goal! 

Share your best advice for new moms:  Just as it is important to take great care of your kids, it is just as important to take great care of yourself.  Your kids will do what you do (not what you say) so if you are living a healthy lifestyle and treating yourself well, they are more likely to do the same!  Make self care a part of your daily and weekly schedule.  What can you do every week that feeds your soul and inspires you? 

Share your tips for moms thinking of starting their own business:  

• Build a business around something that you are SO passionate about that you would do it forever, even if you never made a single dollar. 
• Create a team and business based on shared and common values (which means you need to get to know your core values and live by them). 
• Look at your business as the perfect way to share your gifts and talents with the world. 
• Get a coach or a mentor who understands your vision if you really want to get on the fast track to fulfillment and  profitability. 
• Know that being a woman in business (and especially being a mom) you will  attract other women will naturally want to collaborate with you if you have clear branding and if you are a giver. 
• Spend time getting to know yourself and getting comfortable with your vision so that when opportunity knocks, you will know whether it will take you where you want to go or if it is better to say no.  No is good. 
• Personal growth is mandatory in entrepreneurship.  So, do the inner work every day.
• Contrary to what you might think... with each failure, you are one step closer to success! :)

Be sure to visit Britt's website WorkSmartWomen.com and the Work Smart Women fan page on Facebook. Would you like to chat with Britt right away, then you can also connect with her on Twitter, @MamaBritt

Signing After Speech

First foods, first steps and first words are important milestones in any baby’s life.  For parents who are signing with their babies, the first sign is also a monumental moment. I remember Joshua and Sabrina’s first signs very clearly. Joshua signed ‘fish’ at 9 months of age while Sabrina’s first sign was a mischievous ‘no’ at 11 months of age.

At the same time, new moms often ask “My baby is 11 months old, is it too late to start signing with her?” Anyone who has the privilege of working with new parents should encourage them to late the mommy (or daddy) guilt go! Yes, those first early ‘baby’ signs are amazing but I found that my children sign the most when they were toddlers and this was after their first spoken words arrived.

Becka Marsch is an Early Childhood Educator in Saratoga Springs, New York and she comments, “I did, it (signing after speech) is still useful. I sign when I need to tell the kids something when they are outside, or in a place where they are not next to me.” Life gets busy after baby with hockey practice and gymnastic lessons. Using sign with your older children will help you communicate with them through viewing windows and hockey glass.

Elizabeth De Santis, an early childhood educator from Chatham Ontario shares her family’s story, “My little man is two years old and I find we are signing more then ever. He can easy get frustrated and so it helps but also his vocabulary is pretty advanced. We have laid the group work for this language, why would we stop? He enjoys our time together and all the studies support signing for a much longer time.”

There are 3 million babies born every year and it’s estimated that 10% of this children may have some sort or degree of a communicative disorder.  When asked about signing after speech begins Bronwyn Sutton explains, “Yes, I have too. My daughter has speech delays, and at almost 4, she still signs what she wants. Though she is now learning to say what she wants.”

Claire Miller, of Grafton, Massachusetts is a mom to two toddlers and also a Speech-Language Pathologist. When asked will she sign with her children after speech develops she remarks, “Yes! With my 21 mo. old twins we have continued to sign (a lot) even though their spoken vocabularies contain a few hundred spoken words. When I don't understand their spoken utterances, they will add sign to clear up the communication breakdown (which helps prevent meltdowns). It also helps to reinforce new concepts or differentiate between words that sound the same but have different meanings”.  Another Speech-Language Pathologist, Genie Curti-Ruddle agrees with the idea of signing after speech develops, “Having another language at such a young age is another gift you can give to your child.”

A baby doesn’t learn to speak by going from one word to full sentences. Using sign language as speech develops and is fine tuned will help young children to play with language and it will help them clarify communication attempts.  As any parent to a toddler knows, if you can avoid frustrations by being clearly understood, it’s a good thing!

Sara Bingham is the founder of WeeHands and the author of The Baby Signing Book. WeeHands is the world's leading children's sign language and language development program for babies, toddlers and preschool children. Sara completed an honours Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics at the University of Ottawa, and has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Carleton University. In addition, she has earned an honours post-graduate diploma from Georgian College, as a Communicative Disorders Assistant.

Sara has been studying American Sign Language (ASL) since 1991 with the Canadian Hearing Society, the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf in Toronto and at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario. She also teaches at Durham College within the Communicative Disorders Assistant program and is a retired group leader for the parent support group, Attachment Parenting International of Durham Region. Sara is the mother of two, and a frequent contributor to parenting magazines and baby-related professional websites. She lives in Brooklin, Ontario.