From the time my youngest child was an infant, I'd always indicate her right and left sides when doing things. Like when bathing her, I'd say "right foot first, left foot next." When putting on shorts, shirts, slippers, shoes, I'd do the same thing. Now that she is 3, I've noticed that when I ask for her left foot or right hand, she shows me the correct one more often than not!

I've noticed that babies can communicate at an early age, even before speech. To help us both out of frustration, I taught each of my children some baby signs.

• For instance, "please" in the Japanese language is "chiyodai" and accompanies the hand motion as follows: place one hand palm side up, then place the other hand palm side up on top of the other palm. I'd show them the sign each time it was appropriate and said, "please" as well. The back of the hand on the palm proved too difficult, so each of my children, on their own, modified that sign to be a single clap that ended in a praying sign. Still, it became clear to the both of us that this meant PLEASE.
• "Thank you" was one hand raised straight up as if to say "Hi"
• "Cup" was the ASL sign, which is the left hand palm facing up, the right hand forms a "C" and is moved downward on top of the open left palm. The kids never remembered that one!
• My youngest shows me that something is scary by pulling down both cheeks to expose the inside of her lower eyelids.
• "Spider" is the sign for the nursery rhyme, "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider"
• Babies learn to say certain letters at certain stages. That's why "dad" comes before "mom" often because they are able to say the "d" sound before the "m" sound.
  • That's why I thought it might be easier for my baby to speak another language that makes use of the early sound formations. Such as, in Japanese, "dakko" (pronounced, dahk'-koh) means "to carry." Or "ne ne" (pronounced, neh'-neh') means "to sleep."
  • In Hawaiian, "au au" (pronounced, ow'-ow') means "to bathe." Or "moe moe" (pronounced, moway'-moway') means "to sleep."
  • Children learn foreign languages quickly, so even if they don't speak it, they sure understand it. It's a great time to teach them a new language! We've been teaching our children Japanese, Hawaiian and Spanish.

• By the age of two, my first-born son could sign the entire ASL alphabet! Special thanks to Barney!
  • NOTE: The only problem that could arise, that I've heard from other parents, is that the child becomes reluctant to speak.
• Consider getting or making a floor mat or hanging poster that has pockets. My son had one made of felt and on each pocket was a letter of the alphabet. Inside each pocket was an item that started with that letter. By age two, to my surprise, he pointed to a stop sign and said, "Sun, Top, Owl, Pie"! I couldn't figure out what he was referring to, till we went home and started playing with his floor mat!

• By the time my youngest daughter was 6 months old, she had had 3 colds and her bowel movements sometimes didn't come for up to 6 days! Because I was breastfeeding her exclusively, I thought it odd that she was sick so often. And I definitely didn't think not having a bowel movement for 6 days was normal, even though she didn't seem to struggle when it did come.
• Her Pediatrician said that both problems were normal. But I just couldn't believe that.
• Since I was seeing a Chiropractor, I decided to bring her in on one of my appointments. He checked her neck and confirmed that 3 vertebrae were out of alignment that was the cause of her frequent illnesses. He said that it could've been caused by my obstetrician pulling her out too roughly at birth. When I thought about it, I knew that a student doctor had delivered her and could have indeed pulled her out too roughly. After that adjustment, she hadn't caught another cold for over a year! Coincidence? I think NOT.
• Now, I didn't tell him about the constipation. He was checking her spine and HE ASKED ME if she was constipated! I said yes and he showed me the bone that was off alignment that was causing it. Shortly after we left his office, she had a bowel movement, and has been regular ever since!!! Now that's no coincidence either!
• WOW, that changed my mind about Chiropractics forever!