maya's first language

maya's first language is not english, hindi or spanish, it is sign language. this is no surprise since pretty much all maya says is da-da (on a good day). but what is so surprising is the rate at which maya is learning words.

the very first sign that maya did was "all done". i remember watching her very carefully for days just to make sure that she really was signing this word. it was around her first birthday when it seemed the light bulb went off in her head. i was so happy when i saw she was getting this one one word down and then one day out of the blue when i said milk, she started to sign milk. i was so impressed because it almost seemed that she picked it up on her own. i was spending so much time working on teaching her "more" that i didn't think she would skip that and move onto "milk".

everyday it seems that she surprises me with a new word. so far she has signed: all done, milk, more, ball, signing time, shoes, baby, wash hands and hungry. some of these words she just picked up on her own like wash hands. she loves to use this sign when she sees water (when i wash my hands or when we are getting her bath ready). other signs she has struggled with like "more". even though it's the sign i've tried to teach her the most she doesn't seem to initiate it very often.

now i have to say i don't feel guilty at all for letting her watch those baby signing time videos. i really think that she is catching on so quickly because of them. the nifty way they use sign language when they sing songs is what i think catches her eye and ears. she honestly pays attention to the videos and now i know she is learning from them.

innovative dance program

the adaptive dance program in boston was featured in a making a difference segment on the nightly news with brian williams.

the children's hospital in boston has an article on this program and also an in-depth video. there are also awesome photos.

very inspiring!!!

sleep or a movie?

tonight is the first night that my baby girl fell asleep on her own. i am so excited and hope that all the hard work on the sleep training is starting to pay off. i've been on this road, reading books, fighting with myself on how to go about getting her to "self soothe", how and if to ween her off my breast milk at night, for weeks now. so many people have advice for me like don't give in, don't pick her up, let her cry it out. i've given up so many times, thinking ok, this time you win.

tonight is also the first night that D and i watched a movie, without once getting up to soothe or pat maya. i thought for a second that perhaps i too should go to sleep. but for once, maya fell asleep and i was awake, not tired and not stressed about the next mornings chores. we watched kabluey, and had so many laughs (quietly muffled under the palms of our hands of course). this is a momentous day in so many ways.

more on that later...