Baby Genius

Gabe has taken to elimination communication quite well. He doesn't fight sitting on his potty anymore. We've been doing it casually, but I still catch about 1 or 2 poops and 2 pees per day. Gabe can also sign potty (modified, of course; he signs the letter t but doesn't shake it), and I swear he's been doing it since two months old. I didn't believe it at first, since babies aren't supposed to sign until at least 6 months old, and most between 8 and 10 months. Even though Caden started at 4 months, I thought 2 months was impossible. But Gabe's been doing it consistently since then, so it wasn't a fluke.

He just started trying to sign milk and it's hilarious. When Caden first started signing as a baby, he signed milk and potty almost the same (a closed fist for milk and a closed, slightly shaken fist for potty) so it was hard to tell the difference sometimes. So in teaching Gabe, I exaggerated the difference, opening and closing my fist really wide for milk, resulting in Gabe waving his arm back and forth as he claws the air--and me. The next one we've been working on is sleep so that he knows when I put him down in the bassinet or crib it's nap time and I'm not abandoning him.

He seems to like it when I sign to him, because he responds with smiles and excited movements. I think he can tell I'm trying to communicate with him, and that makes him happy. I am very amazed with this baby, especially since Caden was a very smart one too and Gabe is one-upping his older brother at every stage so far: he's bigger, eats faster, cries less, sleeps better, and signed sooner than Caden. I think Gabe's determined not to be overshadowed by his older brother!