Catherine Ball's Baby Blog – Week 45

LIKE most proud parents, I have decided my daughter is most probably a genius. I know that chances are I am deluded, but every time Sophie does something clever, I just can't help it.

Over the past few days she has really started communicating. She has been saying mamma and dadda for a while (although it is just as likely to be directed at a passing cat or the nearest teddy as at us). But the most exciting development has come in the form of her first ever baby sign.

Sophie and I did a six-week introductory course in baby signing a while ago, but I'll be the first to admit that once the course was over, my attempts to teach her signs were a little erratic at best. It doesn't help that most of the time Sophie doesn't really look at me. She has always been more fascinated in watching other people than paying attention to her mummy (after all, I'm always about whereas strangers are new and exciting).

I was convinced she hadn't even registered that I was making any signs even when I did remember to do them. But the other day she woke up at 12.30am all cheery and full of beans, and we wondered what was up.

She then very clearly made the baby sign for milk – a sort of milking a cow's udder motion – then when we brought her milk she was delighted and quickly settled back to sleep. The next day she made it again, so it was no coincidence, and she's been happily signing for her milk ever since. She even made the sign in a swimming pool, although there was no chance of her getting her demands met that time.

She's been waving at everything and everyone for ages, but this is different as it's her way of telling me exactly what she wants without having to cry for it.

Now I'm all enthusiastic again and eager to teach her some more useful signs. At the moment I'm concentrating on food and nappy, although I'll throw in the odd animal sign when we're looking at a book or see a cat on the street.

She's also added a new spoken word to her repertoire – go. I have no idea why she is saying it most of the time, but it's usually when she is playing with her toys on her playmat. Now that she has started communicating with us, it really feels like she has started growing up.

And my mind's already whirring with things to do to encourage her new-found 'genius'. I don't want to start hot-housing her but I must admit I'm tempted to get some of those flashcards to teach her to read. Don't worry though, Sophie won't hesitate to push me away and crawl off looking for more exciting pursuits when she has had enough. Now I just need to learn the baby sign for 'please come back'.