What do you reccommend.....

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Hey ladies.....

Well Im very interested in alt parenting.....from cloth nappies to home schooling and all in bewtween too!

Ok....my first questions is....

As I am a wheelchair user I will rarely be out alone using a pram....only from house to car so I will be carrying baby in a baby carrier of some description!

Any good ones you can reccommend?
I also sometimes go out in my electric armchair lol so carrying the baby in a sling is essential if I want to go anywhere independently!

Im def going to teach baby to sign too....its def a great way of reducing their frustrations before they can dlearly comminicate by talking to us so thats a must for us!

Cloth nappies....again something I am interested in so will check out some of the other threads on this one!

Home schooling-now a tricky one! But one we are serisouly considering!

I home schooled my daughter for nearly a year simply becasue she was being bullied at one of the top schools we chose for her so in my opinion for me personally school no matter how elite they are, isnt always best!

However.....we really want to move away out of town when our house sells and to somewhere more rural and ideally be self sufficient in all ways!

Something we have considered doing is having a house somewhere rural but also travelling so LO would be then home educated!

I loved home schooling my daughter but as I had only done it out of frustration at the schools denial of her being bullied, not really choice I didnt feel confident enough at tha time to get her through her GSCE's so she did those at school!

Would also like to give the BLW a go to!

So.....whats everyones views on this....and what sling/carrier is good for someone in a wheelchair? xxx

 

[Wobbles]

Bump for anyone who may be able help answer some of the questions x

Terrie (although currently named Darla) signs with both her LOs if you popped her a message, shes not read this thread.

x

 

[titch]

Im going to be baby signing too Im a speech and language therapist and honestly the benefits are just fab, a few studies have linked baby signing to higher IQ scores aged 5 too. Amazing stuff!

 

[Heulyn]

Where do you start with baby signing?
And do both parents have to do it, or just me? Because I'm not sure the OH is quite so enthused about it......

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Thanks Wobbles I will do!! xxx

Yeah Tiny Its something ive been interested in and def want to use with this baby!

Im not sure H hopefully Terry (darla) will be able to answer some of our queries! xxx

 

[titch]

there are different types of baby signing classes you can go to, sing and sign, springs to mind but there are quite a few different compainies. You can go as soon as your baby is old enough to sit up unsupported. You can also buy home packs to do, but I think its better to learn in a group. If you dont want to part with any cash, 'mr tumble' or 'something special' on cbbc does Makaton signing, which is what we use at work. A lot of the 'baby signing' systems are slightly different.

Your OH doesnt have to sign, but it would be better, you cant make everyone who ever speaks to your chil sign. Even if you just make up a few gestures for your everyday routines it will benefit your child. They'll learn to recognise words much quicker if you use a gesture alongside. So you could just have a sing for changing nappy, having a feed, play time, daddy's home etc... and tell your baby whats going to happen before it actually happens. Pretty quickly you'll notice your baby reacting to show you that they understand what youre saying Just remember you always speak and sign at the same time, the signing is supposed to support your spoken language, not replace it!

 

[mrsH2009]

I use the babyhawk carrier and can still comfortaby carry Jack now and he's a fair size! It could be worth you going to a sling meet thou and trying out different styles to see what will work best for you, just google sling meet you'll find one near you

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Ah fab thanks ladies! Ahhh this sounds great I cant wait.... Ive used BSL over the years when I worked with special needs kids and adults so know a few basics but no dount baby signing is diferent....xxxx

 

[titch]

to be honest you can use any system, consistency is the most important thing. All the different systems are copyrighted so people invent their own to spin the cash mostly. The main disadvantage of BSL from other systems is you need quite good motor skills for some of the signs. And the systems designed for special needs/babies are easier for the child to do. Also bear in mind youre not signing every work like you would in BSL. Just sign the key words in the sentence.

 

[Heulyn]

I'll use the Makaton I learned on my Health&Social Care course

 

[Toonlass]

If you watch something special on Cbeebies, the guy justin uses Makaton on there. It will give you a good idea of some of the basics

The BLW i did with Jacob. Whenever i ate something he could hold and safely chew/suck on, i offered him some. Once he started putting it to his mouth and taking an interest, i gave him all sorts. I started off mainly with toast.

The cloth nappies i am obsessed with. Its supposed to save you money and i believe it will if you dont get taken by all the pretty fabrics, colours and designes. My nappies are my pride and joy and kinda become a bit of an expesnsive hobby/collection/obsession lol.

Looking at a few of the slings available, i think a babyhawk sling would be a good one to look into for wheel chair use. Its very versatile. I will have a bit google tomorrow for you chick xx

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Thanks Tiny.....yeah the childrens methos sounds less complex so will def be looking out for that one!!!

Yeah Ive heard of Makaton H....thanks for that!

Cheers Toon....yeah a sling is a must so getting the right one will be great and as per I have no idea about whats available now so thanks in advance me dear xxx

 

[Lacey's Mummy]

I did BLW with Lacey and I'll do it again with little man. I found she ate a variety of foods on her own alot quicker than other babies her age!!

 

[Momma`Kat]

I really want to do baby signing too, But the cbeebies scribble drawing people on tv scare me! And im a slow learner so this could fail miserably Lol

 

[titch]

See if your local sure start do any classes hun, its soooo much easier to learn when youre face to face.

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

I think terrie should do a sign a week and teach us how to do it right!!

Terrie?? lol xx

 

[Heulyn]

Suppose it's a good thing I like watching Justin/Mr.Tumble then, isn't it?

What's BLW? Baby-Led Weaning? I'll definately be doing that, for sure.

 

[Toonlass]

Good idea! Darla should teach us

Wilma i have googled my brains out and i am shocked at how few options are out ther for baby slings and the wheelchair user

I did come across two options. There is the Cozy Cradle baby sling and the betterbaby sling. I couldn't find alot on them but they are mentioned on a few sites. Sorry i couldnt find any more for you xx

 

[Terrie]

I'm so sorry I missed this thread!!!

Will pop on the laptop and asnwer some of yor questions! Here is also another thread in this section by me called baby signing where I've written quite a bit about it x

 

[Terrie]

ok..... im here!!!!!!!

baby signing.. here is the thread i made a while ago explaining about it and also included some photos of Rhys signing

http://www.pregnancyforum.co.uk/alternative-parenting/124421-baby-signing-come-chat-about-here.html

i will quite happily teach you all to sign, i am SO SO SO passionate about it and i can make videos and post them of signs if you like..

any questions seriously im here to help!!