"With Noah, we used the (most, most excellent) Signing Time set, but Ezra wasn’t really “into” TV so I managed to teach him all the basic signs without the use of DVDs or books. (Bookmark this ASL For Babies visual dictionary and teach yourself the signs, and remember it’s okay to modify them or substitute a more general sign for something specific.) He watched me and mimicked all on his own, because as much as we parents hate the screaming, trust me: it’s probably a zillion times more frustrating to be the baby who actually desperately wants something and has no way to ask for it. So it was pretty delightful to see the little lightbulb go off over each of my boys’ heads when they realized that signing and gesturing WORKED and got them what they wanted quicker (and more accurately) than a screaming fit."

Why didn't I think of this before?