Have you been signing for a while and wonder if anything is getting through?  You are getting through but you need to be patient.  When children learn to talk, they do not speak as soon as they understand the words you are saying.  The same thing happens with signing.  Children recognize the signs you are making long before they start making the signs (this is called receptive language). 

Here are a few other things also to consider as you wait for that first precious sign to appear when you are teaching your baby sign language:

• You may not have noticed your baby’s first attempts at a sign. Like babbling, the first signs often don’t look a lot like the sign you are making to your baby.  Just look to see if your baby makes the same gesture when you are signing to her. 
• Your baby’s sign might not look like the sign you are making.  Just like the first words, the first signs take time to refine.  Keep making the sign correctly and encouraging the first versions of the signs.  Your baby will master the sign quicker than you think.
• Your baby may be making the same sign for several words. Just like babies may use the same word for several things for a period of time, this happens with signing (often “Mama” means 10 different things to a baby who is just beginning to speak).  Just continue to encourage and make the correct sign.  MORE and BALL are very close to each other.  You will know from context what your baby wants.  If you are eating, your baby probably wants MORE and not a BALL.  
• It might take time for the first sign to appear. Be patient and continue to consistently sign with your baby.  It will come. 
• When the signs start, it might be like turning the faucet on full blast.  Often, once a baby realizes that signing will get him what he wants, his interest in signing explodes and he will sign more signs and more often.  At this point, you might feel overwhelmed because your baby will want to know the sign for more and more things.  He will look at you while you are reading a book with that look that says, “What is the sign for GIRAFFE.”  Keep your cool and consult your Sign Babies sign language flash cards or a sign language dictionary.  You can learn the signs your baby is interested in and use them the next time you read that book.
• Use pictures to stimulate your child.  Sign Babies sign language flash cards work like a sign language picture dictionary and allow your child to see more things that you are signing.  The images are captivating for young children.
• If you baby is having a hard time with signing, check if he is having a hard time with the thing you are signing about.  For example, maybe he is having a hard time with eating. If you want him to sign EAT and eating in general is a sore subject, then he might not sign that sign at all.  Try signs for things he is interested in:  books, toys, play, animals.