28 weeks and I have Kankles

If you don't know what Kankles are consider yourself lucky. I have had so much pride in my pregnancy weight gain which has been limited to 13 pounds in 7 months... well now as I look down at my ankles, they have converted to kankles which means I can no longer see my ankles. I skin is starting to swell. My wedding ring is starting to get a little tight too. Now I am getting a little freaked out. I don't remember having so much trouble getting out of bed or just bending down. This baby business has now become reality.

BabyTime Expo Features Rachel Coleman, Signing Time Founder

Las Vegas, NV….. BabyTime Expo, a public event celebrating babies and toddlers and their families, will take place Saturday May 2 and Sunday, May 3, at the South Point Hotel, conveniently located at I-15 and Silverado Ranch. The show will feature all the providers and goods needed to fill babies’ and toddlers’ lives with fun, joy and good health. In its second year, the show will include more product manufacturers, retailers and service providers aimed at pregnant women and children ages 0 – 4.

Emmy nominated Rachel Coleman, co-creator of Signing Time will be a featured presenter during BabyTime Expo. Slated for 1:00pm Saturday, May 2nd on the Events Stage, Coleman
teaches ASL vocabulary to children of ALL abilities in a fun and engaging way.

“We are pleased to include Rachel Coleman as a highlight of BabyTime Expo”, Mindi Cherry, CEM, Vice President, noted. “Signing Time can be such an important part of a child’s development.”

Since the release of their first video in 2002, parents and professionals everywhere praise the Signing Time series for opening up a world of possibilities for their children, whether they are using ASL as a means to communicate with their babies before they develop speech, or learning a second language, or even for children with special needs for whom speech is a challenge. ASL is the only language that incorporates both kinesthetic and visual learning styles. It is a tool that empowers hearing infants, toddlers, and children with special needs to express themselves. Combining the movement of sign language with music creates an educational environment that is fun and rewarding for everyone.

Coleman’s enthusiasm became a PBS television show “Signing Time”. Signing Time is used widely by educators, pediatricians, home-schoolers, speech therapists, public schools, daycare centers, libraries and families as the most fun and easy way to introduce children to sign language.

Other highlights include appearances by Chuck E. Cheese, Geoffrey from Babies R Us and magician Will Roya. Alongside exhibits, BabyTime Expo will feature special areas including a fun zone for toddlers, fashion shows, a Diaper Derby, and a Daddy Derby. More information regarding the Show and discount tickets can be found on the website, www.BabyTimeExpo.com.

Information regarding exhibit space costs and availability may be obtained by contacting ConvExx at 800.291.0326 or sales@babytimeexpo.com.

About ConvExx

ConvExx, an independent show management company is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV and has produced shows all over the US and overseas. The team has five CEMs (Certified in Exhibition Management) and the executive team has over 60 years of combined show, event and meetings experience. ConvExx produces both tradeshows and consumer events, including the Trade Show 200 top 5 show – The SEMA Show, and the Las Vegas BikeFest™. For more information about ConvExx and all its services, please visit www.ConvExx.com or call 702-450-7662, ext. 102

Oh, The Places You'll Go

By: Regina Clark



When I became a mother my number one goal was to help my kids in any way that I can to be happy , healthy children and to be a contributing member of society when they grow up. I began reading to my daughter the first night I brought her home from the hospital. I read a little book full of nursery rhymes. It was at the end of the day. Just my baby and me in the rocking chair reading together.



It's been almost 15 years now. I read to her almost every night. Like most mothers I though she was the brightest child I had ever seen. She started picking out letters when she was 18 months old. She would say "there is a T, there is a B." One day we were playing in her room. She was 4 years old. She picked up a book and said, "I can ready this, Mommy." I said. "Ok read it." It was a book that we had not read before. She read it perfectly. I couldn't believe it. By the time she started Kindergarten she could read almost anything. This is not always a good thing. When she was 3, I had wrapped all the Christmas presents including the ones from Santa and put everything under the tree. One day she said, "Look mom, Santa has the same wrapping paper we do!" She had read all the name tags on the presents. No more presents under the tree from Santa.



When my daughter was 3, we gave her a little brother. Every child is unique and each has their own special abilities. My husband and I wondered if he would be as smart as we thought our daughter was, but we were not going to put any expectations on him. I read to him when I brought him home from the hospital. Just the same as my daughter he was picking out letters at an early age. He too could read anything before he went to Kindergarten. One day we were heading home and I said to my husband that the kids were good and I thought we should take them and get them a treat. Maybe we could go (as I spelled it out) to M-c-D-o-n-a-l-d-s. My son instantly got excited and shouted, "We get to go to McDonald's! Okay-now we can't spell anything in front of them.



These days there are sophisticated reading systems such as the one I saw at our BabyTime Expo "Your Baby Can Read". Systems like this teach kids word recognition as early as 3 months old. The most important part is your interaction with your child. As I remember those early days I can't help but feel a little sad that they don't need bedtime stories anymore. But I wouldn't trade those precious moments in the rocking chair reading to my babies for anything. I hope that by giving them the gift of loving to read, that they will continue to have happy, healthy lives and grow up to become contributing members of society. Reading to your child is a gift that you can give from the heart. The only cost is a little of your time. It could make a world of difference to your child. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite authors:

The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

- Dr. Suess, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

The Fourth Trimester

by Mike Clark

I first learned about the fourth trimester from Dr. Harvey Karp, author of “Happiest Baby on the Block”. He was the keynote speaker at BabyTime Expo in Las Vegas in 2008. The fourth trimester basically means your child needs three more months to adjust to her new world. We were expecting our third child at the time, and I really wish I had known about this concept for the first two!

If you stop and think about it, it makes perfect sense. Things are very different in this brand new world for your baby. Your baby was comfortable where she was, and she needs to feel comfortable now. If you mimic what it was like for most of her life, it will help calm her down when she is upset.

The following isn’t the exact formula that Dr. Karp teaches. This is just what I got out of it and what I found effective when calming my baby. And for the first time after having three kids, I know why! If you want to learn more about Dr. Karp’s techniques, I recommend you pick up his book or DVD (I did).

1. Your baby is used to a confined space. She just spent nine months in a tiny place. Now she has all this space. It’s very weird to her. This is why swaddling, tightly wrapping her up in a blanket (like a burrito!), works so well. It may not seem comfortable to you and me to be wrapped up tight like that, but we’ve been in our new world for years. We’re used to stretching out. Your baby is not.

2. It’s dark in there. I found that if I turn down the lights, it helped calm my baby. With my first two, I left a night light on for them. I guess I thought they were afraid of the dark! They’ve been in the dark all their lives, how could they be afraid of it.

3. They’re used to movement. Mom has not been lying in bed for nine months without moving. She has been walking around, getting up and down all day, and perhaps getting aerobic exercise. The baby is used to getting jiggled around. So I jiggled her a little. She loved it. I did not shake her. Just a jiggle, securing her head in the palm of my hand and rocking back and forth.

4. Shush. Along with moving around all day, it’s pretty loud in the womb. Mom’s heart is beating, blood is pumping, her stomach is turning. Your baby is used to loud noises. That is why shushing helps. Shush right in her ear. It makes her feel at home.

Along with a lot of love and the fourth-trimester techniques, our baby has done great. After a couple months she began to sleep through the night.

Believe me though, there’s no magic potion here. We still had plenty of sleepless nights. If you are expecting, prepare yourself. However, waking up to a crying baby with confidence that you can calm her is a very good feeling. Waking up dreading that you are going to have to listen to a crying baby for an hour in the middle of the night is quite the opposite.

Mike Clark is the Director of Operations at ConvExx , show producers of BabyTime Expo, and a father of three.

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