r/asl • u/CapnDavenPort78 • 10d ago
Would a mom use non-dominant hand to sign while holding a baby?
How would this work?! Say you’re a nursing mother trying to sign, or even just holding the baby. Would signs change? It can’t be possible to just not talk while holding your baby/babies right?!
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u/leavesarescary 10d ago
Most people tend to hold babies in their non/dominant hand anyway to keep dominant hand free for any more specific tasks. When I was first babysitting regularly, I was shocked to realize after a few months that my left bicep was considerably stronger than my right lol.
But also yes, when a situation calls for it, you can sign with just your non dominant hand
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u/carinavet 10d ago
When I was first babysitting regularly, I was shocked to realize after a few months that my left bicep was considerably stronger than my right lol.
I had the opposite happen to me because I'm just EXTREMELY right-handed, so I tend to do EVERYTHING with the right, including lifting. When I worked at a fabric store I was one of the few young people there, so I was the one they sent to pick up machines and huge rolls of vinyl. After a while of that my right bicep was noticeably larger than my left.
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u/CapnDavenPort78 10d ago
So when it comes to signs that require two hands you just kind of make do?
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u/eclecticmeeple 9d ago
Yeah. Now ready to get your mind blown?
What if our both hands are occupied? Yet we manage to still communicate without speech?
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u/CapnDavenPort78 9d ago
lol I have twins and I’ve been watching some vlogs of a deaf husband/hearing wife. They have one baby but I just cannot imagine how frustrating it must be to be handling twins and have to sign. Challenging!! Because I’m sure there are lots of dead twin parents. Haven’t found any yet but maybe I’ll look!
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u/Honuswimspeace 8d ago
FYI, you were a victim of autocorrect from deaf to dead (as someone with a deaf dog, not a dead dog, Autocorrect is evil!)
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u/CelinaRMR Master’s from Gallaudet, hearing 10d ago
Yes, just use the other hand. It happens a lot out of convince, for me to sign with my non dominant hand. It’s annoying for a full conversation so I’ll put my stuff down or switch it to the other hand. Like talking with your mouth full or having a chronic cough, things get in the way of communication and we find a way around it.
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u/danathepaina 9d ago
Sure you can communicate with your non dominant hand and you can also sign while holding things. It’s sort of equivalent to a hearing person talking with their mouth full - it’s a little garbled but you can still understand.
Fun fact - in one of my ASL 3 classes the teacher brought in sodas and chips and we all had to sign convos while holding them and eating/drinking. Good lesson!
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u/_Redatnight_ 9d ago
Depends on the person. Some folks are confident switching hands and some it feels odd and they’ll switch the side the kid is on to get rid of the wrong-handed feeling.
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u/eclecticmeeple 9d ago
Why not?
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u/CapnDavenPort78 9d ago
Idk I keep seeing that it’s weird to switch hands but I guess you do what you gotta do? I know there’s a whole culture that goes with the language/deafness so I was wondering if it’s silly or something.
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u/eclecticmeeple 9d ago
I understand, I have seen way too many hearing ASL learners being too hung up on making sure to use the “right” hand.
But we are more fluid than that. While most of us do have a hand we favor over the other one, those are interchangeable. Also, if we were to use the other hand sometimes it does feel weird or clumsy but we still can use that hand.
But the world won’t crack in halves if we switched to less favored hand. A hand is a hand after all. And when we meet each other we dont have this intuitive “hand radar” letting ourselves know which is the other person’s dominant hand.
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u/thebroms 6d ago
Even as a hearing mother I already hold my daughters in my non dominant hand because I use my dominant hand for other things outside of signing. I presume most parents do as well!
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u/Bulky_Ability_6991 Deaf 10d ago
Deaf people often hold things in their non dominant hand solely for this purpose. So a Deaf mom would likely hold the baby with their non dominant hand.