bkkgal, you also look v fresh for a first time mum!
bkkgal and Iso- waah so exciting to witness first steps, congrats!!
milestones- so far my older DD has managed to witness ALL the milestones of my bb from day 1, so its doubly exciting for us! But hor, the first time my bb stood w/o support on his own (er, happenned 2-3 times only), she got so excited and cheered him so loudly that he sat down right away in surprise haha!
garfield, I agree with what iso/xiaoyun/bkkgal said on why they prefer using more positive lang with their bbs. From a bb's pt of view, its v frustrating to keep hearing No to so much that they want to do (touch the fan/pull wires/grab pens/eat unsuitable objects/etc). By telling them what TO do, we are offering an alternative and there is a lesson to learn. Its like if we are in a completely new planet/culture and have no idea what everything is like, imagine how it feels if everything we want to do is met with a strong NO with no explanation/alternatives given, as opposed to being offered various alternatives each time we are turned down. As for offering explanations, I personally do it even if bb cant understand for now, cause I believe that the more I speak to my bb, the faster his vocab/lang ability grows. But I would usually issue short, simple instructions first, then later explain, so that if he can only pay attention to my first few words, the message would have got thru (ie, if he was putting a crayon in his mouth, I would tell him "crayons are hands-only, its poisonous." then after that explain in more detail.)
impulse control- for me, it helps me to be more patient with bb when I remember that just *understanding* the word NO is not enough. Their impulse control has to be developed enough, and at this age, I think most babies have zero impulse control lol! Its an ongoing thing I guess, even as adults; If we have 100% impulse control, all of us would be leading a perfectly healthy lifestlye, and will never yell at our kids/husband and be basically perfect! So there IS a big space between understanding and being able to do it.
JWT gym- count me in too!