Little People, Big World alum Jacob Roloff shared with his fans that his and Isabel Roloff’s 11-month-old son, Mateo, is using sign language to communicate.
Jacob and Isabel welcomed their first child, son Mateo Tomas, on December 4, 2021.
The couple has made it quite clear that they won’t be sharing their son’s images on social media in an effort to protect his identity.
However, Jacob and Isabel have shared glimpses of baby Mateo, shielding his face from viewers.
That was the case in a recent Instagram post Jacob shared. The photo showed only Jacob and Mateo’s feet in the sand.
In the caption, Jacob explained that little Mateo (who is not hearing impaired) is already communicating via sign language.
LPBW alum Jacob Roloff says 11-month-old son Mateo is communicating via sign language
“Ohhh my boy. Almost one year old. He’s doing the ‘milk’ and ‘food’ hand signs regularly now and it melts me. Just precious. My sweet Mateo,” Jacob wrote in the caption.
In the comments section, Jacob and Isabel received plenty of praise for their efforts.
LPBW fans praise Jacob and Isabel Roloff for teaching Mateo sign language
Isabel was one of the first to comment, telling Jacob that she was “so proud” of Mateo.
In response to Isabel’s comment, one of Jacob’s 366K followers wrote that she and Jacob are “doing great” and wished them well.
“I love the fact that you’re teaching him sign!!!! I’m deaf myself and this makes [my] heart happy. Babies can communicate much earlier this way,” wrote another one of Jacob and Isabel’s supporters.
Further down in the comments section, Jacob explained to another fan that they’ve been using a book containing 40 different signs. Since learning the sign for “milk,” he’s been able to differentiate between different types of foods, such as bananas and other solids.
Jacob told his fans that Mateo has struggled to learn the sign for “water” since it involves using three fingers in a tapping motion, and little Mateo hasn’t fully developed those finger muscles yet, so he points instead.
Ahead of Mateo’s December 2021 birth, Jacob forewarned his followers that none of them would ever see his child’s face on social media.
In the comments section of a post dedicated to his then-pregnant wife Isabel, Jacob told his fans and followers, “Thank you thank you for friendly comments however none of you (online) will ever ‘see’ my son ❤ it is, specifically, not personal.”
Little People, Big World airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on TLC and Discovery+.