One of the biggest mistakes signing parents make is to teach too many signs all at once. While this isn’t a big deal, what tends to result is. Because a parent bites off more than they can reasonably chew, the signs become diluted and inconsistent. A baby really needs to see signs enough times for them to become remembered. I set out specific rules about this in the online Definitive Baby Sign Language course, so suffice it to say that repetition is the key to get your baby to catch onto signing.
Deaf mothers are exceedingly proficient at teaching their babies to sign. The reason for this is their consistency. Because every thing a deaf parent says is signed, means that baby sees the sign every time. The risk to signing parents is to say the word in the absence of the sign. This tells your baby that it’s okay not to sign. If a parent starts by signing every word they say, eventually they will tire and become inconsistent. This is why signing parents should only chews a handful of signs to start with and stick with those. I recommend 3 main signs in the online course and if you want to get started, should refer to the notes I’ve made therein.