[HPFGU-OTChatter] Baby question

[Vivamus]

> Chancie:
> Hey Moms, and well Dads too for that matter, I was just 
> wondering if any of you could help me with something.  My 
> daughter is nearly 9 months old, and she still doesn't talk.  
> She is, and always has been ahead of schedule as far as 
> physical development, but she still doesn't say any real words.
> My friend's daughter, could say Mama, Daddy, Hi, and No, by 
> the time she was 8-9 months, and I am just wondering if I 
> should be worried.  Her hearing seems to be fine, and when 
> her hearing was tested at the hospital at birth she passed.  
> If any of you could tell me when your kids started talking, 
> it would help me decide what I should do.  

Vivamus:

Here's a Dad's perspective.  If she is babbling, then she IS talking, just
not making word sounds.  Of my two, one started her first words at about 12
1/2 months, but then was talking in full paragraphs by 15 months.  By the
time she was 18 months, her speech was indistinguishable from that of
adults, with the exception of some baby lisping and subject matter.  (There
are some very amusing stories around her early conversations with adults.) 

My second child didn't say his first words until he was two and a half,
causing his Dad much worry.  When he finally started to talk, though, it was
in full sentences, and he was talking the same as any other kid his age
within a week or two.  He still doesn't talk as much as his sister -- but no
one else does, either!  (Actually, that's not fair to my daughter.  She is
quite extroverted, but not as talkative as some other girls her age.)

Both kids have done well in the gifted programs in school, so I'd say my
fears were definitely NOT justified.

Here is one thing we did with both of them early on, that may have affected
how quickly our daughter got up to full speed on the language, once she
started talking.  We had read somewhere that children have brain development
that is capable of understanding language many months before they are
physically able to make the very complex muscular movements needed to speak.
So, at about seven months, we started teaching our daughter sign language.
We showed her "hungry", "thirsty", "please" and "thank you", and a few other
words, which helped a lot in our figuring out what she wanted.  She loved
playing the interactive games with us -- especially when it got her what she
actually wanted instead of our best guess.

It didn't work as well with our son -- probably because he saw his sister
interacting with us using words -- but he just wasn't interested.  Some of
that may be boy/girl differences, as well.

Anyway, if she is babbling at that age, your girl is fine.  I agree with the
others, that once she starts talking, she just won't stop.  There is also a
big difference between saying a few word sounds (Dada, Mama, ba [for ball],
etc.) and talking.  One is learning that making a sound goes with seeing or
holding a particular object; the other is real communication.   Some babies
seem to be more interested in the first than others, but I wouldn't put much
weight on it.  I think the babbling babies do is mimicking talking, not word
sounds.  I.e., she is looking FORWARD to talking your ears off; she just
doesn't know how yet.

Vivamus, who cherishes every second of every day he can spend with his two,
and REALLY wishes he had a time-turner, so he could go back and tape some of
the thousands of priceless moments now gone forever