[jaenelle]

Yuna says Da, Ga, Ha, and Ya. Apparently, I talked really early and my mom seems to think Yuna should be saying actual words by now. Surely it's a bit young to expect that, isn't it? And if she should be saying more than that, what do I do to encourage it?

[HBV]

I think H said HI, UP, DOWN, DADDY, DOG, MA, LIGHT at that stage, but his receptive language was great---he could identify a lot of pictures, point to objects etc. The best thing you can do to encourage speech and brain activity is talk, talk, talk and read together. Yuna sounds like she's right on track to me.

I am finding that even though I'm just past some of these stages, they learn SO MUCH, SO FAST that it's hard to remember sometimes---did he do that at 4 months or at 6? If I can't remember when I've been through it so recently, I figure I will take any "he should be doing" statements from others with a shaker or so of salt. I seriously doubt that even my own mother remembers (now some 40 plus years later) whether I said 5 words or 50 words at 9 months. Besides, whatever I did or didn't do when I was a baby has little to no bearing on what my son (who shares neither my genetic material nor the same environment) is doing now. Don't let it bother you.

[mommamarci]

Cameron says nothing. We had him evaluated and he tested at the 8.5 month level. He literally makes a growling sound and that is it. So, don't worry about it. If she is making sounds, she has got to be at the nine month level, at the very least.

[ddhuab]

Well, we didn't have Zoe home at 9 or 10 months, but I do know what she was saying... nothing at all!

We picked Zoe up at 11 months, and she didn't say any words. Her first word was doggie, and it was around 13 months old. Our pediatritian judged her as mildly speech delayed, but attributed it to her recent transition between hearing Spanish to now hearing/learning English. By the time we went for her 15 month visit, the md judged her as right on track, and she was saying mommy, daddy, and a few other words, but also signing MANY words.

I just wanted to tell you this because I was apparently an early talker (9 mo), and my mom was also worried about our dd. However, on one of my moms visits, she kept saying "Zoe said this," and "Zoe said that," offering sevearl short sentences that Zoe allegedly uttered... I even heard the murmurrings that my mom 'translated' for us... so now I am doubting I actually spoke at 9 months myself, lol.

I do think READING makes a big difference. I read a lot to Zoe now, and my mother always read a lot to me. I say this because a friend of mine has a daughter that I think was using sentences at 9 months and talked very clearly... she is an incredibly gifted child, but my friend read books to her everynight since the child was born, not kidding!

D.

[redbonec]

At around 10-1/2 months, K was saying two words--"baby" and "go" for the word "goat."
Okay, let me explain that second word. She likes puppets, so I put on the The Lonely Goatherd song on the Sound of Music movie onto the tv, and she went crazy over the goat marionettes, so we told her what they were.

Anyway, she was saying those two words for a few days, but has not said them since!!! Now, at almost a year old, 90% of her babbling is "dada" which she says for everything! No words as of now!

Although, like HBV said, her receptive seems to be coming along great. We can ask her where things are and she will point or look at them.

[SchmennaLeigh]

I agree that's a bit young. The Munchkin, who has an OUTSTANDING vocabulary for her age, didn't even start speaking regularly until the middle of her 1st to 2nd year. She would say syllables and small words and then one day busted out with full sentences.

Nicholas had dada down very early (of course), ball, go and no by that age. Everything else was just sound. He is developmentally right on schedule at 20 months with a mouthful of words and a desire to repeat EVERYTHING you say. (Oh, and I mean everything.)

Don't let another mother's comparisons drive you up a wall. She sounds just fine!!

[StorkWatcher]

It's excellent that she makes these consonant sounds!

Tell your mom my little boy is 21 months and is JUST NOW starting to talk (ma ma). But for a while, he's babbled and made noises and understands everything and follows directions.

I certainly shouldn't worry about your little Yuna yet!