What can tour 12m old say/do

[NightOwl19]

Hi I have a 12m old and she was saying dada baba months ago and then started shaking her head for no, however we noticed that she hasn't done this for a few weeks now. She doesn't say mama or any other words.

If I say dog she will look for our pet, if I say where's JJ (favourite toy) she will get him excitedly.

I don't know I'm worrying over nothing or if she was behind where she should be?

I have posted this in parenting but thought after there may be more traffic here.

TIA

There's a lot of variation in children at this age, it sounds as if she has good comprehension skills, some children can understand a lot of words before they actually start saying very many. One of mine talked much sooner than the other, but she had an older brother and I think that makes a lot of difference because they have an older one to follow. But I don't think either of them could say very much at 12 months.
She sounds fine and I really wouldn't worry - just keep chatting to her, reading to her and singing rhymes to her and she will soon start saying more words. Talking is a physical skill, she may not quite be ready to form words with her mouth, things like teething can delay them a little bit as well. But actually I don't think she is delayed at all - I think what you describe is absolutely plumb on normal for her age, she's babbling, she's recognising words and sentences, she pays attention when you talk to her and can follow simple instructions. Sounds as if she is doing well.
They all do things at their own pace and some children have a little burst of development then plateau for a little while then have another little burst.

One of my DD's talked at 2, the other was 3.5! At 12 months all they did was scream really. One is autistic but the other is not, she was just slow

Both of my DCs didn’t say anything beyond the odd word until they were 2.5 with sentences etc at 3. They’re fine. Don’t worry

Are your health visiting team offering one year reviews? I'd give them a ring.

Thank you for your replies! It's reassuring, it doesn't help that a friends DS is only a few weeks older and saying 4/5 simple words.

My health visitor has repeatedly cancelled appointments and we haven't seen her since she was a small baby for weighing

I had the same worries at that age, and again at 15 months and then at 18 I was starting to get reeeeeal worried then all these words just keep coming out now. What ever I say he repeats he climbs on the dining table and shouts ‘get down’ at me. Can you guess I did that to him last week 😬😬😬

It’s not linear, I wouldn’t worry just yet.

He’s 20 months now*

DD didn't know words at 12 months. Then quickly learned "no" and "more". She's now 8 and just a normal child.
One of my cousins didn't talk at all until he was 2 and then started speaking in 4 word sentences out of nowhere.

Never compare with other people's babies - that way madness lies Your baby will be doing stuff that your friends baby can't do yet, and there are many more milestones to come where there will be differences.
My DS walked at 9 months, my friends DD didn't walk until 19 months - I was complaining that mine was into everything and he was too little to comprehend instructions, she was complaining that she had to carry her DD everywhere. Her DD talked well before my DS. By the time they were about five there was very little difference in terms of development - both happy healthy children who did things at their own pace. It's only parents who look at other kids and panic - babies just do their own thing when they are ready

She sounds like she's doing really well :)

It is so common for them to do something for a while and then they start working on another new skill and seem to have forgotten all about the last one. They do usually come back! It's like they have so much to learn it's all treated as separate projects almost.

It is completely normal for them not to have any recognisable words yet at 12mo. I think we have this idea that they should be saying first words/taking first steps by their first birthday but in reality it's quite early for both of those milestones.

They should be babbling and responding socially in terms of speech, and they should be mobile in terms of motor development although not necessarily walking. First word/first step is expected by more like 18 months.

Thank you, I think that's what is worrying me the most, the things she could do she has stopped doing and isn't saying any other words to compensate if that makes sense

But perhaps she is working on something non speech related. It is honestly very normal for them to gain a skill and then almost seem to be like "Right, I've done that, onto the next" - DS3 is 6mo and he did this with rolling and also some babbling.

You can have regressions/loss of skills and that would be a concerning thing to flag up to developmental assessment, but a few weeks is not long enough to say that this skill has regressed, especially if she is still continuing to gain new skills in other areas.

My DD is nearly 15 months and still not saying any words, apart from 'a' for cat. But she understands loads of things I say, points to lots of pictures in her books and parts of her body when I ask her, gets things when I ask her etc. So I'm not worried - as long as she has the understanding I figure she'll get there in her own time. She's more interested in walking at the moment I think.