To NOT worry about dd2's (18months) delayed development?

[MagicMojito]

She's 18months and has been walking for about a month, she can say mama, and hiya but nothing else. She can wave and blow kisses and seems to have a basic understanding of pretty much everything around her (shell give you her foot to put her shoes on, arm to put coat on, waves when leaving the room etc) dd1 was very advanced for everything so I don't put too much trust in developmental charts (as they have never correlated with my childrens actual development) and pretty much leave them to do things at their own pace.

I am starting to doubt myself though. I don't know why, but I am

I've never taken them to baby groups, weigh ins (other than the first check up at about a week old, and then once more to go at 6week check) but now I'm wondering if I have should be keeping better tabs on things like this, obviously I'm not trained in child development so I could be missing potential red flags OR there is always the possibility that everything is fine and im having a parental wobble over nothing

Dd2 is just so behind what dd1 was at this age. The difference is undeniable.

I think I'd just appreciate your experiences really!

At 18 months my DD only had three clear words. I went to a Speech and Language drop in session (I was referred by my HV) and found it really reassuring. The SALT basically observed her for a bit, asked me some questions and said not to worry as her understanding of language was advanced although her speech was behind. Apparently, at 18 month understanding is more important than speech so if they can follow two step instructions (e.g please pick up that teddy and put it in the box) and point out objects in a book when you name them that's a good sign. I was really worried at the time (I totally fell into the trap of comparing DD with her little friends) but by 22 months she was talking in sentences and counting to 10.

I think second children can often be slower with speech OP. They're often fastest with other things but don't need to develop speech so quickly as older siblings often act as 'translators' and facilitators

Cesare has it spot on - my DS talked ALL the time, and when he started school my DD was almost 2 and was only pointing and grunting -- everything that she wanted was translated for her by her big brother..! When he wasn't around, she suddenly discovered that Mummy didn't understand grunts - and within 3 weeks she was talking in small sentences...
She'd just needed some space to develop her speech (and looking back all those years (nearly 40) it probably didn't help that I was so occupied with answering DS's endless questions, that she didn't get much one-to-one attention
Once she'd started, she's never looked back...!

Oh and by the way ds hasn't shut up since he started talking.

Literally all day, every day....he even sleep talks.

So you know, don't rush it.

You haven't worried me OP, infact thanks for the thread as the replies are reassuring x

Hi madwomanbackintheattic
Yes totally agree that it is great if needed and suits the child's needs. The op isn't sure if that is the case yet.

What kind of intervention did your DS have that was upsetting Kandy?

My DS could say Daddy and maybe only 5 other words, then on holiday this summer at 20 months he literally became a parrot, saying "mummy" for the first time and repeating and remembering everything we told him, when we came back after 10 days his vocabulary included probably around 30/40 new words and phrases. Boom, it came completely out of the blue, all of a sudden and has gone on to continue, def speak to health visitor but sure its fine.

Did you not get a HV visit at 12/13 months OP? 16mo DD has only just had hers cause she was missed for some reason, but might be worth chasing up. Mainly because we got free books haha.
Might put your mind at rest in all seriousness. I personally think it's just because of the comparison to DC1.

She sounds very normal to me?

I've got 3 kids. 2 were late to speak, but 1 was very early. Of the 2 with speech delay 1 has been diagnosed with ASD and the other was just slow to start speaking.

I'm currently experiencing this at the moment. DD is 2 and 1 month. She says NOTHING, I am worried. She is vocal and makes sounds and chatters on as if she is talking but there are no clear words at all.
For her recent two year review we had to answer a questionnaire and she passed all physical questions but failed all speech/communication questions bar one. She has been referred by HV to speech therapy and audiology. I went to a parental guidance session about speech therapy (without DD as was for parents only) which was great, speech therapist very helpful. They usually give techniques to work on and then call you after 12 weeks and check in on progress but she said, based on our discussion, she wanted to meet DD in the new year and do an assessment. Her hearing appt is on xmas eve so we should have the results in time for speech assessment.
I'm happy DD is being seen and if there are any problems we can get the ball rolling for her.
There have been the odd thing DD has said, about 6 months ago she pointed to her nose and said "nose" absolutely crystal clear, we were overjoyed but never happened again. If something happens or she falls down she will say "oh no" but more of a mimic of the sounds than the actual phrase. She also says what sounds like "daddy" but not the actual word.
Speech therapist says she should have at least 10 words (guidelines) and there is certainly a delay as she has no words at all. My wouldn't be worried if DD at least said "mummy" or "milk" or "hiya/hello" or "bye bye". But there's nothing.
All I want for xmas is to be called mummy, even mama!
My DS was incredibly quick with everything and was using sentences before his first birthday. I know they weren't going to be exactly the same but I did think she'd have some speech by now.
DD seems to have good understanding but she gets sooo frustrated and pulls and tugs me around for what she wants so I am expecting a hearing problem to be revealed but we will see.
Physically she's super, if she doesn't grow up to be a mountain climber if be amazed, she climbs everything and gets everywhere!