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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to think I can't be the only parent who....

76 replies

thatsnotwhatitsusedfor · 05/04/2019 13:47

...can't remember their child's first word?!

DD (5) asked me yesterday (no idea where the question came from or what prompted it) and I honestly could not remember.

I panicked, told her it was 'Dada' and have racked my brains ever since but honestly cannot remember this milestone. This has also made me realise I can't remember DD2's either, who is 11 months younger than DD1 (yes, bit of a surprise).

But, anyway, I mentioned this to a friends this morning who has a DD of the same age and she was, frankly, horrified and said she couldn't believe anyone would forget such a thing. Now I feel dreadful!

AIBU for thinking surely I can't be the only one who can't remember this?? From memory there was a long period of general babbling and then a smattering of words.... friend implied I should have a very, very, clear recollection of this momentous occasion and that I was weird for not.

Am I dreadful?

PS. I have one of those baby books for each of them which I have checked, and seems I abandoned writing anything in at all after about three weeks......

OP posts:

Kidssendingmenuts · 05/04/2019 15:14

Nope I can't remember either. I'm so shit I can't even remember how much they weighed without looking in the book! Xx

Thunderspuds · 05/04/2019 15:35

I remember DD1's, which was "star" but DD2 8 years later - I haven't got a clue. I can't remember when either of them first crawled or walked or anything like that. I don't know what their birth weights were or what time of day/night they were born. Sleep deprivation is a horror though. Even if you don't have a terrible memory like mine to begin with the lack of sleep turns everything into a foggy blur.

KipperTheFrog · 05/04/2019 15:53

DD1 I remember was mummy. I only remember because it was so clear whereas the babbling up to that point was do unclear. We were in morrisons when she said it!
DD2, no idea! Her babbling has been much more gradual change into words. It was probably "no!" She says that to her sister a lot...

Whatisthisfuckery · 05/04/2019 16:02

DS 11 asked me last week. I hadn’t got a clue. He didn’t really speak properly until nearly 3 so it was all sounds and babbling. I told him it was ‘gone.’ He liked saying it a lot so it was the first thing that surfaced through the panic.

outpinked · 05/04/2019 16:27

I’ve told them all it was mama but I truthfully can’t remember either. I’m pretty certain it was mama... They all asked me this recently too.

randomchap · 05/04/2019 16:43

I can't remember either, so I told DD hers was cat, and DS his was DD's name

BlueJava · 05/04/2019 16:46

No idea for either of mine!

Original poster

thatsnotwhatitsusedfor · 05/04/2019 18:21

Phew - thanks everyone!! You’ve made me feel like less of a monster

And I blame the sleep deprivation too xx

OP posts:

tinyvulture · 05/04/2019 18:25

I can’t remember either. There is one which she THINKS was her first word, simply because it was a funny mispronounciation it took me ages to work out, and so she likes hearing the story of it. So i’m Rewriting History and going with that one - but I am certain she had said other things before. Luckily I don’t suppose her father will have a clue - he wasn’t that interested in her till she spoke fluently. (We aren’t together now).

LL83 · 05/04/2019 18:28

I read your post and said to myself of course I can it's star (dd1) and .....and
......I can't believe I dont remember ds2's!

So no you are not the only one.

AirBiscuit · 05/04/2019 18:59

Most of the time I can barely remember their name, let alone the first word

polarpig · 05/04/2019 19:07

I secretly think that anybody (looking at you SIL) who has a ridiculously unusual word for their child's first word is making it up to cover for the fact that was probably something rude instead.

MayFayner · 05/04/2019 19:20

DD said “hi!”

DS1 - said “Uh-oh!!”, and then went on to say it a lot for several months.

DS2 - I’m foggy on, I must admit. I do remember being taken aback when, at 12mo, he held up a Paw Patrol toy and quite clearly said “Chase”

In my defence, DS1 was potty training at the time and I used to let him sit on the potty in front of Paw Patrol to get him to go. So DS2 might have got a bit more PP exposure than he would have otherwise had.

susiella · 05/04/2019 19:24

My daughter's first word was ham. It's still one of her favourite things to eat.

Moonflower12 · 05/04/2019 20:14

I have 4.
I'm aware they could speak at some point and have continued to do so- ad nauseam. I have no idea what their respective first word was but I pretend they all said Dada first.

tor8181 · 05/04/2019 22:48

not with son 1 as he started talking at 12 months,hes 14 now

but son 2 was non verbal till 6 and i remember when he started as hes still only 8 and it was more

Nnnnnineteen · 05/04/2019 22:57

Dd said her first word as 4 1/2 and it is etched on my memory forever.

OneDayillSleep · 05/04/2019 23:01

Our first child was was quite late at talking and we actually got it on video, it was “Peppa pig”. Second child I have absolutely no idea, stab in the dark would be “dada” but I really can’t remember the word or what age he was 🙊.

DramaAlpaca · 05/04/2019 23:04

DS1's first word was 'more!'

I can't remember DS2's or DS3's.

VampirateQueen · 05/04/2019 23:10

I remember both of my kids 1st words, can't tell you how old they were. The words were not your general mama, dada etc. My first said cat and my son said quack 😂. Don't think I would have remembered my seconds if it wasn't so random.

user1471426142 · 06/04/2019 02:19

For my first I wrote them down as I was worried she was a bit slow as she didn’t meet the ages and stages questionnaire of 3 words at 9 months (since realised not many children do!)

The first (other than mama and dada) was bye bye. Other early ones were teddy, star, banana and shoes.

Other than knowing the words, I feel bad as I have a baby book that was never started and I’ve meaning to do a Photobook which has never happened.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 06/04/2019 02:56

DH can't remember their birthdays!

It's amazing how many dads are like this. I find it deeply sad. One-off facts such as birth weight and exact time of birth I can understand, but something that comes around every year and should be a special cause for family celebration?

I remember the first word that my DS read out loud - it was 'one'. He said the individual letters and then triumphantly proclaimed "One!" It was during the opening theme music of The One Show, where they flash it up on the screen and keep singing that single word. Maybe I should exploit the idea and make a fortune as a self-styled 'musical child-reading guru'!

Damntheman · 06/04/2019 07:59

Not a clue! Mine were both late talkers too. I always say my DS' first was the Norwegian word for car but I'm sure it was actually something else..

BillywilliamV · 06/04/2019 08:02

I can remember DD2’s first word, but it was “ketchup” so I don’t admit it.

barryfromclareisfit · 06/04/2019 08:07

I remember.
My dd’s first word was ‘dada’.

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