what are 'normal' levels of vocalisation for a 4mo baby?

[emeraldgirl1]

Just finding DD's vocalising a bit strange.

For the past two or three days she has been making a lot of very high-pitched squealing noises, not in distress or pain and not really even when she is excited about something - more just a kind of background squeal for about ten or fifteen mins at a time.

It sounds a bit like R2D2 going beserk. :)

It is a bit like she is trying to tell us something or, oddly, a bit like she is trying to sing (at a very high pitch)

Is this just her trying out different sounds she is able to make?

It is terribly insistent at times and I can't help worrying that there is something wrong.

I am super-paranoid about all things to do with speech etc as there is hearing loss on both sides of me and DH and I am always concerned ot make sure that she is hearing OK.

Though I guess with the hearing thing it might be more of a concern if she weren't vocalising at all? Which is not at all the case.

DH and I are both very talkative and I sing to her a lot so perhaps she is just trying to join in?

It is a bit disconcerting and I know I am being very PFB but I I just wondered if anyone else had experienced this and has any idea what it might be for?

My DD did the same at around the same time and still does occasionally now at 5.5 months. It's normal

Sounds fine to me. Like you say, she is discovering sounds she can make and is trying them out. :)

Mine is just over 5 months and has been doing the same. It's freaky! Most recently he's added a full-volume intensive demanding grunt.

Sounds normal to me. They are discovering their voices and the sounds they can make. My DS has done nothing but growl for a week - hilariously, hearing this deep, loud, disembodied growl from the play mat, with only a tiny baby lying there, made the Tesco man drop the shopping bags....

So, I would say don't worry, sounds as though she is going to be a great communicator and talker before you know it.

If there is hearing loss in the family then I understand your concerns. It could be a sign of a low frequency hearing loss (i.e. she prefers making sounds she can hear better) or it could be normal experimentation.

Speak to your health visitor, a further hearing test could put your mind at rest. X

We call 4 month old DS The Velociraptor because of the strange Jurassic Park-like noises he makes

Thanks everyone!
Yes it is a bit like dinosaur noises!!

Will keep an eye on it and assume it is just a phase unless there is anything else that rings alarm bells

My dd was like this - chatty without making any sense. For us, it has meant she learned words and sentences very very quickly and at 19mo is very very advanced speech-wise (but totally bog standard/below par in other areas). Some babies are just talkers.