Quiet 9 month old. Worried sick.

[Gemstone2021]

My daughter is 9 months old and is soooo quiet. She barely cooed around 3 or 4 months then went quiet. At 7.5 months I thought she started babbling but it never progressed. She is almost silent except for crying or whining when she wants to be taken out of her walker/high chair/crib/etc. I try to talk to her, read, and babble at her as much as possible. She may say something like “baba” a few times a day, occasionally “bababa.” Most of the time it sounds like she can’t even pronounce it and says “ra-ra.” Her doctor said nothing can be done and to keep monitoring her and it could be autism or just a normal delay. I’m barely sleeping, waking at 4am the last few months because I am so stressed and worried about her. I can’t find any threads online where others had a baby that barely cooed AND barely babbled. She responds to her name at times but not a ton. She is starting to imitate waving but it’s not consistent and she doesn’t understand it’s significance. Eye contact is good at times, poor at other times. Is there anyone who has experienced anything similar? Also, her hearing and ears have been checked multiple times and all is normal. She was conceived with donor sperm so paternal history is unknown.

My DD was similar at that age. Didn’t start babbling at all until just after she turned 1, she also barely cooed.

She’s almost 2 and although her speech is slow, is absolutely fine in every other area.

Any updates on your daughter’s progress? I’m going through the same thing with my twin daughters. They’re 9 months old and SO quiet. They also barely cooed. We have a hearing test scheduled for next week but I suspect their hearing is fine. Eye contact and name response also fluctuates with them.

She is now 14 months old and still does not babble. I kept hoping she would just suddenly start one day but it hasn’t happened. She has great receptive language and understands so much. At this point she can say ah, ba/baba, da/dada, ma/mama, na/nana, and nay. She never practiced sounds so it seems almost impossible for her to make other noises. She says ma for meow and moo, ba for book, pacifier, and bite, ah for up and out, nay for horse, and growls for tigers, lions, and bears. She is super quiet and I have to prompt her a lot. I don’t know if she will eventually catch up or if this is autism or an intellectual disability. Her good receptive language keeps me a little hopeful but I’ll be perfectly honest that I worry constantly about her and feel like I am grieving daily. It is so hard to watch your child miss milestones. I don’t know how things will progress for your twins but the good news is that a lot of babies can babble late around 10 or so months and stay on track for speech. I’m suspecting my daughter has apraxia of speech with or without any other diagnoses. Please let me know how your little ones are doing in a few months!

Thanks so much for the response. I think the fact that your daughter is understanding so much and making sounds is wonderful. I have a friend whose son just said his first word at 20 months and is talking up a storm now. I think for me the hardest part is the unknown. I can handle a diagnosis but the waiting and wondering is maddening. I’m really working hard at staying present and enjoying them but it definitely stings when we’re with other babies their age and their babbling away.

Their pediatrician wasn’t too concerned yet but recommended a hearing test and reaching out to Early Intervention for an evaluation so we’ll start there. I will keep you updated and please do the same!

any update from your girl of the twins would be great an going through this with my little one worried sick

So one of my twins started babbling around 9.5 months and the other was around 10.5 months and first words came at 12 months. From 12 months on, their speech has been quite advanced. They’re 2.5 years old now and speaking full sentences.

I meant to add, twin B did qualify for Early Intervention at 10 months and did that once weekly but phased out quickly. Twin A didn’t consistently respond to her name until maybe 18 months and her eye contact got much better after the age of 2. I’m curious to see how the next year goes but they are so smart, curious and funny and it’s amazing to see how they’ve blossomed.