10 month old closed mouth babbling

[Worriedmummy1991]

Hey everyone this might be a long post so please stay with me :)

I have a 10 month old little boy, I have always be worried about his speech and communication sense he was 5 months old as he has always been a quiet baby!

He started babbling at around 7 months old! Though he didnt do it very often He started with bababa for a couple of weeks then stopped then dadada then stopped then mamama he stopped that last week apart from when he is upset! He still says mamama sometimes when he cries!

He has now started closed mouth babbling,screaming has just started to attempt to blow raspberries and lots of humming but all the rest has gone, you can tell sometimes he is really trying to communicate but he cant get it to come out! It's making me so sad :(

Obviously when you Google these systoms the first thing that flags up is autism! His older half brother has it but he is very high functioning!

Now I'm starting to notice other things about him that is making me anxious.

He can
Lift his arms to be picked up
Point with whole hand and index finger, I might add he points constantly at everything all the time
He can wave sometimes when he feels like it
His joint attention is very good
He will look at what I am pointing at

He can't
Clap his hands
Doesn't immediate me
Only answers to his name sometimes

Last week he also has started to stair at his hands and cover his face with his whole hand alot

His loves cars trucks trains anything with wheels and will push them all day long!

For some reason he has never once babbled while in the bath or even make a sound which I find strange!

He has always been a happy baby full of smiles and laughter but sense he has turned 10 months has developed quiet a temper!

Also is an awfully sleeper still up 2 till 3 times a night for a bottle!

Can someone please reassure me that he may be OK because I am so anxious about the whole thing it's destroying me being to enjoy him just being a baby I just love him so much!

He is my 3rd and I really can't remember what my other 2 were doing at that age as they are now teens!

My tenth month old dd sounds pretty similar in what she does to your boy - also my third. Of course I don't know for certain if either of them is OK and I can't remember what's normal either but I am not worried at all and I don't think you should be either 🙂

If it helps, we very recently had her one year review with HV and they listed no concerns.

Mine doesn't babble much at all. Smiles a lot though.

Mine was like this and had glue ear. Grommets at 13 months changed everything. Have you had his ears checked?

Ten months is a little early in my opinion to be doing these things so I would say he's right on track. I've been worrying about my 18 month old having autism and being behind. He closed mouth babbles as well and hums. He does say mumma and dada and does lots of shouting/screaming etc but he doesn't clap or wave and he ignores me lol but I've been assured that he will do it in his own time. Andy health visitor told not to worry about these things unless he gets to 2 and there is no progress. Honestly to me your 10 month old is doing way more that what my boy was at that age.

Hey thanks for the reply!@TotHappy
I have been on with my healt visitor also and she says not to worry and wait until his 1 year review and if no better she will refer him to speech and language,
It just seems he is regressing with his speech! Did your lo used to says things and now has stopped?

@Glueear17
Hi I had him at the doctor he says he doesn't see any glue ear!
Thanks for the reply

Thanks for the reply @ForevermoreAnxious when ur little one is saying mama is he directing it to you?
Does he point?
It's all very worrying :(

Hiya,

Some doctors can see glue ear, some cannot. My doctor could not. I was so worried I took my son privately for a hearing test. They do a tymp test - a probe in his ears and then see the results on screen. Glue ear fluctuates too. We had repeated tests (NHS) over the course of 6 months before they advised to operate. Even if he doesnt have glue ear, the first step is to check his overall heari ng.

I would ask to be referred to audiology via the NHS so they can check throughly if I were you. Lots in your post is so similar to how my boy was. He would barely make a sound in the bath/high chair. My daughter was the opposite. When he had grommets in, it changed all our lives. I could really see the impact his lack of hearing had with all aspects of him.

He is 19 months now and speaking in sentences. More advanced than his sister was at this age although he learns a lot from her!

Just thought I would try and explain the impact of any hearing loss better as this was the issue with my son and I am keen to let others know! I slid into anxiety/depression over his development and read everything I possibly could about everything. Hope this helps!

@Glueear17
Yes this describes my boy perfectly in the bath high chair or if he's being held he won't speak only if he is crawling or standing he would ever really babble does this sound similar?

He never has had an ear infection though his ears would be very waxy and he does pull at them but I just though he was doing it because he was tired!

U have really gave me hope tysm :)

Exactly the same. Crawling would occasionally get some mumumum but never happy babbles. High chair, nothing, not a sound. He was in his own little world all because he couldn't hear. I wrote a full list of all my concerns but the main thing was lack of babbling. We took him to a local children's centre to get their opinion and they asked how much he would babble per day. I remember saying less than 10 minutes per day I would hear him make any noises. It was probably closer to 5 in all honesty. I have never known worry like that. I had never even heard of glue ear!

This time last year I was a complete wreck not knowing how things would go/how I could help him. And I had no idea how much hearing issues could play a part in a child's development. He ended up having a temporary hearing band which did make him more vocal but I would say it was the grommets really that made the biggest difference.
I have been in your place with all the unknowing and I know how you feel. Whatever happens everything will be OK xx

@Glueear17
I am going to get on this straight away after new year! Glue ear has come up when I've been googling and I brought it up to my health visitor but he sometimes responds to his name and turns to hear noises so she said there is no possible way there could be anything wrong with his hearing? :)

That's the other annoying thing about glue ear. It fluctuates! One week he could be fine and the next week not. Our surgeon said she operates when there's fluctuation and the hearing tests show different results for his hearing levels from one to another. After the operation she said we made the best decision for him as they pulled out so much gunk from his ears. Prior to that I was wondering whether I had put him under GA for no reason if it turned out he has no glue.
I hope things go well for you, please do let me know how it all goes. X

Mine has a lot of wax too!
Yes, she regressed sort of - she said mama first then dad (to us - I think) but after about a day of each didn't do it anymore. Its like that was her skill mastered, no need to practice anymore.

Honestly, for 10 months, I would say your lad is on track
My son never babbled much and I was really worried, even at his 2 year review. They said wait and see and lo and behold he went straight to sentences! He could hear. Just didn't talk much. Very physically active instead.

But by all means see an audiologist to check - where I am you can self refer, maybe worth a Google if the HV wont.

Hey @Worriedmummy1991 how did your little one come on?

@TotHappy hey do you have an update on your DD?

I know this is an old post, but just to add, buzzing and closed mouth babbling can be due to teething - the buzzing vibrations help the pain, we were told by a pharmacist.

My son does that a lot, always coincides with a tooth, and he's just started babbling at 10m.

@thecatsthecats oh really, I never knew that, do you think the babbling kinda stops when they’re teething?

@Mumof3bb1
Hey! My little boy is now 18 months! We are still on the waiting list for audiology and ENT!

He didn't say a word till 16 months then it started :) I think he had roughly 20ish words some only we can understand but lots of clear ones to!! We thought he was never gonna talk but he's definitely getting there xx

@Worriedmummy1991 aww that’s brilliant that he’s come on lots! Do you have any other concerns still, I.e staring at hands etc

@Mumof3bb1
A few concerns tbh! He stopped staring at hands then he started Flicking fingers now stopped then started walking alot on tip toes he doesn't do it so much now! His latest thing is spinning in circles and side eyeing which I'm hoping like everything else will stop! He it still loving watching wheels go round but doesn't spin them so I'm just waiting to see, I'm no were as near as concerned as I was and trying not to overthink things and enjoy him the worrying was taking over my life xx

Hi @Mumof3bb1
My DD is doing fab. She has had a huge developmental spurt this summer. She was ill with recurring chest infections through May and June, really poorly and then as she recovered and got back to normal routines through July she started walking and talking. It's been like a waterfall of speech the last 2 months , honestly hard to remember when she didn't talk. She has several very clear words now, that anyone could understand, and lots and lots of words that take some deciphering (I haven't got them all yet!) I haven't made a list but I think 50 is about right. She sings to herself, and tries to communicate verbally often. She said her first 2 word sentence two days ago and I was so proud! Also 18 months.

@TotHappy do you roughly remember what she was like at 11 months? My DS babbled from 10-11 months constantly everyday babassss and a few bubbbubbs but past week he’s been mostly silent, still no clapping, waving or pointing. Can climb stairs, crawl, pull to stand etc I’m getting so worried, was fine last month as I could see he was improving and more interactive. If I say where’s your ball he will look for it until he finds it. Eye contact is 90% there when his sisters play silly games with him he’s always looking at them, lines when we play peek a boo but doesn’t initiate himself. Still no teeth so I’m just hoping that has something to do with it, as he’s always putting his fingers in his ears like they’re hurthing him. If I click my tongue he does copy so I’m guessing that’s imitation. Sorry for the long rant.

I think she was the same as described in my first post here I.e. same as 10 months - she didn't improve in speech much at all until she suddenly did around 16 months. Definitely a spurt, not gradual.
Yours sounds fine to me! Keep practising turn taking like peek a boo, copying his facial expressions etc. And talk talk talk or sing lots. Read lots of books and name the animals. That's just reminded me - before mine started speaking, the one thing she did progress in was animal noises. I always made the noise when we looked at the animal - miaow, woof woof, roar! Roar was one of her favourites and she got more and more of those sounds well before she would speak.