When did your DC start babbling?

[HarryB]

Just thought I'd do a straw poll. DS is almost 8 months and is still on ahhs and ga gas. He can be quite loud and shouts a lot, blows bubbles, chuckles and giggles etc, but I've not yet heard any mmm or ddd sounds - although I'm sure he did a "ba" once.

I feel a bit bad as I do talk to him throughout the day, but sometimes when I'm doing the washing and stuff, I think shite, I've not spoken to DS for a while - I feel like I should be talking to him non-stop. It would be comforting to know I'm not alone.

DD didn't babble much at all though I waffled on at her constantly so she probably didn't have much chance. She said her first word at 7 months though, learnt words steadily from then on, said quite a lot at a year and was chatting normally at about 18 months so maybe she just missed out the babbling bit.

I do remember the HV coming to visit her when she was about 15 months old and she said 'does baby babble lots then?' DD turned round and said 'no I talk'.

SoH, that is brilliant. I can imagine the HV's face accompanied by a "but that isn't in the book" sneer.

It was blardy funny. I'd just had the 10 minute 'why are you still bfeeding, you're infantilising her, she'll never develop normally, you'll fade away, your plants will all die, the four horseman are coming, you weirdo bfeeder' speech when dd did it. She wrote two words in dd's red book. 'Seems normal'. I still look at it sometimes when I need cheering up.

I can remember thinking the same thing, that I hadn't spoken to my DD for a while, and this was when I was feeding her etc. I mentioned it to a friend of mine and she said the same.

They know how to get your attention if they want it, the chances are your mind has been able to wander because your DS is occupied in his own thoughts too!

Btw my DD is 16mo and always chattering away and has lots of recognisable words so hasn't done her any harm!

DD didn't babble until a week before her 1st birthday (I know this as the HVs rang me up to check so they could tick some boxes).

Before that she didn't shut up, but she sounded like she was talking to an alien species. Rather than 'goo' and 'gaa' we had 'khnaargghktthththt pluurghkhfnuukt' (usually while breathing in rather than out) - DD knows something we don't... She talks fine now, although she gives herself and her toys some very weird names.

LOL at SoH's DD though.

I'm a SALT

8 months is average for babbling but they don't all seem to do it much. Certainly my own daughter didn't babble much because she was such a placid baby. She said her first words at 13 months and spoke in four word sentences by 19 months.

It's not a huge worry, but deaf children don't babble fully and I think that's why HVs look for it.

I felt like we were accompanied by two ficticious other children for months when my son was 8 months +. They were called Arry and Abi and he yelled their names all the time. If this counts as babbling then he did it.

But then he too talked early and had over 100 words at 15 months. First born so I didn't know better!

My DD is almost 8 months and she started on Sunday, completely out of the blue and she hasn't stopped since. She mainly says "die-die-die" I hoping she doesn't mean it

lol at showofhands hv though.

Harry B - I have huge pangs of guilt about sometimes ignoring dd for large parts of the day and I'm not a particularly talkative person. However, dd said first word at 8 months and is stringing lots of words together at 15 months.

I don't believe this proficiency is anything much to do with me, except that I was an early talker and she has inherited my genes.

The other babies I know of the same age as dd have all developed at very different rates, some much more slowly than dd, but they all have parents who talk to them as much as we talk to dd.

What I'm trying to say is don't worry about it too much at this stage. I'm sure you talk to him enough.

Thanks everyone. I seriously need to throw the baby books out of the window and chill out