16 week old baby has stopped cooing

[ChasedByBees]

My 16 week old was cooing and babbling from about 9 weeks old, particularly in the morning. About two weeks ago I left her happily babbling away while I left the room for a couple of minutes and when I returned, she was grunting and looking very pleased with her new noise.

Since then she mainly grunts and barely coos at all. She makes as much eye contact and smiles and laughs, but it's the same reactions but silent. Is this normal? We've both (DH and me) been trying all morning to get her to babble but nothing - she's been smiling but silent. Should I be worried?

Normal. Babies often learn a new skill, do it for a couple of weeks then stop. It's as if they get fed up of it - almost as if they go 'right, I've done that, what can I learn next?' then start up again a few weeks later.

Phew thank you, I was starting to worry! I hope she starts again soon, it was cute.

Mine swapped cooing for loud whoops . We'd be in a really quiet place like a supermarket in the day-time and he'd let out these big shouts like some sort of exotic bird. If there was another baby in a different aisle, they'd often whoop back like a primitive homing signal. :) Keep chatting to your baby and I'm sure they'll be burbling away again soon.

Thank you both, that's reassuring. She does sound like a baby honeymonster, I'm looking forward to her getting bored of this noise too. :)

Ugh, I remember this. I loved DHs coo-ing then when he was about the same age as your DD he suddenly started fake coughing instead. 'Uh uh uh uh uh'. All the time. Made me very sad.

Now he's 14 months and has an enormous menagere (sp?!) of noises but he mostly likes to yell 'No! No! No!' whilst doing something he shouldn't be.

DD (27 wks) did exactly that too!

She started cooing again! And not only that, but she now has new sounds. :) She does a fake cough (so having read your post Feak, this didn't bother me) and she can also say 'oooooo'.

So cute!

Ha, at our 2 month check up, the paediatrician asked if dd was cooing. More like grunting and squawking for the most part... she can coo, but apparently prefers to make loud noises...!