My 9 Month Old Daughter's Babbling - New York,NY

Hi first born mom,
Some babies don't speak until they are two. So at nine months, it's a little early. Does she request things by pointing, does she respond to smiles and frowns, does she listen and see to you and the family...these are communication factors. My little brother didn't speak until almost two, but, then, he spoke in complete sentences blowing us all away. Some kids are just processing everything in their environment. Good luck and enjoy.

A.,

I could have written this post! At 9 months my daughter wasn't making what the books described as babbling with consonants. I was beside myself and my pediatrician told me not to worry as well. I too was worried about apraxia, autism, anything I could google! Eventually she did start to make those typical consonant/vowel combinations and now at 2 1/2 she is speaking in complete sentences and has no speech problems at all. I remember being so obsessed about the milestones that every book said she "should" be reaching. In the end she did things when she was ready and not a minute sooner. Try to relax. I am sure that your daughter is just fine.

Good luck.

Hi A.,

As a graduate student in speech and language pathology, I would highly recommend getting your daughter evaluated by a professional in the field. Pediatricians aren't always aware of how important it is to address potential language issues as early as possible. There is a lot that can be done to stimulate early preverbal skills. You're already ahead of the curve by being aware of the milestones. Early Intervention is a free federal program and if your daughter qualifies it's a fun activity for her and you will learn a lot about how to help get her language going.

D. B.

Hi, my name is M. I also have a 9 month old son in this case and I am experiencing the same issue. It is only because I also have a 5 year daughter and did not have the issue of her speech; she said a lot of words by this age and spoke sentences by her first birthday. My husband expresses the same concerns as to why he is not saying words yet. I am taking in that many kids do developed differently. Like your daughter, he is where he should be with everything else. I am watching him closely. I will keep you updated if you like with his progress. Your not alone. :)

My oldest daughter didn't talk for the longest time .... and now you can't shut her up.

O.k. take a breath. Just because she isn't saying anything doesn't mean much yet. My son never went through a babble stage. No ma ma ma, da da da. He just spoke words. Right from the beginning. Of course he hasn't shut up since, but that is another story. Those guidelines are just that guidelines. My 8 mo old is just starting to say ga ga and she's not even rolling really yet. Take a breath and enjoy the ride. Just because she doesn't hit the mark on everything doesn't mean there is a problem.

I have a son who is turning 1 this week. He is much slwoer than his sister was at this age with his speech. He was not a big babbler and sounds a lot like your daughter. Then all of the sudden it was like a switch was turned on and he babbled all the time with consonants. I think you should give her a little more time. By one my daughter was speaking real words where as my son is not even close to making real words. All children have their own timeline and as long as they are communicating in some way we should just keep encouraging them.

Good luck!

I was exactly in your situation last year. I agree that Early Intervention is a great program, but unless your child is delayed in other areas (gross motor, find motor, etc.)she probably won't qualify yet.

There were a couple of things that really helped us. While I am not a fan of having babies watch much television, there were two types of DVD's that really made a difference. First, to help our son babble more we got a DVD called Baby Babble. It's very simple, but he was really interested in it. Also, it gives tips at the end for what you can do during play time to encourage her to babble/talk. We saw a difference after about a month.

The second DVD that helped us was a series called Baby Bumblebee. Each video has about 20-25 words and is great in getting the child to start saying objects (ball, pig, etc) by showing multiple examples of the word.

Our son didn't start babbling until 11 months and is now 20 months and has about 70 words! Also, he was ahead of the curve in other areas, and had started walking early as well.

If you didn't already mention it to your doctor, let him/her know that your daughter has been getting and then losing the sounds (I don't know if that's significant.) If the doctor is pretty convinced that she's just delayed, (like my son was) then maybe one or both of these videos might help.

Good luck!

I am an audiologist and also a first time mother to a 22 month old girl. I am 38 so I understand what it means to worry. I am happy to say that my daughter is not delayed in speech, but she is delayed in other areas such as gross and fine motor and she did not walk until almost 20 months. Professionally, I believe that your daughter seems all right- at this age it is hard to tell if she is speech delayed. You said that you had her hearing checked and everything turned out fine. How is her receptive language? Does she appear to understand you and appear interested in what you are doing? Does she make eye contact and seem to "take turns" with her babbling and your talking? I would keep singing and talking to her as much as possible- even explain what you are doing to her (mommy is changing your diaper- now mommy is putting on your pajamas and you are going to sleep). While I am not an expert in this area, I dont believe that you have to worry about apraxia at this age unless there is an underlying medical condition like cerebral palsy. Good luck and if you want to talk more, let me know. I am in Brooklyn NY.