First Words

About four weeks ago now Alexander said mumma! It happened when one of the girls wanted to cuddle him and he did not want to leave me. It was so nice to hear the word said. However, he has not said much since. Some garbles of sounds that might be mumma or dadda but not exactly. Some other mutterings that are just loud noises. He is definitely practicing with pitch and sounds; he is very loud when he gets going.

As you can imagine I have been hanging for a repeat on him saying more words. I think I will claim that his first word was mumma but I wondered what else he would say and when.

Last Sunday hubby was telling the baby that his name is Alexander. He said it slowly and then the baby repeated sounds that did sound like he said his own name. However, this too has not been repeated. I suppose it is a start.

I speak to Alexander about everything I am doing. I might look like a mad person when I’m shopping with him as I am having a full conversation with him and of course he cannot answer. Explaining things to your child even if they cannot speak is a great thing to do. It helps with them learning language and fosters great engagement.

This is what I do to encourage talking:

• When the baby gurgles I talk about what I think it means. I engage with my little boy and have a fun pretend conversation.
• When I am out and about I talk to my baby about where we are going, what we are doing and point out interesting things to look at or touch. For example, if we are at the park, I let him touch tree trunks, leaves and the grass. It is a great interactive experience.
• I sing songs and also create some very sill ones as well. If I am doing something boring I make up a silly song to make it fun for the baby. It also helps me have fun and play with him as well.
• When my little boy babbles away I make sure to listen to what he has to say. I leave a gap and then respond. It is just like we are having a real conversation.
• When I change his nappy I talk about body parts; feet, hands, knees, cheeks, head. I also talk about clothes, socks and different colours. This helps your little one recognise words and items.
• I also repeat names of our little boy’s sisters so that he can learn to know how to say their names also.
• We read books together and I have some books that are tactile that allow him to touch and feel different things. However mostly when I read it is to the bigger kids and the baby wants to grab the books. I do read baby appropriate books to Alexander and he loves the bright colours and funny drawings.

I did all this with my twin girls and they were talking early. Maybe Alexander will be the same?

I’m still waiting for our little person to say more words or at least say mumma more than once. It will be interesting to see what word he says next.

What word did your little one say first?