When Do Babies Start to Babble? Your Guide to Baby Language Milestones
You’re holding your sweet newborn in your arms and basking in their big doe eyes, cute button nose, and interesting noises. You know, one day that those cute noises will turn into real words! Before they start talking in full sentences, they will begin to babble.
What is baby babble, you may wonder? It’s your little one practicing to one day say real words! Babbling is the noises your baby begins to make when they hear you talk and try to start imitating you! Keep reading to learn more about when your baby should start to babble.
How Your Baby Communicates
Your baby is communicating with you long before they can talk! When they are only a couple months old, they will smile at you and then begin to laugh a couple of more months after that. They will giggle, coo, and cry to let you know how they are feeling.
With this in mind, there are important language milestones that your baby will go through before they start having full conversations with you! These are:
Cooing: Other than crying, cooing is one of the first sounds that your baby will make, and this typically happens around six weeks.
Laughing: Laughing is the next stage you can expect your baby to go through, and this usually happens around sixteen weeks. My daughter started laughing at me for the first time as I was making a fish face!
Babbling: These are noises that seemingly make no sense and are repeated over again with sounds such as “mamama“ and “bababa.” This usually happens between six and nine months old, and they don’t necessarily understand what they are saying. If they say “mama” enough and notice you come every time, they will eventually realize that you are called mama!
The Big “No”: Just like you, your baby hates hearing the word “no,” but they should recognize it between six and eleven months old! They will typically know enough to stop what they are doing when told no, but don’t be surprised if they immediately start back up again!
First Word: You can expect your little one to utter their first real word by the time they hit their first birthday. If that hasn’t happened by their first birthday, it could take up to the time they hit 15 months!
Following Instructions: As long as the instructions are clear and simple, your baby should be able to follow your instructions by the time they are one year old. Your baby will have the desire to communicate with you at this time!
Words: While they won’t be clear and concise at first, your baby will eventually start to speak words! The words that are easiest for your baby will be the words with consonants that come off the lips, such as words with “m” “b” or “p”.
How To Encourage Your Baby To Talk
If you notice your baby is falling behind, there are things you can do to encourage them to start talking. Even if they aren’t behind, you can do these things still to help them advance!
Have a Conversation
Regardless of if your baby is talking or not, holding a conversation with them will stimulate them and help them learn how to speak. My favorite go-to’s are “What did you say? Oh really?” and “That’s so amazing, I don’t believe it!” Your baby will be more than happy to have your undivided attention.
Get Close and Personal
When talking to your baby, get close to them and look them in their face. This shows them you are talking to them and engaged in the interaction.
Imitate Them
For as long as humans have been around, parents have been imitating the sounds of their babies. This allows your baby to hear the noise they are making and encourages them to continue to talk to you.
Narrate Your Activities
As you go about your day, narrate everything you do. This gives your baby something to do, and they will begin learning what different words mean.
When to Be Concerned About Baby Communication
Every baby grows at their own pace, but there are times that you should monitor your baby’s development milestones and take note of certain behaviors. Some of the things you should keep an eye out for are:
Reaction to Loud Sounds: Your baby should be reacting to loud noises by the time they are five months old. If they are not reacting by then, it should be brought up to their pediatrician.
Making Noises: By the time they hit five months old, your baby should be making both happy and unhappy noises.
Looking For The Source of Sounds: Once they hit around six months old, your baby should be looking around to figure out where the sources of noises come from.
Communication: Your baby should begin babbling, imitating noises, and using gestures between six and eleven months to communicate with you.
Name Recognition: Your baby will usually begin recognizing you are calling their name by the time they are ten months old.
Keep Track of Your Baby’s Babbles with Baby Connect
As your baby grows, they will hit plenty of milestones. These are important because they are guidelines to ensure your baby is growing as they should! With this being said, each baby grows at their own pace and may take a little longer to hit certain milestones.
Monitoring your baby’s milestones will help you see if they are on track or not. Using an app such as Baby Connect will help you input all of your baby’s information so you can write all of their accomplishments! Next time their doctor asks what words they are saying, you can confidently pull out your app and tell them all about the sweet sounds your baby is making!
