9mths and still not chattering......

At our last CHN appointment, the nurse said it was a bit unusual that Izzy isn't chattering yet - doing all the repetitive noises like lalalala, dadadada etc yet. She told me to keep an eye on it for 6-8 weeks and review after that. I'm a bit worried still though even though she wasn't too worried. It definately isn't linked to her hearing, she can have her back to me and I can say her name softly and she will turn around, and we also say things like clap - and she will clap, dance and she will dance, daddy and she looks at him etc....

We talk to her all the time, and say things like mamamam, dadadada etc and she just smiles at us and squeals. She makes sounds throughout the day like grunts, squeals and screams! but just no chatter...

Has anyone else had this with their baby and things have been ok... It is so hard not to worry and wonder if it is something more serious.. :(
TIA

hiya Tanstar,

this may seem totally unrelated but how is she with eating? i read somewhere recently that chewing helps the vocal chords.

I wouldn't worry about it. Like all their developmental milestones, it can happen at an earlier or later age than the 'average' age. And some babies just don't do a lot of babbling and its not a given that there is a possible problem there. She is receptive of what you say to her and makes noises in response to what you say to her, its just not chatter kwim? My third bub didn't even really start to talk until she was just over 2yo, and she wasn't near the chatter box the older two were as babies either, but now she is talking fine - hard to understand sometimes but she is still 'age appropriate' in her speech.

It really irks me that MCHN's and some Drs etc try to make our babies fit into squares all the time when they might be circles or triangles instead.....

Thanks for the reassurance ladies!

AMM- shes eating ok but still doesnt like lumpy food much! Having said that if we give her anything to self feed she loves it and "chews" quite happily.

Sherie - I know its horrible the way they have time frames for everything, and in hindsight Im sure I will wonder why I was worried - I mean really, what can we do about it anyway? It doesnt help me now while Im worried though and so is DH :rolleyes:

She is so active though, so I wonder if that is why she doesn't really talk. She has been crawling since 6 mths and is now almost walking, cruising furniture, and letting go of things and standing. From the minute shes awake she doesn't stop - so its like she doesnt have time to just sit and chat. Ugggghhhhh mother guilt and worry really s*cks.

Your welcome tanstar, I was going to say something about the nurse in my first post, well I was going to ask whether you would have been concerned if she had not of said what she did?

When my DS was 6 weeks old I had a home visit and the nurse was telling me to watch out for his head which was flattish at the back and to give him more tummy time. My son had had major abdominal surgery after his birth, so yes, tummy time would have been helpful but not with a wound such as his that was still healing. Also by that stage he was sleeping though 12 hours on his back so what was I supposed to do, except take what she said with a grain of salt which I did.

Your Izzy sounds like she is growing and socialising just fine!

Sherie ~ I like what you said about the circles and triangles too. It seems that babies cannot just be babies these days, they have to be super babies... which causes us mummas so much stress!!

LOL Tan, it sure doesn't help with the worries we have from time to time. She might just *click* one day and you wont get her to stop - she might not chatter at all and move onto real words instead - there is no way of knowing how they are going to do it. I would be more concerned if she wasn't responsive when she was spoken too and she has no trouble with that at all.

Tanstar I'm sure she'll be fine :hug: If I were you, I'd give her another couple of months, and then if she isn't babbling get it checked out. That way, you can see if it is just her (ie she's been putting all her developmental effort into those other things like crawling, cruising etc and speech isn't a priority for her) or if you need to look into it further. So perhaps write down a date on your calendar sometime in the future, and try to forget about it until then and enjoy your little speedy girl :)

Tan, it seems to me that alot of babies put there effots into either moving about, or chatting! Obviously that's not always the case, some do both!

DS is still commando crawling, shows absolutely no interest in pulling himself up onto furniture, cannot go from sitting to cawling and vice versa, cannot clap etc etc. So although he's not 'behind' he's not nearly as developed as some babies his age. Yet he chatters away ALL DAY and has learnt to wave and say bye bye.

What I'm trying to say is that they're all different (as the other ladies have already pointed out) and will do things when they're ready. I guess if by the time she's one you don't think she's improving you could check it out, but if you know her hearing is okay, then she's probably just not interested in doing it yet :)

Try not to stress hun, it sounds as if she's going great guns in the moving about department!

Tan, I agree with the advice about not worrying. They all do things at different stages. My two boys are so different that way - Jack was talking really early, and I have been really worried about Thomas who wasn't even close to doing things at the same age. But for the last few weeks (at 15 -16 months), he has really started saying a heap of words all of a sudden. He was understanding what we were saying to him, but just took his time talking back LOL. I am sure Izzy will be the same. I have been told that they should be saying 50 words by 2 1/2, so she has plenty of time!!

I agree with the others Tan - Izzy will start chattering when she is ready and then you won't be able to shut her up :lol:

I know its hard not to worry, but our little ones will do what they want when they want and don't follow guidelines! I've learnt that with Elena recently and I'm trying to stress less. Izzy is doing fantastically well in the moving department and can obviously hear ok so chances are she will start chattering soon.

Hey Tan

I'm a Speechie. To me, it sounds like Izzy is putting all her efforts into developing her motor skills (which sound fantastic!)...

I wouldn't worry to much about the chattering...keep an eye on it, for sure, but don't stress about it.

Developmental milestones are important...but they shouldn't be so narrow that it doesn't allow for individuality. They are approximations of when things should happen...and they are AVERAGES not exacts.

Keep on doing what you are doing...talking to her...repeating sounds, having fun with language (rhyming, making silly sounds, etc.). Keep reading to her...and it will all come together.

Nattie is the same as Izzy and DH and i talk about it often. She is almost walking but hasnt made any sounds such as mamamam or dadadad just happy squeals, screams and laughter. Its not something i have been overly concerned about as have wondered if she is delayed in speech due to being born 5 weeks early.
I think one day we will be suprised when our bubs start talking and dont stop :)

Yes DS can babble away but is nowhere near pulling himself up, clapping, waving etc. I think it's amazing how different babies are and yours is just slower in babbling and faster in dancing!

i really wouldnt be too worried about when she "should" be reaching her milestones she'll get there when she's ready. However a good friend of mine had the same problem with her son, but he was over 1Yrold and it turned out to be a tonsil problem. he had them removed and you couldnt stop from talking. he still managed to learn how to speak without speaking IYKWIM.:D

Thanks so much for all of your replies!
Funny isn't it - since posting this thread, she has now started a tiny bit of chatter!, not alot but something! She makes sounds and moves her tongue over her lips to make different noises and raises and lowers her voice as well! She started a little bit of repetitive sounds but nothing that you can make out. She just popped out with it the other day and I laughed my head off - cheeky girl! We are still waiting for the nananana/lalalala/mamamama noises (especially mamamama ;) ) but Im sure they will come when she is good and ready!