I’m wondering when Meg is really going to break loose and start talking. Not worried – I know she’s on the right track – I’m just wondering what is taking her so long to really get going.
She has all the “precursors” to language that I learned of in graduate school. She makes consonant sounds constantly, she repeats sounds back to you if you say them to her, and she points and communicates CLEARLY with her body language. She’s getting there. But, at our 17 month stage in life, her vocabulary only includes “NO!” “Yeah!” “Yes” “Dada” “Mama” and most recently “Baaa” for “bye.”
The funny thing is that on her first birthday, she was also saying “Georgia” “Baby” and “Doggie” . . . and I have no idea where those words went. My friends tell me that is totally normal . . . I just wonder why she stopped saying them. She still sees dogs all the time in the neighborhood, and of course she still recognizes and points out the Georgia “G.” Just no words to go with those items any more.
Meg does still continue to use her baby signs all the time. She does “all done” at the end of nearly every meal. She points to her mouth for “juice” – which she has also said WITH the sign on a handful of occasions. She waves bye and hi and blows kisses. Certain members of my family (Meg’s Grandaddy) are concerned that the signing is delaying her speech. That is not true, I’m confident of that. Millions of babies are signing, and there is no research saying that it delays speech (there is research to contrary, actually). My good friend that works with children with speech difficulties says that babies crawl before the walk, so they can sign before they talk. Totally true. And her nearly-2-year-old daughter signed even MORE than Meg, and she is well on her way to an outstanding vocabulary at 23 months old.
I know – don’t rush it. What is the rush? She can completely communicate with me. She understands EVERYTHING I say, and processes requests without hesitation. She’s fantastic. Maybe that is what Meg thinks – what is the rush? I walked so super-early Mom, but I can’t do it ALL ahead of schedule, you know?
Like I said, I’m wondering, not worried. I am anxious more than anything. The few little words she says are just a sneak peek into what her little voice is going to sound like – and I really can’t wait for that.
I have a feeling that – like the walking thing – when she starts, they’ll be no stopping her. For now, we’ll communicate as we do and enjoy the silence. It might only last so long.
She has all the “precursors” to language that I learned of in graduate school. She makes consonant sounds constantly, she repeats sounds back to you if you say them to her, and she points and communicates CLEARLY with her body language. She’s getting there. But, at our 17 month stage in life, her vocabulary only includes “NO!” “Yeah!” “Yes” “Dada” “Mama” and most recently “Baaa” for “bye.”
The funny thing is that on her first birthday, she was also saying “Georgia” “Baby” and “Doggie” . . . and I have no idea where those words went. My friends tell me that is totally normal . . . I just wonder why she stopped saying them. She still sees dogs all the time in the neighborhood, and of course she still recognizes and points out the Georgia “G.” Just no words to go with those items any more.
Meg does still continue to use her baby signs all the time. She does “all done” at the end of nearly every meal. She points to her mouth for “juice” – which she has also said WITH the sign on a handful of occasions. She waves bye and hi and blows kisses. Certain members of my family (Meg’s Grandaddy) are concerned that the signing is delaying her speech. That is not true, I’m confident of that. Millions of babies are signing, and there is no research saying that it delays speech (there is research to contrary, actually). My good friend that works with children with speech difficulties says that babies crawl before the walk, so they can sign before they talk. Totally true. And her nearly-2-year-old daughter signed even MORE than Meg, and she is well on her way to an outstanding vocabulary at 23 months old.
I know – don’t rush it. What is the rush? She can completely communicate with me. She understands EVERYTHING I say, and processes requests without hesitation. She’s fantastic. Maybe that is what Meg thinks – what is the rush? I walked so super-early Mom, but I can’t do it ALL ahead of schedule, you know?
Like I said, I’m wondering, not worried. I am anxious more than anything. The few little words she says are just a sneak peek into what her little voice is going to sound like – and I really can’t wait for that.
I have a feeling that – like the walking thing – when she starts, they’ll be no stopping her. For now, we’ll communicate as we do and enjoy the silence. It might only last so long.
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