Original Post: July 19, 2013

My 6th months old speech and language development appears to be right on track. She is babbling away. Sadly her first string was dadada, really after all we’ve been through, dada. Well of course it’s not her first “true” word but still “mama” would have made me feel so good inside and of course every time she babbles away he rubs it in my face. Verbally she is doing great, motor wise she has what I call “the last baby syndrome”. The last baby syndrome is when you have that last child and the older siblings do everything for them. So, your little princess ends up having real life handlers. My little chunky pants not only had 2 older sisters but she was also watched by her grandparents when I returned to work and she didn’t have to do a thing but eat, poop and smile. She learned to do those really well.

As a result chunky pants didn’t get much belly time. I am really lucky to have a wonderful Occupational Therapist (OT) who is a great friend look at her and sure enough my gut was correct. Chunky was doing everything to avoid belly time. That day I realized Chunky rarely spent time on her belly and when we did lay her down on her belly she would either lay there and pout or quickly flip herself over. After a nice scolding, because I should know better, I was instructed to have belly time at least 15 minutes a day or we could risk her being behind.

Belly time in our home has increased and she still hates it but tolerates it much more. She is beginning to scoot and appears to be close to crawling. Overall, Chunky is doing well she still doesn’t have any teeth but at her last check up remained in the 96 percentile both in height and weight.

If you have a 6-12 month old below are somethings you should be looking for:

Speech & Language “expected development 4-6 months

• Follows sounds with his or her eyes
• Responds to changes in the tone of your voice
• Babbles in a speech-like way and uses many different sounds, including sounds that begin with p, b, and m
• Babbles when excited or unhappy
• Makes gurgling sounds

Speech & Language “expected development 7-12 months 7 Months to 1 Year

• Enjoys playing peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
• Turns and looks in the direction of sounds
• Listens when spoken to
• Understands words for common items such as “cup,” “shoe,” or “juice”
• Responds to requests (“Come here” or “Want more?”)
• Babbles using long and short groups of sounds (“tata, upup, bibibi”)
• Babbles to get and keep attention
• Communicates using gestures such as waving or holding up arms
• Imitates different speech sounds
• Has one or two words (“Hi,” “dog,” “Dada,” or “Mama”) by first birthday

For motor development visit National Network for Child Care

Here are 5 things you can do to help facilitate your child’s speech and language development.

• Talk with your baby all the time.
• Label items and actions throughout your day.
• Play little games with your little one (i.e., Peek-a-boo)
• Do activities with your little ones (as age permits) baking
• Read, read, and read again. Small books come in handy for those little hands. Remember it’s ok to reread books, it actually helps with literacy.

What to do if your little skills are not emerging:

• Share your concerns with your pediatrician
• Share your concerns with a local speech language pathologist
• Listen to your gut.
• Share belly time.