So, I just received my first "you have a toddler email update". I'm not really finding it as "traumatic" as I've heard other moms. I'm really excited about having a toddler (I wanted this sentence to be on record somewhere!).
Anyhow, here's an excerpt from the email:
Q: What counts as a first word? A: Your child probably hasn't meant anything specific by the random babbling he's been doing for months. Now, however, he's learning to connect the sounds he's making with the things they stand for. He's also developing the physical skills to make that happen. "Speaking is a combination of using not only the airway and mouth but also the tongue against the roof of the mouth, which is quite a coordination effort," says Sajjad Yacoob, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. That means the first words your child will speak are likely to use sounds that require less coordination. "'Mama,' for example, uses just the lips," says Yacoob. "'Dada." on the other hand, requires the tongue to go against the roof of the mouth, so it typically comes later." In the case of identifying your baby's true first word, though, expert opinion is only that — opinion. Whether or not an utterance is a bona fide word is something only parents can decide.
Everyone knows what I'm a little traumatized about is that Gavin won't say "mama". He says "dada" which according to the above notes should be harder for him to say. To make it worse, every time I say "Gavin, say mama" he answers with "da-da". I don't understand.
On a happy note,here's Gavin enjoying his birthday balloon. I absolutely love this video and I have watched it a few dozen times today. I miss him (he's at my mom's today) so I play the video every chance I get.
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