Hudson Valley Parent

8 Hudson Valley Baby Guide Baby babble What your child is trying to tell you By JILL DIGIOVANNI M y daughter, Isabella, has always been a very vocal, communicative baby. When she was just a newborn in the hospital, I would talk to her, tell her how beautiful and precious she was. She'd wiggle around and bat her eyes as if to say, "Yes, mommy, I am!" She might not have been responding to that extent, but I believe she was communicating with me. Indeed she was! Babies recognize voices at early age Research shows that even before they are born, babies are engaged in the earliest forms of communi- cation. When mom speaks or sings, babies will respond to the voice with a kick in the belly or an elbow in the ribs. Additionally, studies show that babies recognize their mothers' voices shortly after birth having already become familiar with the mother's voice while in the womb. Deciphering baby's cries As baby's journey of communica- tion continues, they use crying as one their forms of communication. The question becomes, how does the caregiver decode these cries? Does a certain cry mean one thing and others something else? "Well, yes and no." Debra Zeifman, a Vassar psychology professor who specializes in infant development explains, "No, there is not a distinct cry for each painful stimulus like hunger versus pain, but yes, there is a graded level of distress in the infants cry." The scale of the baby's cry or distress can help distinguish what they're trying to communicate. Combine the gradation of the cry with the caregiver's awareness that, for example, it's been several hours since the baby ate, therefore the cry means the baby is hungry. Building blocks to language By 1-3 months of age, the American Academy of Pediatrics speech development milestones say, when babies hear their caregiver speak vowel sounds, the baby may begin to repeat the "oh's" or "ah's," and by 3-4 months, they move to new sounds starting with P's, M's, B's, and D's. These are the building blocks for early language development. Zeifman explains that the back and forth exchange of "coos" and other sounds is an example of "turn taking," which is the foundation of language. Advanced babble Around 6-8 months old, babies will begin to babble. Zeifman states "Babbling is universal across The first babblings of cover kid winner, Shaelynn, according to her mom, were "da-da-da." photo by Jeremy Landolfa of Visual Concepts Photography, jeremylandolfa.com

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