Infant Communication 101
So, do you want to hear about one of my biggest challenges and fears as a mom?
The need to talk to my baby, and the fear that I wouldn’t talk to him enough.
I am not a natural talker. Now, before A.J. comments to let you all know otherwise (hehe), I do enjoy having conversations, and I can be quite verbose once I get on a roll. But I am not a person who chit-chats to fill up the air. My default mode is not talking.
But I strongly believe in the importance of being verbal with your baby for their speech and mental development. The more I learned about it, the more I was committed to it.
Of course I loved talking baby talk and sweet nothings to my little cutie, but when I was so tired from being up repeatedly at night, it was hard to keep up the chitter chatter!
But with time, it has gotten much easier. I find myself naturally talking to him now, as opposed to reminding myself. The older he gets, the more he is able to understand and respond, which is very rewarding and encouraging to continue.
I read that back-and-forth “conversations” help a lot, even with a pre-verbal child, and I love to pretend we’re actually having a discussion when I respond to a string of babbling. 
I’m not perfect in this area, and sometimes I envy other moms who seem to be more enthusiastic and natural talkers than I am. But the Lord has been good to give me reminders and encourage me to persevere.
I was most anxious about this challenge with my firstborn, because I am home alone with him most of every day and I affect him more than anyone else. I think it will come a little more easily with Baby #2, because she’ll have a built-in talker besides me.
Some of Christian’s most-used words and phrases: “There you go!” (I say this all the time), “car,” “Bible,” and of course, “Mama.” He says quite a few other words and I have to admit some of my favorites are the unintelligible ones only A.J. and I understand, like his garbled versions of “flowers” and “toothbrush.”
I’d love to hear what any of you have to share on this topic!
Believe it or not, I actually struggled with this fear when I had Q, too. I tend to do a lot of introverted thinking (unless there is someone around whose ear I can gab off) so I was afraid I would be too quiet and not engage in “conversation” with Q.
Ha. I think he knows more words than I do. 
BUT, I totally get this and think it’s part of a lot of Mom’s initial mothering fears.
Since Baby #1 is still on her way, I actually ahd never thought of this. I also struggle with internal thoughts and tend to be on the quieter side. Even when I’m talking, I’m quiet! 
I hadn’t thought to keep this in mind, but thank you for sharing your thoughts on it. It’s encouraging to hear that God’s active and lovingly sovereign, even in our motherhood–especially with the things we sincerely hope to get right.
P.S. You and your little man are adorable!
So sweet! I’m like you in that I don’t like to fill the empty air with random chit-chat when others around. But once someone engages a “meaningful” conversation, it’s hard to get me to shut-up. =D
Aw, cute pic! Weird… I worried about this too back when my kids were littler, and I had no idea that was a “normal” momma concern. Sometimes I’d feel so guilty when I realized it’d been an hour or whatever, and I hadn’t said a word to my baby about what I was doing with them, or whatever. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t actually that long, but sometimes it felt like it. On the flip side, as much as we’re snugglers and lovers, we never spoke much baby talk, and NEVER babied down our language for them, and they both have vocabulary beyond their years now.
Aww! He is so cute (and you look lovely)! I love this topic… I took a child psychology class and half a chapter of our textbook was devoted to babies and language. Apparently, infant-directed speech (aka babytalk) is universal among moms (and to a lesser extent, dads) of all cultures, so there’s no need to worry about not doing it ‘right’—we seem to be wired to speak to babies that way. Isn’t God amazing?
(Interesting sidenote: I remember there was a study done where moms read excerpts of stories out loud while pregnant. When their babies were a few days old, they read either the same excerpt or a different one to their child. Turns out, the babies recognized the story they had heard in utero!)
Aaah, I could go on for hours. It’s so neat that you get to see this development first-hand.
I find with a girl I have no choice but to talk all the time…because she never, ever stops! I wouldn’t worry too much…you obviously do a great job and don’t you find their learning comes in sudden waves? Some days they seem to catch on to nothing and then suddenly they learn a ton of new things.
I feel like I talk to Gooner ALL THE TIME! Like sometimes I have to remind myself that she just needs to play and explore on her own! I think it’s pretty awesome that you care so much! When Gooner was born we were in Texas living WITH my parents, so she had FOUR adults around for her first year. Her vocabulary exploded early on. You are right, what a mother says is VERY important.
So, I have struggled with this (not as a mommy yet, since I don’t have any little ones!) and I remember someone saying when I was younger and holding a newborn “Just talk to them!” and wondering whatever I was going to say!
But when my niece was born, and I started watching her occasionally, talking became a lot easier. Now she will babble at me and I’ll reply and she babbles again and uses her hands to talk and “explain”. She is also getting to where she’ll go get a blanket and get up beside me on the couch and put it over us and want to have a chat. And it is so cute, even though I usually don’t know what exactly we’re chatting about yet… and makes all the nonsense I’ve talked over the past year and a half very worth it. So I’m thinking that when the time is right and we need it as mommies or aunties, God gives us more quiet people that extra boost of words, and I’m thankful!
Love your blog! I don’t have any kids but I took a lot of classes in college on child development and it sounds like you are right on track! I love the fact that you are open with your concerns so that others that might have the same fear can relate. I’m sure I will one day have that same fear!
Micah can say quite a few words now too. It is so neat to see them changing more each day! My favorite word Micah says is his version of the word “jellybeans” (Andrew’s potty training treat – and Micah’s favorite treat now too!)
First off, I have no doubt that your children (eeep!
) will develop just fine. Two, I think it’s neat that God gave you a child to work on talking to.As opposed to some sort of lifestyle that required public speaking, something that, to me, would be harder to get through. But God chose to give you Christian, alone with you in your home to work on it 