One of the most exciting milestones of the bub has been talking. Right from the first day of conception, we always wondered if he will call mama first or papa first. And if he will walk first or talk first. The elderly will say that babies that talk first will have a good life, while babies that walk first are hardworking. My hubby talked first, and I walked first (SIGH!). Being a scientist, I am less skeptical that talking / walking first will define his entire life ahead of him. Not to mention that it is mainly hearsay and not much scientific evidence behind that comment. Nonetheless, it is fun to anticipate and bet on which happens first!
As the months built up, it became apparent that my son was more eager to process thoughts and talk rather than move his limbs. By the time he was 5 months (when he blurted his first MAMA albeit without meaning), both hb and I were convinced without a doubt that he will speak first. Sure enough, he was calling mama and papa by 9 months (deliberately, not just random mumbling); he could speak a few words by his first birthday; and by 15 months he is learning a few words a week while imitating random words we say, and at the same time connecting words into phrases. (see here on what I did to try and help him speak earlier / build his vocabulary from young)
Throughout the months, I always found myself anticipating the ‘next word’ he would learn. I googled for the most common baby’s first words – most did NOT make sense (e.g. dinosaur), while others were too straight forward (papa and mama). I tested some words and decided to teach my son a few words that we encountered daily and I thought were easy to learn (e.g. banana, lalala, mooo), but he decided to speak other words instead. I realized that every bub will choose their own first words differently, be it things they like, or sounds that they find fun, or words that they figured out the way to pronounce first. Whatever it is, don’t rush them, and have fun! And if you’re like me curious about what your baby will say first, here’s my very own list to share 🙂
- mama
- papa
- car
- ball
- moo (sound of cow)
- bus
- roar (lion / tiger)
- bird
- bear
- fish
- there
- bobobo (sound of motorbike)
- bom bom bom (sound of drum)
- chee chee chee (sound of monkey)
- yeye (grandfather)
- card
- banana
- baby
- star
- jiejie (older sister)
- chair
- book
- korkor (older brother)
- cut
- cheese
- touch
- hot
- cold
- hair
- hulk (yes, the fictional super hero)
- bao bei (precious darling – his pet name)
- cap
- poo poo
