My Baby’s First Word: Not what a new parent ever wants to hear…

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My son said his first word within a few weeks of coming home from the NICU. Out of his mouth came the words we would infamously refer to as “baby’s first words.”

“Help!”

My husband and I looked at each other and asked, “Did you hear what I heard? Did he just say ‘help’?”

Umm… not the best omen for new parents adjusting to newborn life with their preemie.

Let the Babbling Begin

Little Man has babbled his heart out as he’s rolled, crawled and toddled – with no additional coherent words whatsoever. At over 12 months old, the closest he got to saying articulate words was “data” and “dada” – both totally indiscriminately at anything he saw.

When he came home from the NICU, we were advised to not use screens with him or play music/talks so it wouldn’t hinder his hearing and verbal development.

As a result, his primary screen exposure has consisted of video calls with family and his mama’s work-outs. (He’s an avid Baby Strong aficionado.)

Yet, I struggled to NOT listen to music and podcasts, especially while watching Little Man pick up and toss another random plastic container for the 100th time.

It’s been so good for my mind and my heart to learn more about self-growth, God, relationships and the like while being in the sole company of a super-fun, not-quite verbal little person.

But, boy, oh boy, has it often brought on the guilt. I’ve facilitated between worrying that I’m ruining my child’s language abilities to smooshing the fear down so I could get some mental stimulation in these weird baby-taby-toddler days.

Naturally, I’ve started to wonder – did all my podcasts stunt my son’s verbal language? How could I be so selfish? C’mon, girl, get over yourself. It’s okay to be bored!

(And it is. But that’s another topic for another time.)

Verbal Explosion

Something changed, though, in the past few days. He’s mimicking words like crazy and connecting items with what is what. I’m totally blown away and excited to try new words with him.

One of his first new words? Broccoli.

His vocabulary has expanded to include:

• Ice
• Cheese
• Book
• Rock
• Turtle
• Sock
• Brush
• Belt
• Basket
• Snuggle (Snck – it’s a work in progress)
• Bacon
• Puff

Even better – it’s not totally just mimicry. He’s actually showing that he understands the connection between the word and the object. Woohoo!

Honestly, isn’t it one of the most exciting things to see and hear someone learn something new? It invariably makes feel like punching the air with excitement.

Be kind to yourself

All this to say… cut yourself some slack, mama. Your child is absorbing far more than you realize. They’re moving at their own pace in their own timeline that’s best for them.

In the grand scheme, it really doesn’t matter what baby’s first words are or the countless other first’s that happen.

Breathe. You’ve got this.

In case you’re curious, he does like to say “dada” arbitrarily as he toddles and flops around the house. No people-related words, just objects. Clearly, we have a people-oriented little person in our household… Oh well.

(And… You’re not alone. This is definitely a rinse-and-repeat cycle of remembering that your child is, more likely than not, moving as they should in their lane. I’m pretty confident this is something I’ll find myself being “blown away” again and again and again…)

You can live intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved.