Development I -- Syllables

5:09 a.m. -- 6 mos., 26 days

Almost too much going on with Baby A these days to recount, almost all of it more typical of infant growth from 8-12 months. As our pediatrician said a few months back, she's a baby in a hurry. We'll try to summarize a few major developments in the next few days, in descending order of parental pleasure (or ascending order of parental annoyance).

Three weeks ago, Baby A awoke in an unusually good mood and, sitting on M's chest, declared "Ah-di-bah" -- the first time she'd put consonants together with vowels. We exulted. She noted our response, and she's hardly shut up since.

"I'm shocked," said my unwontedly ironic mother, "that a child growing up with you two as parents would think that talking was important."

It's true: Baby A is not growing up in a household of the taciturn. And it's true that we've encouraged her vocalizations from Day 1, spending long minutes with our faces inches from hers, cooing, babbling, howling, imitating. Whether this has paid off depends upon your tolerance for infants saying "Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya" for 10 minutes at a stretch.

We particularly like the moments when she practices sotto voce. From across the room you can see her jaw moving up and down rapidly, like she's chewing gum. Up close, you'll hear her whisper "Chuh chuh chuh chuh. Chuh chuh chuh chuh." Then, after the private recital, she'll decide the sound is ready for public utterance: "Chuh! Chuh chuh chuh!"

The short "a" sound (as in "mama" and "dada") must be the easiest to say, since it's her standard vowel. A couple of weeks ago she was sitting on M's lap at the breakfast table when M pointed me out: "That's your daddy. Da-da." Immediately, Baby A said, "Da da da da da."

Cue double takes and dropped utensils. Was this her first word? Was she even more of a genius than we have not-so-secretly wished for?

She smiled at me. "Da da da da."

M was certain she was connecting sound to idea: "She knows! She's doing it!"

"Da da da da."

When do kids start speaking, anyway?

"Da da da da da."

"There's your mommy," I said. "Ma-ma."

"Da da da da da."

"M's are harder to say than d's and b's," I consoled. "I've heard 'Da-da' is a typical first word."

"Da da da da da."

When Baby A settled for her morning nap, her parents contemplated early university admission programs.

I decided to spend the day with her practicing both "Dada" and "Mama," with sign language gestures for each, to surprise her mother when she got home from work.

But, despite guidance ranging from enthusiastic to exasperated to unhinged, since that morning Baby A has not in my hearing uttered the "da" syllable one time.

She loves the vowel sound, but, like a capricious kid at the height of a playground fad for yo-yos, she tried the "D" consonant, enjoyed it, and dropped it. She probably looks at us, babbling "Da-da, Da-da," the way hip kids view the nerds still trying "Walk The Dog" and "Around The World" months after everyone has moved on to skateboards or "High School Musical" or the latest Nintendo craze. "Y" is clearly the syllable of the moment.

I knew my kid would make me feel hopelessly old and out-of-touch and uncool. I just didn't imagine it would happen in her sixth month.