Ah-goo...

Posted by: Sharmila Rajah

Mornings are the best. Ayanna delights us with her morning ritual of coos, gurgles, squeals, laughter and chatter. It’s the beginnings of spoken language as Ayanna explores and experiments the communication spectrum.

When talked to, Ayanna directs her baby sounds at us. Babies need to be communicated to, experts say. That’s what we attempt with Ayanna every day, through cuddling, gurgling, babbling and singing. Apparently babies learn language even through secondhand dialogue.

Ayanna loves chatting to the camera...

Just as much as we would like to give baby a running commentary, it’s good to take time to allow baby to respond. Talk with them rather than at them. Vary your interaction - ask questions; speak baby talk; imitate by cooing back; sing; read aloud.

As Ayanna approaches her third month this week, experts say she will be vocalizing with consonant-like sounds. A-ga, a-ba, a-da await us.

But of course, Ayanna began communicating long before uttering sounds, through behaviours and gestures. Frantically sucking her fingers when she’s due for a feed is her way of saying she’s hungry.

An exciting month ahead.