More Developments In Language And Communication

Your baby is 17 weeks old today and boy does he have a lot to say!   Last month you heard him laugh for the first time and hopefully you were able to record some giggles on video.  This week, one development you may notice is your baby squealing.  Every baby’s squeal sounds different and it just so happened that my daughter’s squeal sounded like a high-pitched screech.  Honestly, my husband and I used to call her our little tea kettle because when she’d squeal, it sounded exactly like a hot tea kettle!

Another development you may observe is your baby making random vocalizations in social settings.  It could be visitors or your baby’s older siblings that he decides to vocalize to.  When he does this, it’s not only his way of communicating, but he is also trying to initiate contact with the person.  My son would vocalize an “eh” every time his older sister entered the room.  She loved to interact with him even though he wasn’t old enough or big enough to play with her, but he thought she was just the most interesting person in the world!

Lastly, your little guy may start talking to objects or even his hands!  It will probably happen when your baby is playing on the floor and you give him a toy to hold or he puts his hands together and finds them very interesting. 

All of these developments in communication skills will not happen all at once, but this is around the time they start to emerge so watch out  It becomes almost surreal when you hear your baby vocalize sounds, squeals and laugh that you can’t help but think back to the newborn that you brought home four months ago.