What is baby's first speech like?

Before actual speech as we know it, your baby will engage in a lot of babbling. The first sounds that emerge after babbling are 'dada' and 'mama' in homes where English is largely spoken. 'Dada' seems to precede mama somehow, but of course it is more to do with the sound 'd' which is easier to pronounce than 'm'. It is not like your child is showing preference for one parent over the other. Following closely in its trail are words your baby is more exposed to on a daily basis, which can include greetings such as 'hi', 'bye' and names of family members or pets. In the earlier months babies point to objects they want such as ball or milk and soon enough words are used in its place and these words are also acquired shortly after mama and dada. Language in in the initial stages is used to express wants and needs by uttering object names such as 'bear'. This is often followed by two syllable words such as doggie and dolly and two one syllable words such as 'mama go', 'me milk'. It has been observed that linguistically, most children develop differently. For some the word bank grows tremendously to include objects and persons (nouns). For other children they pick up words at a slower pace but their word bank includes a balance of words such as action verbs, adjectives and nouns.