She babbles, but she doesn’t talk. She says mama and daddy but no other words and doesn’t really imitate words (other than a meow sound that somehow her grandmother managed to teach her). According to this guideline for developmental milestones she is well behind, but then again according to this, she is still within the range of what is considered ‘normal’. She is 16.5 months now and I have heard that by the time they are 18 months they should be using at least 10 words.

That being said, she has no trouble understanding whatever I say, and I guess because she doesn’t really talk I forget how much she understands. Tonight I told her to put down the ball and go and say goodnight to daddy. I nearly fell over when she toddled into the lounge room, put down the ball and started waving goodnight to Josh. And at our last check-up the doctor did say that her understanding was far more important than whether she was saying words or not. I think my neurotic alter-ego has just watched too many documentaries on autism.

I’ve started making a lot more of an effort to use just one word to describe things and repeat names a few times but so far she really has zero interest in the whole thing.

I look forward to looking back on this and getting nostalgic about her pre-talking days. I am definitely nostalgic for when she was a newborn blob who couldn’t move and I didn’t spend the whole day chasing her about.