Look Who's Talking

As first time parents, every little milestone in Jesse's development is a big deal. But the one thing that we anticipate the most is when he utters his first words. What will he say, when he's ready to say something?

For a few months now, Jesse been gurgling and cooing a lot. On a good day, he's practically having a conversation with us with his little "Eee-dooo" and "Pehhhhh" and the occasional "Bleargle" and "Fla-dooodle". Okay, I made those words up, but you get the picture. He's got a pretty extensive repertoire of sounds which may or may not mean anything. But as parents, we're proud all the same. In any case we've been keeping our ears open for some real words, like "Superfluous" or "Regurgitate". :) Baby Oli, who's a couple of months older than Jesse already started calling her Daddy, "Da-Da" a couple on months back. Though boys generally pick up speech later than girls, we're hopeful that it's anytime soon.

One day, some three months back, Jesse was crying to be fed when he suddenly made a sound. "Honey, he said MILK," Mae was excited. "Are you sure?" I was skeptical. Jesse was, after all, only just 4 months old at the time. "Well, it might have been MOM," Mae rationalised. "Or it might have been MOVE," I teased. "As in, 'MOVE your ass Mommy, I'm starving!!" Of course that remark was met swiftly with a bop on the head.

Lately, Jesse seems to be at it again. This time around, even though the words are not quite words, the timing is no longer random. For instance, whenever I drink beer or anything out of a can, Jesse will give me a short, sharp, "Uhhnn!" to tell me he wants a sip. And if I ignore him, he'll repeat himself a little louder this time. He's also got a designated phrase for milk these days. In between his cries of hunger, we sometimes hear him say "Mum-mum," which is our word for food.

Then again, he could just be calling us "Numbnuts!" Who knows? We'll just have to wait a little longer, I guess.