Baby Babbling Stages: What to Expect Month by Month

"My 9-month-old isn't saying 'mama' or 'baba' yet. Should I be worried?"

We typed something close to that into a phone at eleven at night, too. If that's about where you are tonight, you're in the right place. A few months off the chart is usually normal. You are not overreacting by looking this up.

What you'll find on this page

• What sounds usually come first, and when
• Why the "normal" range is wider than the charts make it look
• Three things you can try tonight
• The signs that are worth a phone call
• Where the numbers come from, and why guides don't always match

The short answer

Babies usually coo around two to three months. Consonant babble — "ba-ba-ba" — often starts between five and ten months. First words with meaning tend to show up near the first birthday. The range is wide. A few months off the chart is usually still normal.

The stages at a glance

The "range" column matters more than any single month. Read that column twice.

Months are when many babies do these things. They are not deadlines.

Stage 1: 0 to 3 months — cooing and answering you

The first sounds aren't babbling yet. They're coos — soft "oooh" and "aaah" sounds.

What you often see:

• Sounds besides crying.
• Reactions to loud sounds.
• Calming when someone talks.

Try tonight: simple back-and-forth. Your baby coos. You coo back. Then pause.

What to do now: if your baby doesn't react to loud sounds, tell the doctor. You don't have to wait for a checkup. This is doctors' guidance for parents.

Stage 2: 4 to 6 months — babbling begins

This is when the sound menu grows. Squeals. Growls. Raspberries. Then the first consonants.

What you often see:

• "Answering" you with sounds — this is on health officials' 4-month checklist.
• Turning toward your voice.
• Taking turns making sounds with you — health officials' 6-month checklist.
• Blowing raspberries and squealing.

Speech scientists call real syllables like "ba," "da," and "ga" canonical babbling — the kind of babble most people picture. This stage often starts around 5 to 10 months, one research review found.

Try tonight: pause after you talk. Give your baby a beat to "answer."

Worth a watch: no consonant babble by about 10 months is a reason to ask a doctor. This comes from a research review.

Stage 3: 7 to 10 months — the ba-ba-ba stage

What you often see:

• Lots of different sounds: "mamamama," "bababababa" — health officials' 9-month checklist.
• Using voice to get your attention.
• Copying your sounds and gestures.

Babbling fits the language at home. One study looked at Mandarin-learning babies. They used melody-like sounds before real words. English-learning babies babble with English rhythms.

Researchers also followed small groups of babies at risk for cerebral palsy, in two studies. They wanted to find children who need help earlier.

Try tonight: copy your baby's sounds and wait.

What to do now: not hearing varied babble near 9 months? Health officials say bring it up now, not at the next visit. This is doctors' guidance for parents.

Stage 4: 11 to 14 months — first words

What you often see:

• Waving bye-bye — health officials' 12-month checklist.
• Saying "mama" or "dada" for a parent.
• Understanding "no."
• Jargon: long babble that sounds like real sentences in your language — speech therapists call this jargon.

Does babbling predict words? A link showed up in one study of German-learning babies. More canonical babble went with earlier first words.

Try tonight: name things your baby looks at.

What to do now: no word with meaning near the first birthday? Ask the doctor. This is doctors' guidance for parents.

Stage 5: 15 to 18 months — words add up

What you often see:

• Trying one or two words beyond "mama" and "dada" at 15 months — health officials' checklist.
• Trying three or more words at 18 months — health officials' checklist.
• By age 2, putting two words together, like "more milk" — health officials' 2-year checklist.

Word counts vary a lot at this age. Speech therapists' guide for ages 1 to 2 describes a wide normal window.

Under about 50 words at age 2 is the line speech therapists use for late language emergence — what parents usually call a "late talker."

Try tonight: expand what they say. If they say "ball," you say "yes, big ball."

What to do now: if your child's word count seems far behind, ask about a speech evaluation.

Three things you can try tonight

1. Pause like you're in a conversation. Talk to your baby. Then stop. Wait for a sound. This teaches turn-taking. Why it works: babies learn that sounds get an answer.

2. Copy your baby's sounds. When they coo or blow a raspberry, do it back. Add a new sound once in a while. Why it works: imitation is how babies practice speech.

3. Name what they see. Point to a toy and say the word. Do it many times. Why it works: hearing words in context builds meaning.

But the baby at daycare is already talking

This is the comparison that hurts.

Milestones are not averages. Health officials say their checklists show what most children do by an age. That means about 3 out of 4 children.

Health officials revised the lists in 2022. Some milestones moved to later ages. Old versions still circulate online.

Different guides use different cutoffs. Speech therapists' "late talker" line answers a different question than the health officials' checklist.

Even labs disagree. One review pooled the babbling studies. It found that how researchers measure babbling changes the numbers.

No one can predict which late babblers catch up. This comes directly from one review.

So a few months off the table is common. The table is a map. It is not a verdict. Use it to watch, not to worry.

When it's worth making the call

1. Your child's doctor. Health officials say don't wait for the next checkup. This is doctors' guidance for parents.

2. Your state's free early intervention program. For children under 3. Free evaluation, and you can call directly. Health officials keep a state-by-state contact list of who to call.

3. A certified speech therapist. The therapists' association runs a public directory of certified speech therapists.

4. A hearing test. Newborns get a hearing screen by 1 month. If you worry now, ask for another test. The federal hearing institute has a parent's guide to hearing screening.

5. The free Milestone Tracker app. It puts the checklists on your phone. Health officials offer it as a free download.

If a specialist brings up rare genetic causes, the doctor-written GeneReviews covers these:

• GRIN2A-related disorders
• UNC80 deficiency
• SLC6A1-related disorder
• Floating-Harbor syndrome
• Beck-Fahrner syndrome

These are uncommon.

You don't have to wait for permission

Most late talkers catch up, according to speech therapists.

The reason to ask early is not because something is definitely wrong.

It is because help works best when it starts early.

You are not overreacting. Health officials' whole campaign is built on acting early.

You are doing exactly what doctors ask parents to do.

About Baby Voice Recorder

This magazine is published by the team behind Baby Voice Recorder. It is a small recorder and parent app. It automatically picks up the words your child says. It saves them as short clips. You can see how their vocabulary changes week by week. It's a keepsake and a record, not a screening tool. It isn't out yet — join the waitlist if you'd like to hear when it is.

Where these numbers come from

The month-by-month map comes from three places. They are the health officials' milestone checklists, the speech therapists' association's public guides, and the federal hearing and language institute's overview.

But the guides don't always match. Health officials revised their milestone lists in 2022. Some ages moved later. Labs also measure babbling differently. That changes the numbers.

No one can predict which late babblers catch up. One review says this directly.

The research behind this page includes reviews of when babbling usually starts and how labs measure it. It includes studies of babies learning Mandarin, German, and English. It includes work following babies at risk for cerebral palsy, a video study of childhood apraxia of speech, and a study of babbling in autistic and non-autistic toddlers. Doctor-written reviews cover the rare genetic causes listed above.

You can also download our free babbling stages checklist PDF.

If you're unsure, call your child's doctor. That's always allowed.