Your baby's range of sounds and facial expressions continues to grow, and he or she will probably spend lots of time babbling, squealing, smiling, and laughing - which may leave less time for crying. Your baby is also imitating the sounds he or she hears, which are the first attempts at speaking!

How Does My Baby Communicate?

Your baby will now begin to experiment with the sounds he of she can make with his or her mouth, using saliva as an important tool. Your baby will also make more attempts to imitate sounds and spend more time babbling. Make no mistake, these are your baby's early attempts at speaking and should be encouraged as much as possible. If you listen closely, you'll hear your baby raise and drop his or her voice as if asking a question or declaring a statement.

Your baby is just now beginning to understand the fundamentals of communication through language. When your baby was younger, he or she understood your meaning through the tone of your voice: Soothing tones made him or her stop crying, agitated tones told him or her something was wrong. Now, your baby is beginning to pick out the components of your speech. He or she can hear and understand the different sounds you make and the way words form sentences.

Now that your baby realizes his or her noises have an effect on you, he or she will enjoy playing copycat games where you mimic what he or she says. Your baby may also make the discovery that whenever he or she cries, he or she grabs your attention. This is mostly a good thing, but your baby will also use it on occasion when he or she is bored or frustrated. He or she may also try coughing to get your attention. Rather than punish your baby for this, give him or her extra attention once he or she has stopped crying or fussing. This is the age when your infant is able to reflect your emotional state, which is the beginning of true communication.

What Should I Do?

Babies this age like being stimulated by games and vocal interactions. Your baby will be thrilled when you copy his or her coos and gurgles. Imitate your baby when he or she makes a vowel sound, then follow up by saying some simple words that contain the same vowel sound.

Have "conversations" with your baby, waiting for a pause in his or her babble to "answer." The give-and-take of these early discussions will set the stage for his or her first real words in the months to come. Ask your baby questions, and respond enthusiastically to whatever answers you get.

Introduce your baby to simple words that apply to his or her everyday life. Use adult words - experts assert that babies can understand words long before they're able to pronounce them, and good speech habits help shape a baby's speech patterns.

When you talk to your baby, slow your speech and emphasize single words; for example, say: "Do you want a toy? This is your toy," as you show it to him or her. Then wait for a response. Following your speech with moments of silence will encourage your baby to vocalize and will teach him or her that conversation involves taking turns.

Your baby will love being read to from books with large, brightly colored pictures. Besides helping your baby form good speech habits, he or she will enjoy gazing at the images.

Sometimes babies are not in the mood to vocalize - and even babies need their space. If your baby turns away, closes his or her eyes, or becomes fussy, let your baby be. He or she may need a break from all the stimulation in the world.

Should I Be Concerned?

There are some communication milestones your baby will probably reach during this period. By the end of the seventh month, babies usually:

• respond to their names
• respond to sounds by making their own
• start to babble or imitate sounds

Remember that there is a wide range of what's normal for babies. There is usually no cause for concern, but talk to your child's doctor if your baby misses any of these milestones.

Updated and reviewed by: Barbara Homeier, MD
Date reviewed: January 2005
Originally reviewed by: Steve Dowshen, MD