If you have a sister or friend, expecting a baby, one of the greatest gifts is a calendar or journal in which the baby’s first spoken words, among other things, can be recorded. When my son was born, someone gave me a calendar with stickers so I could capture all his “first” moments. Today, he is 23 and still loves to look at that calendar. Not only does this type of recording provide the mother with a keepsake, but also as the children grow, they will become fascinated with information about them as a baby.
If you are a stay-at-home mom, chances are you are the first to hear your baby’s spoken words. By keeping a calendar or journal, you can share this special moment with the father, as well as family and friends. We recommend you keep record of not just the verbally spoken words but also special babbling and hand language. For instance, many babies will start to point and babble long before they actually talk. In your journal, you could track the date and time of when he/she reached for the bottle or pulled a favorite blanket up close.
Another important aspect of keeping track of your baby’s language progression is to watch the changes so you have a baseline on which to build. For this, most babies will start to say partial words such as “mama” or “dada” between six and nine months of age. Let s say your child was right on target. However, by age one when he or she should now be saying full words, if you find that all you hear is babbling you might want to pay attention to ensure there is nothing wrong with his/her speech or hearing. In other words, the journal becomes a tool that you can use for keeping track of your child’s progression, spotting things that are off schedule.
Of course, if you have a husband serving overseas in the military, someone who works long hours at the office, or a spouse that travels, chances are he will miss a lot of your child’s language development. In this case, you could keep a handheld recorder close by as well as the calendar or journal. When your baby is in a talkative mood, walk around with the recorder so you can capture spoken words quickly. If you want to capture everything, a small video recorder with sound would be ideal. With this, you have a permanent memory of your baby’s growth, something you can watch time after time, as well as something your child can enjoy when he or she becomes an adult.