The first word to come out of my 10-month-old son’s mouth was music to my ears: “Mama.” Carter had been babbling and making bubbles and sounds for a while, so I almost missed it when “mama” passed from his lips. After that, I paid careful attention to his mumbles, eager to catch the next new word. And I know I wasn’t alone in my excitement: First words are memorable baby milestones for any parent. Here’s what you should know about your little one’s chatter.

First words are (often) predictable. Most new babies start to pick up language and spew out first words sometime between 8 and 12 months. Carter wasn’t alone in his first word of choice: Studies show that “mama” and “dada” are tops on infant’s vocabulary lists (probably because both mom and dad repeatedly encourage their new babies to say these words!). Also, infants typically gravitate toward words with repetitive sounds, which is why their early vocabulary often includes words like bye-bye, nana (for banana), and uh-oh.

They have a preference. After “mama,” some of Carter’s other first words included animal names and his favorite objects, something that I learned is common for new babies. In fact, the first words most frequently uttered by babies after dada and mama include baabaa (bottle), dog, kitty, ball, and duck.

They start talking quickly. It takes almost the first year of life for a baby’s language skills to become apparent. But once your baby starts talking, watch out! Most toddlers have a vocabulary of at least 50 words by age two. That’s when Carter started to use simple phrases like “more milk” and asked questions like “Go bye-bye?”

You can help boost vocab. Even when Carter wasn’t saying a whole lot, his brain was recognizing and storing words every time I talked to him. To help boost his vocabulary, I used descriptive words whenever possible. For example, when snuggling with him on the couch, I would say “Your blue blanket is so soft and fuzzy.” I also read and sung to him as often as possible to expose him to a broad vocabulary.

My diligence paid off, and Carter grew into a chatty little kid. Your new baby will also be rattling off questions and commentary before you know it, but if you feel like her talking is delayed, speak to your pediatrician. Together, you can help her reach this fun baby milestone!

Baby sign language saved our sanity. Sadie’s basic needs were shrouded in mystery until we taught her a dozen or so hand signals that are part of baby signing -- a system based on American Sign Language, only designed for hearing tots --. Was she hot? Cold? Hungry? Tired? Who knew? Maybe Sadie herself didn’t even know. All she did was cry. (And so did we.)

Baby signing, which has been around for dozens of years, takes advantage of the fact that hand-eye coordination develops before verbal skills. Picture the baby who can wave “hello” but can’t yet say, “I need a cookie, please!” While babies may utter their very first words around 11 months, they have cognitive skills beginning around 6 months and can use hand gestures to communicate. Sadie came late to talking, forming her first word (“duck”) at 18 months, so we got a lot of mileage out of those baby signs.

Signing “eat” (with all fingers together tapping lips) told us Sadie was hungry. Tapping a finger on an open palm meant “more, please.” Brushing palms up and down meant “all done.” Are you sensing a theme here? Sadie also tipped an imaginary glass to show she was thirsty, did “hoo hoo” (two staccato exhales) to say her bath water was too hot, and placed her hands together by her head to say she was sleepy.

As a fringe benefit, communicating helped put Sadie more in touch with her needs and wants, and gave her a role in getting them met. She grew more confident in her ability to communicate and also more trusting of us—because we were finally meeting her needs instead of frantically trying every trick in the book to no avail.

There are some 600 baby signs, including for “Mommy,” “Daddy,” “diaper,” “cat,” “dog,” “cookie,” and more. If you’re inclined to use them with your infant, you’ll find that books, flashcards, dictionaries and wall charts are helpful, but don’t feel like you have to become a pro to derive a benefit.

Experiment with a few baby signs and see how it goes. At the very least, you’ll have fun -- and maybe even learn a few of the thoughts stirring inside that cute, little head.

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Before my son was born, my husband and I made the prenatal pilgrimage to register at a big box baby store for all the baby stuff we thought we’d need. We were excited, overwhelmed, and just a little bit skeptical. Would we have room in our apartment for tricked out swings and bouncers? How could there be so many variations on the pacifier? Did our little guy really need all this baby stuff? Turns out, he was indifferent to some items, like the ubiquitous lovey blanket, and totally tickled by others.

Here, the go-to baby items that kept our baby -- and his first-time parents -- happy throughout his first year.

0-3 Months

Pacifier My reluctance to introduce the pacifier -- for fear my son would be screaming for this addictive baby item at age three -- quickly subsided when our pediatrician endorsed it as a great way to soothe a fussy baby and help him to sleep. Pacifiers may also help reduce the risk of SIDS, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. So now we keep a few in the diaper bag and by his crib.

Activity Mat Now that our son has conquered that baby development milestone of walking (or more like running) around the house, it’s hard to remember that our baby ever hung out exclusively on a round piece of fabric in the family room. For the first three to four months he happily played beneath the soft, padded arches of his activity mat, swatting at colorful, dangling toys, or strengthening his back muscles during tummy time.

Car Seat-Stroller Combo Baby items come with a lot of straps. It may seem like you’re constantly clicking and unclicking, locking, and unlocking. Enter the detachable car seat and stroller in-one, which lets you transfer your tike -- from the car to the stroller and back again -- while he’s still happily nestled in his car seat (so you’ll never have to disturb him from his nap).

4-6 Months

Swing In the early days, my son was mostly unfazed by this particular baby item. He couldn’t focus on the mobile swirling above him, and even the lowest setting was a bit too fast. But as he packed on the pounds, he found his swing sweet spot. The rocking motion and music helped soothe, entertain, and coax him to sleep whenever he refused to nap in his crib. Plus, it gave me a few precious, hands-free moments.

Toys to grasp Once your little one finds his fingers (one of the cutest baby milestones!), between four and seven months, he’ll be reaching for the remote, your earrings…you get the idea. My son was crazy for a lightweight ball we found that had plenty of large holes his fingers could grip. He also loved to hang onto colorful linked rings that doubled as teethers and pliable plastic rattles.

Floor Seat When I first put my son in his floor seat, which helps your baby into a seated position, his eyes lit up. This was a baby item he could get on board with. Propped up in this new pose, he also had a fascinating fresh perspective on life. Look for baby seats that have straps, detachable toys, and that can double as a booster seat for meals on the go.

7-12 Months

Exercise Gym In the months before he developed his walking skills, my son’s activity gym was one of the baby items at the center of his universe. He loved to pull up to a standing position and explore the keyboard, mirror, and other toys, which made pleasant clicking and clacking sounds. Our gym came with a detachable seat, which rotated around the table. My little one loved to propel himself in circles, and I loved that he could get his legs working without leaving the room.

Stuffed Animal My son’s stuffed monkey is practically a member of the family -- he dines with us on occasion, gets kisses at night, and travels with us on family vacations. While it’s important to keep stuffed toys and other objects out of the crib during the first year (to reduce the risk of SIDS), Monkey’s always been game to demonstrate how to brush one’s teeth, play peekaboo and lay perfectly still for a diaper change. He’s a comfort and constant companion -- in other words, perfect as far as baby items go.

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My 1-month-old son had a belly full of breast milk, and his eyes shut tight in slumber the first time that I saw his little baby smile. Did that mean he was having pleasant dreams? That he was happy? That he was passing some sort of baby milestone? Or, as the naysayers like to tell us, did it just mean he was passing gas? According to the experts, those sleepy-time smiles during a new baby’s first month are really just reflexes. In fact, no one is sure why newborns smile so much in their sleep during their first month. However, I like to think of those early smiles as practice for the real deal. Here’s what I learned from my little one’s grins: 

Your infant’s smile may develop. Your new one’s baby smile will soon become more pronounced: In terms of your baby’s development, genuine grins may start to brighten an infant’s face around the second month. That means that he’s alert and beaming in response to stimuli like your smiling face or a fun toy. These smiles indicate that your baby is reaching a big baby milestone: He’s developing social skills.         

There are many types of smiles. The baby smiles that I most cherish are the ones my son would make when he spotted his dad or me. There was the “Hey, I’m glad you’re here to get me out of this crib” smile. And the “I love playing peek-a-boo with you” smile. And of course, the “Mommy or Daddy are so silly” smile. You may see these types of grins -- the ones where your new baby smiles at familiar faces and engages in play -- around the third month. Soon after, that smile may be accompanied by laughter, another big baby milestone.         

Keep a camera handy. Capturing this happy baby milestone on video or with a camera isn’t all that challenging. Most new babies seem to find lots of things to smile about during these early months. Of course, babies can also get over stimulated. This is why you sometimes end up with tears when you try too hard to coax a smile. I found it was helpful to lighten up on the baby games until my son was ready for more grins and giggles.

There’s nothing more endearing than when your child hits one of those baby milestones, and it’s especially spectacular when it’s a baby smile. You’ll probably find that your little one’s grin can light up a whole room. Keep the games, snuggles, and kisses coming, and those sweet smiles are sure to brighten everyone’s days.

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After my daughter, Morgan, mastered the art of sitting up by herself at five months, we knew the next baby milestone was our baby rolling over. All the signs of readiness were there: sleeping on her side, rolling onto her shoulder, crossing one leg over the other while lying down. We tried all the techniques, such as putting a toy where she would need to roll over to get it, showing her how to make it happen, and going from both back to belly and belly to back. There were many times she came close but couldn’t quite make it onto her stomach from her back.

Three days shy of her six month birthday, while watching her sleep on what my husband and I lovingly call stalkervision, aka Morgan TV, aka our video monitor, we heard a noise. Suddenly I saw her head pop up, and there was my baby rolling over right there in her crib. It was then I realized that all the action happens when she thinks we aren’t looking (which would later be confirmed even more when she started crawling in her crib). There she was, lying on her stomach in her crib, ready to sleep for the night. Baby milestone completed? Check!

I was very informed about the dangers of babies sleeping on their bellies and about SIDS, so I began to panic, even though her baby development move was quite impressive. She was sleeping for the night, and rolled over by herself, so should we just leave her there? I didn’t want to wake her or disrupt her sleep, but I also had her safety in mind. I told my husband to very gently move her back onto her back to sleep. Mission: completed.

The next day, we wanted to witness our baby rolling over in person and not on a blurry monitor screen. We put her on her back and placed her favorite rattle just out of reach. Morgan easily rolled over onto her belly to grab it, then rolled on her back and kicked her legs in joyful pride as we celebrated our baby’s development halfway through her first year of life.

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