When Did Your Baby Start Saying Words?

No he is not behind. Kids do things when they are ready. Some speak
early and some late. Just relax and enjoy him!

Your son sounds completely normal. Don't worry. Once he starts talking, there will be days when you'll wonder why you ever wanted him to learn. :)

my kids are both girls and spoke well before 12 months, a variety of things other than ma ma and dada. But thats girls. I have noticed and known boys to be much later in speech development and they turned out perfectly fine.

Einstein didnt speak a complete sentence until the age of 5

every baby is different. He sounds just fine to me. Both of my kids were around 12 months when they really started to say other words besides mama and dada. I wouldn't worry about it.

My son is 19 months old and he is barely on the verge of saying more words. At your baby's age, my son was saying 'Papa', 'Mama', 'moo'. He has really built his vocabulary now he's at about 25 words now. Try not to worry, especially if you know other children who may be early talkers. My M. jokes all the time with me; she said I was a mute until I was almost 4, then she says I have never stopped talking since. Your pediatrician will tell you if and when its time for concern. Keep talking to your baby and good luck.

I totally depends on the child. My first was an observer and did not speak that much, but when she did she advanced rapidly and I think she was about 14 months when she started babbling (the same with her walking - she barely crawled then got up and ran!). The second was much more of a babbler, probably because there was a chatty 3 year old around her all the time. Like another poster said, if he seems to follow along when you talk to him and respond to certain requests, then he is OK. A friend of mine used baby sign language from the day they were born and it is amazing how much babies understand before they become vocal. The sign for nursing is to pluck at your shirt right above the breast and this 6 month old baby would look at her mom and pluck her onesie to tell mom she was hungry! Doctor's will ask specific questions at each appointment if I recall correctly, not just about carseat usage but also about words and sounds, etc.
PS: One thing to have checked is his hearing. If he cannot hear you well he will be slow to learn to speak. A child behind us had such frequent ear infections that caused difficulty hearing which in turn caused temper tantrums since he could not hear mom's answers and he could not make himself understood. Ear tubes and a year later he is caught up with speech and his temper tantrums have disappeared. Enjoy your little man.

I have learned that outside of a speech/hearing difficulty, it really depends on the personality of the child. My first one didn't say much, not because he didn't know the words, he just chose not to say them. My 2nd one was babbling ALOT from about 3 months..we knew he would be a talker...and we were right, he has LONG sentences at just 2.

My son is almost 15 months. He says 2 words that we can distinguish. Hot and ouch. Only started saying them about a month ago.
I think he has words for the dog and his sister-though it is hard to say.
He has said mama since he was a newborn. He says dada sometimes. He is not consistent w/ either.

My friends little girl is 5 months younger and says 5 distinguishable words.

I really can't remember when my DD (5) started talking.

Your son sounds perfectly normal to me. :)

actual words begin between 1-2 years of age.

Most children hit closer to 15-18 months. In my daycare, I have one boy who's 22 months & just now beginning to mimic words, dropping both beginning & ending sounds. Drives his mom nuts....because she's a talker! But, in reality, it is his temperament which is preventing speech development. He would prefer to scream, rant, wail.....that's his 1st response to everything.....& unfortunately, his mom is perpetuating this by applauding his negative behavior (yes, I'm complaining again about this family!).

Moving on, I have another boy his age who's been singing full songs!!! since 18 months. The 2 families have similar dynamics (big families, lots of kids).....& it all comes down to individual temperament.

Be patient....it will happen. To encourage his speech, talk him thru every single interaction. Say individual words as you go thru basic life skills....."diaper", "drink", "cup", etc. Be a parrot yourself & your son will pick up basic words at a quicker pace. Also, there are 2 elements to this method - in addition to your words, you need to be extremely patient (& quiet) in waiting for him to repeat your words! Encourage him without presenting stress or impatience.....

Another idea would be to contact your school district's early childhood education dept & ask for early learning tips/techniques. Our school district still has Parents as 1st Teachers.....not all districts do tho' (budget cuts). They will have great ideas for advancing development.....Peace!

Everyone is different.
My oldest spoke very early and was using sentences by 13 mos. The younger was 2 yrs old before he had real words. The younger one has out-performing his older brother in high school. So it definitely has not been a predictor of other milestones.

Sounds normal to me. Little boys take longer than girls to do lots of stuff. My nephew was still not talking at 3, he had 6 older sibs and he just pointed at what he wanted. He stayed with me a couple of days and talked from the time he got up until he fell asleep. When he was asked why he did not talk at home he named his sibs one by one and said I point.

Try not to worry too much right now. My son was almost 3 and I was concerned that he didn't use sentences but then he sure surprised us. He started talking a lot right before his 3rd b-day and had learned his alphabet and colors just from his learning toys. Guess he was holding out on us. lol. Today this day he is very smart and remembers things easily and reads 2 grades above his level. My youngest son was vocal very early and can be a chatter box. Drives me crazy some days.