Babies and Pregnancies: Many Questions to be Answered

So...I know almost nothing about babies (or being pregnant) Anyone want to help me out? The most specific questions that I have are:

1) When do babies start making specific sounds- not talking, but like oohgoogoobahbah, etc.

2) When do they start talking (like real words)?

3) When do they start to crawl?

4) When do they start to walk?

5) And when during the pregnancy does the mother start to get morning sickness? Are there any other "symptoms" per say (swollen ankles, etc.) throughout the pregnancy?

Any and all information is awesome. Thanks guys!

~LtJS

 

Noidea on any of that but my dad says women act demented whan they are prgnant!

 

This is based purely on watching my cousin and her baby, so it might be a little off.

1) When do babies start making specific sounds- not talking, but like oohgoogoobahbah, etc.

My cousin's baby - when she was about several months old, started going "ahhhhhhhhhhhhahmamamama!!!"

2) When do they start talking (like real words)?

Depends, I guess. My parents tell me I didn't start talking until I was four! Guess I'm making up for it now. Maybe at about 16-18 months or so?

3) When do they start to crawl?

Hmmm, 8-10 months?

4) When do they start to walk?

Around 12 months?

5) And when during the pregnancy does the mother start to get morning sickness? Are there any other "symptoms" per say (swollen ankles, etc.) throughout the pregnancy?

As far as morning sickness goes, the general stereotype is for the first three months, but who knows. There are also the infamous cravings. And my cousin tried this technique - she didn't eat a lot of sweets while she was pregnant, and coincidentally her daughter doesn't like sweets. How about that? Oh, and this I know from watching TLC - women close to term have to take frequent trips to the bathroom, because the baby presses against their bladders. And a baby that kicks really hard can cause some serious damage - my cousin almost had to have her gallbladder removed.

Again, this is all based off of the actions of one baby, so it's not a lot.

edit: Wow, according to LadyPadme's answers, I wasn't too far off.

 

Having just had one of those less than 4 months ago, this is still pretty fresh in my mind, so here goes:

1) When do babies start making specific sounds- not talking, but like oohgoogoobahbah, etc.

- About 3 months of age. They also raspberry a lot around this time.

2) When do they start talking (like real words)?

- This can vary. I would say 9 months to 2 years. My mother swears I could count to 10 when I was 10 months old, but most people roll their eyes at that story My son said his first word intelligible word just a couple days before his first birthday, but by 18 months only got to 3 words.

3) When do they start to crawl?

Approximately 8 months

4) When do they start to walk?

Approximately 10-15 months. Boys tend to walk earlier and girls tend to talk earlier.

5) And when during the pregnancy does the mother start to get morning sickness? Are there any other "symptoms" per say (swollen ankles, etc.) throughout the pregnancy?

Hoo boy! Morning sickness is a misnomer, first of all because it can strike any time, or be like mine which was about 24 hours a day, including when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Generally, morning sickness starts in the first trimester and ends early in the second trimester, but really, morning sickness can strike any time during the pregnancy. For some women, it starts at the end of the first trimester and lasts to the end of pregnancy; basically, it's unpredictable.

Other symptoms: swollen, tender breasts (early on), leaky breasts (not common but can happen in the last trimester), EXHAUSTION, weird food cravings, foods might taste strange and favorite foods might induce nausea, going to the bathroom every two seconds, insanity . Swollen ankles tend to occur near the end of pregnancy. Medically, the blood pressure drops, although in some who have a rare and occasionally dangerous condition called pre-eclamsia, the blood pressure is high and they can get swelling in the ankles early on as well as proteinuria. Another early sign is a bluish hue to the cervix, although if you manage to work that into a fanfic, my hat's off to you

And...two really good guides for month to month development are: "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "What to Expect the First Year".

Hope that helps.

 

Well, I can't speak for other mothers and it has been a while but
1) babies start to say ma and da sounds pretty young, maybe 4-6 months, sometimes earlier depending on the child. And they coo a lot. Smiles come out fairly early 2-4 months.
2) real words - "no" is a classic at 10-12 months at a guess -maybe later.
3) start to crawl at 7-10 months (they airplane first - head, arms and feet in the air when they are on their stomachs)
4)some babies go straight to walking and crawl later but it's not a normal thing. 10-14 months.
My first one trilled a lot (constantly rolled her rrrrs) when she was 8 months - it stopped at 12 months.

Pregnancy - morning sickness within 2-3 weeks of getting pregnant. usually lasts 3 months but can last the entire time. I could always tell within a couple of days when I got pregnant - swollen breasts, soreness in the breast and vaginal areas are pretty straightforward. Sometimes your fingernail edges turn light purple and nipples darken. usually feel lousy the 1st 3 months, feel great the second three months and then get large as a whale the last months. Swollen feet - depends on how much weight you gain - and the shoe size may change permanently. Hips start hurting by 4 months as the hip bones soften slightly to let the baby out. gets pretty hard to sleep by the 6-7th month since turning over is enough to wake you up. Can get cravings or hate the smell of things. Hated chinese food the entire time and the nausea never went away after the baby was born. Still have a hard time eating chinese food.

Good thing - no period. Ah heaven.
And some people start to feel 'frisky' in the 4th month.

If you want more information, I suggest you read one of Brazleton's books on pregnancy and child rearing. I no longer have his books so I can't look up the answers.

 

From my Lifespan Development notes:

Language Development Babies can percieve the differences between sounds at around one month. They begin babbling (making sounds from all languages) at about 4 months and do this through the 7th month. At 10 months, babies can no longer make noises not in their native language(s) and begin to understand some words. At about one year, they no longer perceive differences in sounds outside their languages and say their first words. At 18 months, they have two word utterances (like "more milk") and at 2 years they have telegraphic speech (sentences missing little words and endings). They have full sentences at 2 to 3 years.

Motor Development Sit along at about 7 months, pulls to stand at 8, plays pat-a-cake at 9.75, stands alone around 11, walks alone around 11.75, walks up stairs with help at 16 months, jumps in place at 23.5, and walks on tiptoes at 25 months.

I don't know much about pregnancy, but if you need any more about child development, PM me or let me know.

 

Here ya go, LtJS. This is the best site for infant and toddler developmental stages.

Baby Milestones


Here is a pregnancy symptoms site.

Pregnancy Symptoms


They are both pretty comprehensive sites. They should help you.

 

Here are a few links to some pregnancy sites.

BabyZone

About.com

StorkNet

DueDateCalculator


As well, I have some reference materials around here (nursing school, ya know) so if you have some specific questions feel free to PM me, though probably most of the people who've had children could answer them

~Abby~

 

So...I know almost nothing about babies (or being pregnant) Anyone want to help me out? The most specific questions that I have are:

I don't mind, I've got two little boys, 4 1/2 and 2 1/2.

1) When do babies start making specific sounds- not talking, but like oohgoogoobahbah, etc.

It's different with every child. My oldest didn't start the 'baby talk' until he was about 5 months old, and my youngest was earlier than him by almost 2 months.

2) When do they start talking (like real words)?

Again, it's different with every child. Some are a little early and some are late. I know words like 'mama' or 'dada' they can say around 4-5 months old.

3) When do they start to crawl?

4) When do they start to walk?

Again, both of these are different with every child. Crawling, some kids start crawling around 6 or 7 months. Walking can be as early as 9 months to as late as 19 months. It all depends on the child.

5) And when during the pregnancy does the mother start to get morning sickness? Are there any other "symptoms" per say (swollen ankles, etc.) throughout the pregnancy?

It's different (again) with every woman. I know for myself I had morning sickness the entire length of my pregnancies. My morning sickness had already started by the time I hit my second month (around 6 weeks). I never had the swollen ankles or the weird food cravings. But than it was a miracle if I was even able to keep any food down. I was also lucky that I didn't get emotional which for some pregnant women does happen to them. You can also become anemic - which I was with both of my mine.

 

I had a fun one that I think most women don't get if you're looking for comic relief (though I reserve the right to also use it some day). Mine hiccuped in the womb starting at about 6-7 months pregnant. A lot. Really big hiccups. My belly would bounce a quarter inch at least. It was WIERD. I felt like I was in an X-Files episode or something. It was in many ways exactly like having them yourself. All except for the little pain in the back of your throat. And knowing it wasn't you. They'd go on for like 15 minutes or more. The kicks and other stuff reminded me more of Aliens and X-Files than anything else too.

KD

 

Hey, this is great...considering the amount of pregnant women I'm dealing with in my next fic

My sister just had a baby three months ago, so I remember most of everything she chose to tell me. (She was huge on facts ) This definitely helps... thanks

 

1) When do babies start making specific sounds- not talking, but like oohgoogoobahbah, etc.

Like the others have said this varies greatly. My granddaughter started babbling at us when she was 6 weeks old.

2) When do they start talking (like real words)?
Varies a lot. My oldest started coming out with words at about 7-8 months, whereas my son was pretty quiet until one day when he was about 15 months old he came out with a perfect sentence.

3) When do they start to crawl?
A friend's baby was crawling at 4 months - but that's unusual. LOL Usually it's about 6-9 months.

4) When do they start to walk?
Can be as early as 8 months - but more often 10 months or more.

5) And when during the pregnancy does the mother start to get morning sickness? Are there any other "symptoms" per say (swollen ankles, etc.) throughout the pregnancy?

LOL Fond memories of waking up with leaky boobs - usually from about 6 months pregnant. Not all people get morning sickness - I didn't with my first. All I got was a few weeks of queasiness and then I was fine.

You do tend to get very warm - mainly due to all the extra blood you make. Some people look terrific - all rosy and lovely. Others look like something from the Black Lagoon. It's very individual.

In the last few weeks I always had a mad surge of energy during which I'd go on a mad cleaning frenzy - doing crazy things like cleaning the lino with a toothbrush. Apparently this is common. Sadly it doesn't last.

 

Don't think I can add much to what has already been said. Maybe the sudden desire to kill your husband or anyone else who tells you to "focus," "breathe," or "push" during labor...

 

Don't think I can add much to what has already been said. Maybe the sudden desire to kill your husband or anyone else who tells you to "focus," "breathe," or "push" during labor...

Ah, yes, those are important to remember too. Although my anger was more directed towards a nurse who was to bloody chipper and seemed to enjoy saying "Breathe in, breathe out..."

 

Wow This is so great, guys! This totally helps

~LtJS

 

Eh... I think this just became a permenant resourse thread.

gonna help me loads with Among the Stars.

^I have to get Ben Skywalker in SOMEHOW!

 

this would help me too!(I have a pregnnt Tahiri in my story).

 

I think a link to this thread should be added to the thread index as I can see where authors may be able to make use of it by referring to it in future.

sg

 

Great thread! V. useful.

Can I add another (very general) question: What's it like emotionally?

 

Like DarthSabe asked, what's it like emotionally? First learning that you're pregnant, as you going through the stages of the pregnancy, looking upon your child for the first time, watching them grow up and wanting to help them, etc.?

Help definitely appreciated.

~LtJS

 

I can imagine that having a first child gives you a feeling like I had last week when the Red Sox won the world series: You wake up each morning and go "Damn, I can't believe there's a little being growing inside of me!"

I also assume it can get frustrating, especially since one of the first symptoms is exhaustion (it's how a lot of active women know they're pregnant - their performances in sports start to take a nosedive for no apparent reason).

I'm going to be so depressed when I'm pregnant since a lot of the things I like to eat are no good, since they're mostly fish with stuff like mercury in it, and raw fish. The good news is that I can still eat vegemite!

Jae

 

I've had four babies and taught childbirth classes and some odd things I've noted over the years:



*first babies tend to be late (about 65% of the time), 35% arrive early, and about 5% on their due date.

*a tie for the most unusual delivery? The baby that sucked on the doctor's fingers during an exam (baby was still in the birth canal) and the one that was delivered part of the way and then we realized shoulder dystocia was at work and the baby wouldn't fit. So a quick c-section was performed and the baby pushed back up. True story, no lie! Oh, and the twins where one was delivery vaginally and one arrived c-section.

*cords around the neck are actually common and usually don't present a problem.

*there is an increased sexual drive in the middle trimester and for some women it is quite marked. Men, run and hide!

*there is no sure way to make yourself go into labor although a few methods do SEEM to work: making love, long walks, and black coash. A friend swears by spicy food, but I can't be convinced of that one.

*on a personal note, I knew I was pregnant with my second one when I broke into tears in the grocery store when my husband asked why we needed to buy a can of green beans. I immediately broke down and suspected then that I was pregnant.

*women tend not to look "as pregnant" with the first baby as they will with subsequent pregnancies.

*the movement of babies is much more vigorous than those who haven't been pregnant tend to think it is. I've actually gotten sore from the movement of one of my babies. And resting an ice cream bowl on your lovely belly tends to make them twitch enough to knock that bowl right off!

*some cures for "morning" sickness include ginger, ginger ale, and sea sickness accupressure bracelets.

I've got a lot of these, but these are some general ones you might be able to use. I've also done a lot of labor support and some of the stories from those days still make me laugh so hard I cry. Babies leads to a whole different type of hilarity!

 

Absolutely brilliant thread. It was very interesting and I can see it being helpful in the future.

 

making love

It's the "prostaglandins" involved in the above actions that does it. That's the same substance that's in the gel stuff used to induce labour

 

Another physical symptom of pregnancy that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is varicose veins! Ugh, I had them something awful my last month or so. That last month is also when your back and legs start aching and you start to get really frustrated, just wanting this thing out of you.

Oh, and not every woman gets 'frisky' during that middle three months. Sometimes, as in my case (much to hubby's dismay) it's the exact opposite. I pretty much didn't let him touch me the whole nine months.

As far as emotions, I can vividly remember watching TV commercials the last week or two with moms and babies (his birthday is in May, near Mother's Day) and bawling because I wanted to hold my baby so much!

Then when he was born, that second week after my mom went home and the hubby went back to work, and I was sitting there alone with this tiny little being who was completely dependent on me...I remember being so overwhelmed and worrying over whether I'd be able to handle this or not. He's almost 8 and still alive, so I guess I've done all right!

Every time he would master some skill...rolling over, pulling up, talking, walking...I remember being so astonished. Even now, when he's in the 1st grade, I watch him as he learns to read and ride a skateboard, I am amazed at how much he's grown and how much he can do.