Click here to download your FREE poster on cooing and laughing. Use this poster as a handy reminder of what you can do to encourage cooing and laughing!
Your baby will make noises and facial expressions beginning at birth.
This receptacle of cooing, giggling, and laughter will provide you with joy and happiness.
Your baby is a wonderful sound-making machine, and these sounds are wonderful for both you and your baby.
In infancy, the gurgling sounds that babies make are sounds when breathing in. At this age, the windpipe is still in the floppy stage. Later on, as your baby grows, the windpipe will become more rigid.
The floppiness in the baby’s windpipe vibrates as air moves through and generates the sounds that you might hear on occasion.
On other occasions, sounds come from your child’s belly as a result of gas pressure. These occasional sounds will frequently surprise and startle both you and your baby.
Newborn cooing, which frequently follows gurgling, generally starts around the age of three months. It is usually the baby’s response to the pleasant sound of your voice. As your baby gets more and more excited, she or he will become a cooing and gurgling machine.
This usually occurs between the ages of one and three months.
At this age, your baby may also smile as a form of social interaction with you and others. The more you smile as your baby is looking at you, the more smiles and even giggles your baby will make.
Babies usually have their first laugh between the ages of four and five months. Do keep in mind that not all babies do this. Much depends on their individual temperament and innate traits.
Babies won’t laugh until they are ready to do so.
If you want to hear more newborn cooing, smiling, giggling, and laughing, here are a few suggestions:
- Repeat the sounds that your baby makes as you smile or make a funny face. Let your inhibitions loose when interacting and communicating, both verbally and non-verbally, with your baby.
- Make silly sounds and moves as you face your baby. Babies that are fed, rested, and alert are the most receptive audience.
- Talk with your baby as encouragement. A stream of commentary will be good for both parent and child. Use a lot of inflection and different pitches in your voice as you talk with your baby. The chit-chat can be meaningful or meaningless, but it has to be upbeat and positive.
- Play peek-a-boo or other games that are upbeat and may have surprises with added voices, sounds, and exaggerated moves.
- Use games that include exaggerated inflections and variations in your voice. Be silly with your antics.
- Read to your child regardless of their age. The earlier the better! They will love to hear your voice, and you, in turn, will become more comfortable reading to them.
- Use non-sensical rhyming, (i.e., “icky, pickle, coo”).
- Sing silly songs.
Always remember, laugh with your child, not at your child!
Click here to download your FREE poster on cooing and laughing. Use this poster as a handy reminder of what you can do to encourage cooing and laughing!
