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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
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Teething and Babbling

angelicadimarcoangelicadimarco member
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months

Hi! My boy is about to be 9 months in a week. He coos and makes consonant sounds, but doesn't do the canonical babbling like 'bababa' 'dadada' 'mamma'. I will get a random 'da' 'ba' 'ma' 'pa' here and there, and he does make new noises all the time. I'm a little worried that he hasn't begun canonical babbling yet, as the CDC has this listed under 9 month milestones.

My question is -- would constant teething affect this in any way? He currently has 8 teeth (5 full and 3 coming in at the same time) and I don't see this stopping anytime soon. He's essentially been teething for 3 months straight, with very little breaks in between. He's constantly in pain and has things in his mouth chewing, crying. (I do give him infant pain meds when needed).

Does anyone have any experience with their baby getting a substantial amount of teeth at a younger age? Did your babies babble "on time" or do you feel it affected their babbling by the 9 month milestone timeframe?

Thank you so much! :)

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Re: Teething and Babbling

  • knottie717793edd7b60ea4knottie717793edd7b60ea4 member
    Mine didn’t babble until 2 days before 9 months then she went silent again for another 3 weeks but is doing it all the time again. Have faith it will come! 
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  • knottie6f55c2cdcd00affaknottie6f55c2cdcd00affa member
    Early teething definitely seemed to distract my baby from babbling. Always chewing, fussy, and just not in the mood to 'talk' much. It came later though!
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  • knottie88953cc9aecf73c6knottie88953cc9aecf73c6 Just Joined
    edited May 5
    <div>What you’re describing actually sounds pretty familiar to a lot of parents, especially around that 8–10 month stage. Even though canonical babbling like “bababa” or “dadada” is listed as a milestone around 9 months, there’s still quite a wide range of normal. Some babies focus more on experimenting with single sounds and variations (like your little one is doing with “da”, “ba”, “ma”), and the repetitive babbling often clicks in a bit later.

    </div><div>Teething can absolutely play a role here, not in delaying speech development directly, but in how much energy and comfort a baby has for vocal play. When they’re constantly sore, chewing, and unsettled, it’s very common for them to spend more time on soothing behaviours (like chewing or crying) rather than practising repetitive sounds.

    </div><div>I’ve also seen a similar pattern with a friend’s baby who got teeth quite early, he was far more focused on discomfort for a few months, then suddenly picked up babbling more consistently once things settled.</div><div>A paediatric dental perspective I came across from Parramatta Green Dental(https://www.google.com/maps/place/?cid=4777860076444837643) also mentioned that ongoing teething discomfort can temporarily shift a baby’s focus away from exploratory behaviours like vocalising, which reassured a lot of parents in similar situations.'

    </div><div>From what you’ve described, different new noises, consonant experimentation, and gradual changes, this still sounds like speech development is moving along. If you’re ever unsure, a child health nurse check-in can also be really helpful for peace of mind.</div>
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