Babies' first words are often seen as a important and precious moment in their development, marking the beginning of their journey into verbal communication. For instance, when the baby looks at his or her parent and says "mama" for the first time, it brightens up the parent's face with joy but it is a meaningful connection in their bond that is growing. For parents, these are some sources of pride and joy. But how do you determine whether your child's speech and language are progressing?

Understanding the communication milestones will help monitor a child's development and spot potential issues before they become more serious. The milestones serve as benchmarks to guide health care providers on whether a child needs further assistance.

Importance of Communication Development in Early Years

The first five years of a child's life are the time of massive growth and brain development at an incredible speed. All domains of development find their roots within this period, including communication. From the day they were born, babies start crying to communicate, and within weeks or months, they begin to babble, imitate sounds, and eventually words. Communication is not only important to express needs but also for understanding the world and building relationships. It is an important tool that supports cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Speech Milestones by Age

Babies learn communication skills at their own pace. General milestones can, however serve as a guideline for typical development. Let's go through these milestones by age:

Newborn (0-3 Months)

At this point, the babies communicate mostly through crying. They give cues as to their needs by responding with actions like smacking the lips when hungry or arching the back when they feel overstimulated. At the end of three months, you may also observe:

• Smiles in response to your appearance.
• Cooing sounds.
• Quiets or smiles when spoken to.
• Your voice.
• Different cries for specific needs.

Upto 6 Months

By six months, babies start experimenting with sounds and use their voice to play. Major developments include:

• Making gurgling sounds during play.
• Babbling with different sounds.
• Vocalizing likes and dislikes.
• Responding to the change in tone of voice.
• Turning eyes toward sounds.
• Showing interest in music and sound-making toys.

Till 12 Months

By the first birthday, there are some significant communication milestones that have been achieved:

• Trying to imitate speech sounds.
• Speaking basic words like "mama," "dada," or "uh-oh."
• Responding to simple commands, such as "Come here."
• Recognizing common items by name, like "shoe."
• Turning toward sounds and voices.

Upto 18 Months

In this stage, children learn to understand and use words in a consistent manner. Some of the important milestones are:

• Knows the names of people, objects, and body parts.
• Responds to simple commands with gestures.
• The child says up to 10 words.

End of 24 Months

By two years of age, children usually have more developed communication skills:

• Using simple sentences, like "more milk."
• Asking one- to two-word questions, such as "Go bye-bye?"
• Following simple directions and answering simple questions.
• Saying 50 or more words.
• Being understood by family members at least half the time.

Ways Parents Can Support Development

Parents can be very supportive in developing the communication skills of their child. Here are some effective strategies:

1. Pay Attention to Hearing: Ensure your child responds to sounds and voices. Notice if they react to noise or look at you when spoken to. If you suspect hearing issues, consult your pediatrician promptly.

2. Engage in Conversation: Respond to your baby’s coos and babbles. Talk to them frequently about daily activities, like “Mommy is making breakfast,” or “We’re going to the park.”

3. Imitation Training: Teach your baby to imitate actions and gestures of others, such as clapping, waving, or peek-a-boo. These activities encourage her to understand turn-taking and even nonverbal communication.

4. Animals Sound: Learning time must be fun. Train your baby to imitate an animal's sound, "A cow says 'moo.'". This encourages sound production along with word association.

5. Read and Sing Together: Reading stories and singing songs expose your child to language patterns and rhythm. Make it a daily habit to promote vocabulary growth.

6. Use Your Native Language: Speak to your child in the language you’re most comfortable with. Early exposure to rich language environments helps babies learn effectively.

7. Strengthen Their Attempts: Cheer every time your child tries to speak. Repeat the words and sounds and gently correct as needed. A little "baby talk" is okay but clearly say simple words for them to imitate.

When to Seek Medical Attention

Though every child develops at his own rate, there are some delays that point toward professional intervention. Talk with your child's health care provider if:

- Doesn't turn toward sounds or his name.

- By 12 months, he isn't babbling, and by 18 months, he has not spoken a single word.

- Uses speech in a peculiar manner or shows delayed speech.

Your pediatrician can refer you to some specialist who could be an audiologist or speech-language pathologist for more extensive testing. In the case of a bilingual child, he will also be evaluated by a bilingual speech-language pathologist.

Communication milestones form a kind of roadmap in understanding how your baby develops. This means through conversation, play, and learning activities, you could be able to enhance language skills while promoting your child's development. When concerned about delay, consult professional help, as this might make all the difference by having communication skills set up to meet a great future for your child.

Communication Milestones: Birth to 1 Year. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

A giant baby weighing 5.9 kg was born to a mother in New York. She was left in shock and amaze when she saw that she had delivered a boy much bigger than she expected. The newborn baby weighed almost twice as much as an average baby. The baby is born to Terrica and Shawn on January 31 in Cayuga Medical Center. His weigh has made him the heaviest baby ever born at the Ithaca-based hospital, reported the NY Post.

The mother of four said she knew her son would be a little heavy, however did not know he would be this big. She said he is already wearing three-to-six month old baby clothes and diaper. She feels like she has given birth to a three-month-old.

The hospital also posted a photo of the baby on Facebook, comparing him with another newborn baby alongside. The other baby too was born on the same day, whose name is Margot and weighs only 1.8 kg.

Robyn Torgalski, System Director of Maternal and Child Health at Centralus Health, described the two births as a powerful reminder that every newborn and every birth story is unique. She noted that whether a baby weighs four pounds or thirteen, the medical team is fully equipped to deliver the highest level of care to both mother and child. Torgalski added that she is proud of the maternity services at Cayuga Health and feels privileged to support families during such an important life event.

Read: 99th Percentile Baby: What It Means, Risks, And What Parents Should Know

Giant Babies: All About Them

As per the Guinness World Records, the heaviest recorded baby ever was 9.97 kg born in Italy in 1955.

Dr Sermed Mezher, a digital health content creator, and a London based GP, shared: "Babies in the womb who measure in the 99th percentile for weight are referred to as macrosomic baby, meaning they are significantly larger than average for their gestational age. While most macrosomic babies are healthy, their larger size can increase the risk of certain complications during pregnancy and delivery."

What Does It Mean To Be A 99th Percentile Baby?

Babies in the 99th percentile for weight are larger than 99% of babies at the same gestational age. This may lead to birth complications such as shoulder dystocia—when the baby’s shoulders become stuck during delivery—or increase the likelihood of cesarean section. Mothers may also experience a higher risk of perineal tearing, postpartum hemorrhage, and greater pregnancy weight gain. Contributing factors include maternal diabetes, genetics, or excess weight gain during pregnancy.

This larger birth size is medically categorized under fetal macrosomia, which refers to babies in the top 10% of weight for gestational age—with the 99th percentile representing the most extreme cases.

What Causes A Baby To Be a 99th Percentile Baby?

While we do not know the cause in this case, there are certain reason a baby may fall into the category, which includes:

• You have a large fundal height (a measurement of fetal growth)
• Significant weight gain during pregnancy
• Gestational diabetes or pre-existing diabetes
• History of delivering large babies
• Prolonged pregnancy past due date
• Parental genetics (you were a large baby yourself)

A team of doctors in Uttar Pradesh successfully performed a rare and highly complex neuro-interventional procedure on a two-and-a-half-year-old girl that enabled significant neurological recovery.

The child initially had severe indigestion and mild fever. However, it quickly escalated into repeated seizures, altered sensorium, and sudden loss of movement.

At ApolloMedics Super Speciality Hospital, Lucknow, the child was diagnosed with deep Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST) with multiple brain infarcts -- a condition associated with high mortality risk and potentially devastating long-term neurological disability.

“Deep cerebral venous thrombosis in toddlers is exceptionally rare, and neuro-intervention in pediatric stroke is particularly challenging because of the small size of vessels and increased risk of bleeding,” said Dr. Dewansh Mishra, Interventional Neuro-Radiologist, at ApolloMedics.

“Literature on catheter-directed thrombolysis in such young patients is limited. In this case, the child was deteriorating quickly, and timely escalation to precision neuro-intervention was crucial to prevent irreversible brain injury and give her the best possible chance of recovery,” he added.

The Rare Brain Surgery

Dr. Mishra said that the child was also diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Antibody (APLA) syndrome, a clotting disorder that increases the tendency of blood to clot excessively.

Infection and dehydration further worsened the condition and accelerated stroke progression.

Recognizing the urgency, a multidisciplinary team of doctors took a critical, high-risk decision to escalate treatment without delay. They performed intracranial catheter-directed thrombolysis, under general anesthesia, preventing irreversible brain injury in the toddler.

Through the femoral vein in the thigh, a microcatheter was carefully navigated into the intracranial venous system, and clot-dissolving medication was delivered directly at the site of thrombosis to restore venous drainage. This was successful in limiting further neurological damage.

"After nearly three weeks of intensive care and rehabilitation, the child was discharged with significant neurological recovery. She is now able to walk, speak, and perform activities that children of her age do," the hospital said in a statement.

The case, marked by rapid deterioration and a narrow window for intervention, will be presented at the Indian National Stroke Conference 2026 in Kochi, underlining both its clinical significance and the growing capabilities of advanced stroke care in India.

Can Stroke Occur In Very Young Children?

While stroke is more common in adults than in children, the condition can occur in children and debilitate their lives.

Pediatric stroke is a rare condition affecting one in every 4,000 newborns and an additional 2,000 older children each year.

Stroke in young children is similar to that of adults and is caused by a brain injury due to the interruption of blood flow to part of the brain.

In young children, the diagnosis is often delayed. A stroke typically begins suddenly in children and infants, with Seizures the most common symptom.

Extreme sleepiness or altered mental status and a tendency to use only one side of the body are other major symptoms.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, we all know them as a power couple. However, there are moments that have broken them and they both have talked about it. This was the moment of their daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas' birth.

On February 4 episode of the Jay Shetty Podcast, Jonas, 33, opened up about his daughter's birth. "She came to the world under sort of very intense circumstances, which I have not really talked about ever. She came out, she was one pound and 11 ounces, and purple basically. These angels at the NICU kind of resuscitated her in that moment, got her taken care of really quickly, and intubated and everything else."

Also Read: Shingles Can Strike More Than Once, Vaccination Offers Protection, say experts

In fact, recently a video has been circulating of Priyanka Chopra Jonas talking about the premature birth of her daughter too. She described this period as "tough" and said that it was extremely hard on her. She also called Malti a "miracle baby".

On the Jay Shetty podcast, she revealed that the couple were forced to announce her birth, whereas they wanted to wait till her health gets better. They had put everything on halt and visited the NICU every single day. "We received a text saying that her (Malti) birth would be out in the newspapers, if we don't, they are going to put it in within three hours. So we were kind of forced into announcing her birth because we wanted to control our own narrative. We weren't ready. We didn't know what would happen with her or how she would be."

Malti's Premature Birth

Priyanka shared that she was informed about her premature delivery in the 27th week. This is what made her completely "shut down". She also recalled sitting in front of the fireplace for nine hours and was not able to process the situation.

Like Jonas, Priyanka too noted that Malti was purple at birth and required immediate NICU attention. She also said that the nurses' fingers were too big for her small mouth. She recalled feeling "numb" at that time.

However, Jonas shared that Priyanka and him "had a lot of tough conversations day in, day out about caring" for Malti. He also appreciated his wife's strength on handling the situation. "The way in which she handled it was so inspiring to me, and you know, allowing for those days to be tough, but to be tougher for our little girl was the focus."

Malti received six blood transfusions and gained weight in the hospital. After nearly three and half months, she was able to go home.

Priyanka reveals that in her house there is a "big mandir" with "a large Shiv Ji murti". This is where everyone sat as a family and she cried not out of fear, but out of gratitude. "Gratitude that she survived, that she was home, that she chose us, and that we were able to make it happen. IVF is tough."

Read: What Parents of Premature Babies Must Know About the NICU, According to a Neonatologist

What Parents Of Prematurely Born Babies Must Keep In Mind?

Health and Me had earlier spoken to Dr Sanjay Wazir, Medical Director, Neonatology and Pediatrics at Motherhood Hospitals, Gurugram who pointed out that Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or the NICU may seem overwhelming, however, it must be seen as a sanctuary of healing.

"In the NICU, premature or unwell newborns receive specialized medical attention, constant monitoring, and compassionate care from expert hands. Here, the mother and the baby are well taken care of. This will help the baby lead a healthy life. Hence, NICU care is important for all the premature or unwell babies," he says.

What Happens Inside The NICU?

The doctor explains that the NICU provides a controlled and nurturing environment where babies can grow stronger outside the womb. "It helps maintain their body temperature, supports breathing, and ensures proper nutrition through feeding tubes if necessary," he says.

Every machine in the NICU is for a specific purpose, right from oxygen support to heart rate monitoring, ensuring that each baby receives precisely what they need. Parents often find comfort knowing that the experts in the NICU are constantly watching over their child’s progress, explains the doctor.

The doctor points out that parents are essential part of the NICU journey. "Your touch, your voice, and your calm presence can help your baby feel safe and comforted," he tells to all the parents. However, what is extremely important is to maintain hygiene guidelines, staying involved in daily care, and communicating regularly with the doctors and nurses to "strengthen your bond and confidence as caregivers." The doctor says that during this time, the mother will also be taught about Kangaroo care, which is skin-to-skin contact that helps the mother bond with her baby.