Coos, Sighs, and Squeaks: Talking Back to Your Baby's First Sounds
Your baby has started making those melting little sounds, soft coos, gurgles, drawn-out vowels, and you find yourself answering back without thinking. That instinct is exactly right. Those tiny sounds are the very first threads of language, and you are your baby's favourite conversation partner.
What's happening this week
Around two months, many babies begin to coo: gentle, musical vowel sounds like ooh, aah, and eh, quite different from crying. These often appear during happy, alert moments, especially when you are talking to them. Your baby is discovering that they can make sound on purpose and that it brings a response. You may also notice more varied cries, contented sighs, and squeaks as your baby experiments with their voice.
This is the beginning of vocal play, your baby's first practice at using the mouth, breath, and voice together. It is a huge cognitive and physical achievement wrapped in an adorable package.
Why it matters
Language grows through back-and-forth interaction, sometimes called serve and return. Your baby serves a coo, you return words, a smile, or a sound, and your baby learns that communication works: I make a noise, someone responds. This simple loop, repeated thousands of times, builds the brain architecture for speech, vocabulary, and connection.
Babies who are talked and cooed with often tend to hear more words and take more turns in these little exchanges, which supports language down the line. It is not about flashcards or fancy programmes. It is about ordinary, loving conversation, which you are already having.
Simple ways to support it at home
Coo back. When your baby makes a sound, repeat it, then add words: Oh, you said aah! Tell me more. This teaches turn-taking and shows their voice matters. Pause after you speak so your baby has space to respond. Those pauses are where the conversation lives.
Narrate your day. Describe what you are doing as you change, feed, and carry your baby, in a warm, slightly sing-song tone that babies love. Sing songs and recite rhymes; melody and repetition are wonderful for early language. Read simple, high-contrast board books, more for the sound of your voice and the closeness than the story. A soft rattle or wooden toy can join in as a playful prop, but your voice is the real language tool.
Follow your baby's mood. Chat most during calm, alert, happy times, and give quiet when they look away or seem tired.
What's normal, and when to check in
Some babies coo early and often, others are quieter, and both can be perfectly typical. Amount and timing vary widely. What you are looking for over the coming weeks is a gradual increase in sounds and responsiveness.
Do check in with your pediatrician if, by around three to four months, your baby is not making any cooing or vowel sounds, does not react to loud noises or your voice, does not smile socially, or seems to make less eye contact over time. Sharing these early lets you get any helpful support sooner.
Keep the conversation going. Every coo you answer tells your baby that their voice is worth hearing.