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As your baby approaches his first birthday, words become a more substantial part of his developing world of understanding. His first word is just around the corner, if it hasn’t been uttered yet.
Your baby can now combine multiple syllables in a chant-like intonation that sounds like he is engaged in an intricate conversation. He has naturally dropped sounds that are not related to his mother tongue and his chattering sounds more and more like his native language. Quite suddenly, your baby will utter his first word! At first, it may sound similar to his usual babbling, but he clearly uses this word, or sound, to mean something very specific. He will use it again and again for the same purpose, until you finally realize what it means. This could be a short, monosyllabic word, such as "ba" for banana or "ka" for cup.
Your baby’s ability to understand is growing rapidly. For example, at around 13 months, many babies can utter just four words, but understand far more, averaging between 17 and 97 words. It is interesting that a baby who is very “verbal” may in fact understand far less than a baby who has yet to utter her first word. So, if you're baby still isn't saying much - don't worry.