First Words

What counts as THE first word for a child?  Is it the first babbling syllables that sound like a word?  Is it the first time that those babblings coincide with the object in question?  Is it the first time that you KNOW she knows the word and it's said in the right context?  I've debated this question in my mind for months now.  Now she knows five words.

Her first babblings were daddaddadadadda.  Then one day I sat her on the bed, she looked at Doug and said, "Hi Dada."  It didn't happen again for a long time.  Dadadada began to occur constantly and not necessarily when Doug was around.  She likes to play with her toys and whisper dadadadaddada.  But, now we know for sure that she knows who Dada is even if she isn't consistent in using the word. 

Her second word is like unto the first... Mamamamamamamamama.  Unlike dada, mama is usually yelled.  Hmmm...portent of things to come?

Her third word is stay, pronounced "tay."  It's usually accompanied by a little pointing finger.  And, generally occurs after one of us has relegated Zoe to her bed and forcefully commanded, "stay."

Her fourth word is yum.  I really want her to learn to enjoy a wide variety of foods.  So when we are eating I will often repeat the name of the food and then say, "yummm."  More often than not she will respond with a mimicked "yummm."  But, the other day we were sitting with her cousin and I asked Rachel, "do you like cheese?"  Rachel looked at me and said, "yummmm."  She absolutely LOVES cheese.

Her fifth word began today.   I had a banana in my hand and she reached out and said, "nanana," complete with the right verbal inflections. 

What a smart cookie.  It makes me wonder what other words she is saying that I don't understand.