Researchers believe that your baby can now understand all the basic sounds that make up his or her native language. Between this time and 6 months of age, your baby will develop the ability to make some of these sounds, which means you may hear the words you've been dreaming about, namely "mama" and "dada." While child development experts say it's too early for your baby to connect those sounds with you, that won't make hearing them any less exciting.

You can encourage your baby's attempts at communication by mirroring or imitating his or her expressions and sounds. Your baby may try to imitate you, too. Say baa and he or she may try to say it back.

Reacting when your baby makes noises or tries to say something will help him or her learn the importance of language and better understand cause and effect. It's great for the self-esteem, too: Your baby will begin to realize that what he or she says makes a difference.

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