How to speak the language of Mom

Mmmmmmmmm....mah...mah...mah! Mmmmmmmmm....mah...mah...mah!

That is an approximation of the sounds I often made at my son when he was about four months old. As I made those sounds, I gave him a big smile to show him how much fun it was to make those sounds.

Then, at seven months, when he came crawling toward me, saying his first word (mama), I was beyond thrilled.

It's not a shocker that Moms and Dads communicate with their children differently. But it is interesting to read the latest study by researchers at Washington Spokane University, which concludes that Moms change their entire way of speaking and Dads make almost no changes at all. The study found that:

• Moms speak at a higher pitch; Dads speak at their normal pitch.
• Moms sing children's songs; Dads sing rock n roll songs.
• Moms talk for longer periods of time and using more words; Dads talk for less time overall but use a bigger variety of words.

Researchers are quick to point out that babies like both types of communication, so neither gender has to make a change. As long as they are both talking, baby is very happy.

What was your baby's first word? Tell me in the comments.