Baby Talk

Well, you know my talk has changed with Sarah. I now speak in accentuated tones and repeat myself frequently, saying things like, "Aren't you a big girl! You're such a big girl!" and "Are you doing a poopy? Poopy, poopy, poopy?" I'm sure my vocabulary has gone downhill, but oh well.

Seems, too, that monkeys use baby talk as well:

Puerto Rico's female rhesus monkeys make unique vocalizations to interact with infants to get their attention, the study finds.

"These female monkeys are definitely excited about looking at babies, and their vocalizations convey that excitement," said study co-author Dario Maestripieri, an associate professor in comparative human development at the University of Chicago.

One particular monkey sound, known as a "girney," seems especially designed for infant ears.

"When infants are around they use [the girney] a lot more, and they also do other things like wag their tails to the babies—which they don't do in other circumstances," Maestripieri said.

I especially enjoy seeing Sarah try to mimic my facial expression when talking to her, concentrating really hard to mouth similar words/sounds. She's growing up so fast!