sweet voice of maya

today we had speech therapy. i've been a little concerned with maya's lack of progression in this area. it seems that all the other therapies are going rather well. even her occupational therapy which we have not had a bunch of session with, have seemed to produce quick results. we have been working with our speech therapist for four months now and still it seems that maya has only been cooing. babbling (such as baa, gaa, maa) has not yet come. i have read that these sounds are the building blocks to speaking words.

i know that maya will have many hurdles to cross in her life but speech seems to be one area that i have some anxiety about. maybe it's just me, but i have always had the feeling that when someone cannot communicate as clearly as the "norm", it makes people uncomfortable. i don't want maya to have these struggles. i suppose it is inevitable. and perhaps it is my own feeling of not knowing how to handle such situations that makes me feel helpless.

when i think about learning how to speak, i think it is probably one of the hardest challenges to meet for anyone. i often mispronounce words. it feels as if my tongue does not do what my mind tells it. i wonder sometimes if this is what is happening to maya. maybe she wants to say the word but her tongue is not in the proper position. when she first said da-da i thought it would open the door to so much more. but it has been over a month since she first said that and i am still waiting for her voice to take flight.

every once in awhile i can hear her in the mornings, quietly, cooing in her bed. she has such a sweet voice, so soft and pure. i like to think she is having a little conversation with herself in a language we just don't know yet. what comes from her mouth seems like music to my ears. i only wish to hear more.