First Time Mom with a late talker

Out of curiosity do you do screen time? If so, how much?

My guy is 17 months and about the same. He will try to repeat words but not really getting it. He says mama dada kaka papa nana but other than that not much else consistently. My doctor says as long as there are some words like mama dada with intention (like when he says mama it’s because he wants you) then not to be worried. Word explosions can happen between 18-24 months

My 5 year old daughter was a little later to talk. She only said about 5 words before 2. Her speech “exploded” after 2 and she quickly made up for it. She has no speech delay and didn’t need speech therapy. My 3.5 year old was speaking in full sentences at 18 months. Kids can be so different with their speech development! I would just narrate the day to him. You can explain everything you are doing to him. You can also start to gauge as time goes on if he understands you. My daughter understood us, but took a bit longer to speak.

I knew my baby had a speech delay but didn't get a proper diagnosis until she was 31/2, and I worked at her school. I had to PUSH for testing. I even got her tested at home at 21/2 and ECI said she was average/above average

I don't think 18 months is necessarily late if he's babbling. I was babbling until I was 3 according to my parents. Now that is what I'd call late, but my own son only really started saying things around that age, he's about to be 2 and although he's definitely trying to talk we can't tell what he's trying to say most of the time. I could be wrong but I get the impression boys develop language a little slower than girls

My first was like this. It's really really hard when they don't even attempt to repeat. We had him assessed at 18 months, they said he wasn't bad enough then. Reassessed at 2.5 and they passed him to a different program to assess because of age. Since he turned 3, he has been in speech therapy (now almost 4.5). The first group that assessed him worked with kids to age 3, and essentially said he is behind, but not bad enough because they looked more at whole communication and not verbal words. (He was big on taking you and showing you or just doing it himself). The second assessment was with the school and she struggled to even assess him since he wouldn't repeat or attempt words he didn't know. Now, he's nearly grade level (it's mostly grammer issues not sounds now).
Don't feel failed, you are a parent. There are experts that can help, you just haven't learned the right tool for your child yet. It will be ok and it's not necessarily your fault. I can tell you from my first we did all the things ~~

~~we were supposed to do. We narrated the day, talked to him, waited for responses (think kids shows like Dora the explorer or blue's clues), enunciated words, used repetitive language. And it honestly took his speech therapist, AN EXPERT, a couple hours to figure out how to work with him (after several hours of working with him during assessment). You cannot be an expert in everything, that's why some people specialize, so we can have resources to go to!