Does anyone else have a late/slow talker?

[laneylue+2]

DD is almost 20 months old and she only says around 27-30 words and 1/3 of those would sound pretty much the same to a stranger (like ball, bath, bubble, baby), though DH and I know what she's saying.

I talked to her pediatrician about it last week and he said that's fine, that they only expect around 20 words at her age. However, on another very busy birthboard that I use, the babies her age are saying all kinds of things that DD doesn't. For instance, they say "no" and say their name and stuff. DD only shakes her head no and doesn't call herself anything yet.

DD has always been relatively quiet. She never was a crier unless she was hungry, never a big babbler, she's always quiet in the car, etc. She was always very ahead in her physical milestones such as sitting up, rolling over, crawling, walking, etc. She understands pretty complex commands and knows a few signs that I have taught her.

What really drives me crazy is that she can't (or won't) say the basics, like "food," "hungry," "eat," "thirsty," etc. so sometimes it's hard to know what she wants, yet she says "football" and "good dog" which are totally useless to me! She does say "I love you" and "thank you" though they aren't pronounced well, but at least those have some use!

Anyway, sorry to ramble for so long but I was just wondering if anyone else has a DC who isn't very chatty.