Let's get this out of the way first. Don't baby talk to your child. It makes you sound like an idiot. Nobody ever thinks it's cute. Plus, it is bad for their language development, so it's not only annoying but actually detrimental. If they grow up and decide that baby talk is their thing as an adult, more power to them, but there’s no need to lead them down that path. Come to think of it, I've never actually met one of those people, so it might just be a pop culture trope that doesn't exist in the real world.
Now, I will still allow him to manipulate language. He says puh-muh for a pacifier. Pacifier is a hard word, I get it. So I call it a puhmuh too. But I don't say goo goo gaa gaa or oogie boogie or weeky wookoo when I am talking to him. This man is going to have to deal with enough nonsense in his lifetime; I don't need to get him started any earlier than necessary.
What I propose instead is to talk to your child as if they are an attractive person. An incredible thing happens to men when they interact with an attractive female. They become way nicer, and although their voice seems slightly higher, it's also significantly softer. I'm sure most, if not all, females figured this out by age 12, but it took me until my 30s for it to really stand out.
As a single guy, I would have never noticed this, even though I can guarantee that I 100% did this, and was probably very creepy about the whole thing (single me really, really sucked). But a few years ago, an attractive girl started at the company I was working at, and it was shocking that this happened to every guy in the office. All the voices were higher, and every guy was WAY friendlier than most times when new people started. There was a damn traffic jam at the door to come in and introduce themselves. It was truly incredible.
Plus, all of this hoopla was for naught, as she had a big ol' wedding ring on her finger. The nerds I worked with, shockingly, were unable to get her to ditch her husband.
Although their efforts failed with seducing the opposite sex, I don't think their methods were totally worthless. I mean, just think about how much more interesting people find attractive people (I don't know about ladies changing their voices for attractive men, but I have definitely seen boring men get treated with way too much interest), even if they are boring as hell. My son, still not quite two years living on this Earth, doesn't blow my mind with his wisdom, but I treat everything he says as absolute gold. We have spent ten straight minutes just identifying towel, Dad's trunks, his trunks, and his floaties that hang up on the clothesline. Writing it doesn't sound interesting, but I hang on his every word, and repeat it back to him to show that I am listening and I appreciate his effort, just like I would do for an attractive woman if I was still single.
Speaking on that, every accomplishment by an attractive person gets celebrated to a higher degree, in hopes that they will be overjoyed and physically contact you in some way. As anyone who has read The Game knows, then it's just a matter of keno escalation before they fall deeply in love with you. If you don't know what that means, that's a good thing.
Anyway, I celebrate my son's triumphs in the same way, and I'd be lying if I wasn't hoping for a high-five or a hug from the little guy, as it really does feel better coming from him over anyone else.
When it comes down to it, my wife and I are really just competing for the same attractive prize, hoping to be his main squeeze. My wife has let me know numerous times that I have no game, but I got her with persistence. So even though he seems married to the idea of loving her the most, that's never stopped a guy from trying.