A.,
My youngest daughter is doing the same thing right now. She is just over 1 year old, however, she was extremely premature and her adjusted age is around 9 months. We see an occupational therapist every month due to her extreme prematurity. My little Layla doesn't make any consonate/vowel combinations either. Actually she barely makes noise other than blowing bubbles or other strange noises. I have brought this up at numerous times with the Occupational Therapist (OT) and she is not concerned because Layla is mostly on track in her other areas. I say mostly because she does have a few delays, though we are pretty sure they have to do with her size. She is only 11 lbs despite a high calorie diet ~ I guess she's like me since she just can't seem to gain weight. The OT has told me numerous times that some children just don't verbalize themselves as much. If you are in a more quiet home, then often (not always) your children also have more of a quiet demeanor.
Basically she told me not to worry about the linguistic delays (she is just know starting to laugh, and most babies begin much younger). Ironically Layla is ahead in other areas ~ similar to your daughter she is trying to walk and she is extremely skilled with her hands. Since I have an older daughter who was extremely advanced linguistically (we woke up to her babbling "da da da da da da" by the time she was 4 mo old, she would mimick the cat and say "meow" by 6 mo old and "ma ma ma ma" by 7 mo old. Her first word was at 8 mo old. Katarina (my older daughter) was very advanced and still is linguistically and I have to remember that when assessing Layla.
Since it is your first child it is all the harder not to worry, but try not to worry ~ having carefree fun with your daughter is one of the best ways to help her develop her lingistics. Our OT suggested we just try to read to Layla and do family activities to try to encourage her verbal skills. She told us to have Layla facing us when we spoke to her, and to tell her what we are doing and explain things to her as we do them ("Mommy is washing dishes. See all the dirty dishes. The dirty dishes get rinsed, then Mommy washes them. Then Mommy has to dry the dishes. Mommy is putting away a plate... etc")
It is also very important to remind yourself that all children do develop differently. There are some children that do not speak until they are about 3 but they start talking with a vengence ~ in full sentences. Remember to use what you see online as a guide, and only a guide. No guide is written specifically for your daughter or your family. Guides are to help identify if there is a serious problem.
There are a few simple ways to check her ability to hear at home. See how she responds to sounds (have your husband go behind her and make a loud noise and you watch her reaction from the front). If it seems she is not responding to sounds, then you should explain what you have noticed to her Dr and ask him to refer her for a hearing test.
You can also see if she recognizes her name. If you call her name and she looks at you (do in a variety of ways so you know it is her name and not just you talking) then it means she is able to recognize her name.
In my situation my youngest daughter is analyzed at every angle due to her extreme prematurity (she spent 4.5 mo in the NICU, and still came home very ill). Sometimes all this analyzing is difficult to deal with (especially since I have to bring my older daughter with me to these appointments). Dr.'s are perplexed because by every account my daughter should not have survived. (We had a very complicated pregnancy situation). Even with all of the Dr's watching her every little growth or development I have found a few things they've either missed or gone overboard with. I have now scaled back how much the Dr's get their hands on her and work on spending more time with her. I did bring up to them that how could she possibly develop normally if every single day of the week we had 2 or more Dr's appts? They did understand my point there.
Since you are at home with your daughter, you have the opportunity to know all of what she is doing and to be able to adjust some of her activities likewise. Try using some musical toys with her and try babbling with her. I have been keeping Layla in the same room that I am in while I do my tasks (I have "baby stations" set up around our home ~ the play yard area, a bouncy seat, the high chair, an exersaucer etc). I make an effort to talk to Layla while I do my housework. My older child tries to help too. She likes to talk to Layla, and since her vocabulary is so advanced it could be a big help to her.
For me the hardest thing has been to be careful not to compare Layla to other children. She is growing and developing at her own pace and doing her own unique skills. As long as she is at a developmental norm by the age of 8 then I am not going to worry (most children "equalize" around the age of 5 years old, preemies however take a bit longer till closer to 8 years of age).
If you need to talk, please feel free to contact me.
Try not to worry or over analyze. I'm sure things will work out for the best!
Hope you are well!
A.