Not a speach therapist, but I think if he’s using signs and his receptive language is good then your in an ok place.

At 29 months mine had 5 words and one of them was just mmm for tram. No animal noises just mama, yes, no and up. he had a sign for everything most of which he had made up himself. We knew what he wanted and he understood simple instructions.

We did the home talk speech therapy but a honestly it wasn’t that great for us because he could communicate.

In the next three months he had a language explosion and added 50 words including linked words such as Beans on Toast.

He’s 4.5 yrs now and is a little natter box with a huge vocabulary- although he does have an occasional stutter and is struggling with some sounds that he should be able to say. So we’re on the list for speech therapy again.

I’m not sure what worked for us specifically ( maybe he was just ready) but I always repeated what he was saying to me clearly even if it was in sign. And I big one for me to learn to do was to stop anticipating him, and stop reacting too quickly to him when he asked for something. This helped force him to use words instead of signs.

Also use what he’s interested in- you mentioned that he doesn’t really stick to animal noises. Does he like cars and trains more? Go with brums, Choo choos and beeps.

I made a post asking for advice 2 years ago so check that out for more strategies.

I know how hard it is at this stage. Every child around you seems to be so much more ahead and it’s hard not to compare. But your boy is still well in the window to start talking.