There are a few things that I've been doing with my toddler daughter, that are obviously beyond her ability to understand at this point. For example, I've been identifying her feet/hands/etc as left and right ever since she was born.
Is it a waste of time/energy to point these things out well before she's able to understand, or might there be some gain even if she doesn't completely get it?
Not at all. It's amazing what they pick up from hearing you long before they can even communicate themselves.
Really anything you teach them at this young age is valuable. She is hearing your voice, how words sound, and learning to associate your words with touches or pictures or objects. And she's learning how to learn. All micro-skills she needs and can build on. If she picks up the names of her body parts or left/right or whatever in the process, that's a bonus.
