After I announced my pregnancy on social media, a friend added me to a private mom’s group on Facebook. You know how they say, “It takes a village?” These women became my virtual village – a forum on all things mommy related. Everyone was so helpful and the group grew to become large enough that someone was inevitably an expert on whatever topic was broached. I can’t tell you how much I learned, and I felt so connected to these women because we all shared the bond of motherhood. There was one problem though – I couldn’t understand half of what they said! I’d come across something that went a little like this:
“DH and I are ISO some advice! We’re arguing with my MIL because she disagrees with how we want to parent our LO! We want to transition to BLW after EBF for 6 months, but MIL said “IMHO, rice cereal is the next step!” I wish I could be a SAHM and not leave DD with her during the day! KWIM? TIA for the advice!”
Excuse me, but WHAT? Before this group, the extent of my internet acronym knowledge pretty much ended at “LOL.” I did a lot of googling in those early days. In preparing for this blog post, I created a list of the acronyms I knew (roughly 20) and asked my mom’s group what I was missing (thinking that there’d be a handful). They reeled off HUNDREDS of them! Apparently not only is there a secret mommy language, but the corner of the mommy world you live in also dictates the language you speak! Crunchy moms know BLW, AP, EC, NCB, NFP, and EO. Are you passionate about car seat safety? You better add FF, ERF, and RF to your vernacular! Breastfeeding moms commonly use BM, EBF, NIP, LC, and OPD. My favorite translations come from the fertility world: DTD, POAS, and yes EWCM (I couldn’t believe what that last one meant)! You know how the same word can mean something completely different depending on context? For instance, “Polish” can either mean descending from Poland or buffing your silver. Be very careful that your context is clear when using the acronym BM because it can mean either “breast milk” or “bowel movement.”
While this list isn’t comprehensive, because OMG, there are a ton of them, I hope this helps all the FTMs (first time moms) out there who are as confused as I was!
For All Moms:
DH- Darling Husband
DD- Darling Daughter
DS-Darling Son
SO- Significant Other
LO- Little One
MIL- Mother in Law
IM(H)O- In my (Humble) Opinion
KWIM- Know what I Mean?
TIA- Thanks in Advance
SAHM- Stay at Home Mom
PCP- Primary Care Provider
For New Moms:
FTM- First Time Mom
CIO- Cry it Out
SSTN- Sleeps Through the Night
MPP- Months Postpartum
For the Car Seat Safety Moms:
FR- Rear Face
FF- Forward Face
ERF- Extended Rear Face
For Moms Tracking Fertility:
TTC- Trying to Conceive
DTD- Did the Deed
POAS- Pee on a Stick
VBAC- Vaginal Birth After C-section
EWCM- Egg White Cervical Mucus (I know, right?)
IVF- In Vitro Fertilization
BFP(N)- Big Fat Positive (Negative)
LMP- Last Menstrual Period
EDD-Estimated Due Date
WW- Week Wait
For Breastfeeding Moms:
BF- Breastfed
FF- Formula Fed
EBF- Exclusively/Extended Breastfed
LC- Lactation Consultant
OPD- Oz per day
PTT- Posterior Tongue Tie
EP- Exclusively Pump
NIP- Nurse in Public
For Crunchy Moms:
BLW- Baby Led Weaning
CD- Cloth Diaper
EC- Elimination Communication
NCB- Natural Child Birth
EO- Essential Oil
NFP- Natural family Planning
AP- Attachment Parenting
I hope everyone can translate the question above now that you have the key!
Translation:
“Darling husband and I are in search of some advice! We’re arguing with my mother in law because she disagrees with how we want to parent our little one! We want to transition to baby led weaning after exclusively breast feeding for 6 months, but mother in law said “In my humble opinion, rice cereal is the next step!” I wish I could be a stay at home mom and not leave darling daughter with her during the day! Know what I mean? Thanks in advance for the advice!”
