Mommy Lingo 101: A Glossary of Mommy Acronyms (Deciphering the Code)

Not all the time am I able to find a topic to write on my blog. When I go blank, I go to other mommy blogs to find inspiration. One particular post I saw was about a mom's traveling experience with her daughter (if I got the acronyms right) and how overwhelming, frustrating and uncomfortable the experience was.

Here's a part of her post:

"My DH, sensing I was overwhelmed with what was happening, took DD so, I can go and clean up a bit. DS was napping so, I went to the PR to get cleaned up. Good thing my AP sling was in my bag so it didn't get any chunks that DD let out. "

While reading her blog post, I was bombarded with one acronym after the other, and as much as I wanted to finish her post, I got a headache from all the "decoding" I had to do. Because of this rather "peculiar" post (to me that is), I went on a search to look for other blogs that use this unconventional style of writing and moms who make the use of these acronyms. I was surprised to find that many moms/parents either write or converse in this shorthand kind of style. Apparently, MOMs have their own trendy lingo and use a long list of acronyms other than the usual SMH and LOL. Sigh, I feel like a dinosaur again. I'm always the last to know about these things.

The use of certain acronyms as shortcuts is a trend, makes it easy for everyone to type, and in my opinion, accentuates a post. For example, for moms/parents who are acquainted/accustomed to those acronyms, when they come across a post like that, they feel more connected with the writer/blogger because they know for a fact that she's a mommy.  They'll read her post intently and even laugh or cry with it. And the best part is, these parents will share it with their friends because "Hey! Look! She's speaking my language!"- that kind of thing.

[Read: 'Mom Brain': The Real Reason Why Mama is Always Tired]

Aside from blog posts, there are a lot of mommy clubs or support group forums for moms that have TTC (trying to conceive) boards filled with mommy-used acronyms. So if you are an FTM (nope it's not female to male transsexual), an NPM or maybe someone who lurks around mommy forums for info, it's best if you know your acronyms before engaging into the world of moms. It'll help keep the exchanges in the conversation flowing with ease. Bear in mind, that some acronyms that are generally used by the masses may be an entirely different thing for parents. For example, LP for the Filipino is Liberal Party, in the mommy world, LP is the Luteal Phase. I know, deciphering the code of the moms is a bit tricky, but not hard to understand when you interconnect everything.

Here's a glossary of the usual mommy acronyms in mommy lingo:
2WW- 2 Week Wait between trying to conceive to testing for pregnancy
ABM- Artificial Baby Milk (formula)
AC- Assisted Conception
AF- Aunt Flo (period)
AFSA- Aunt Flo Stay Away
AI- Artificial Insemination
AIH- Artificial Insemination with Husband's semen/sperm
AIO- All-In-One, this means you don't need a separate cover for the diaper, as in a disposable diaper
AP- Attachment Parenting, coined by American Pediatrician William Sears, this a rearing philosophy that aims to promote continuous body closeness between mother and child.
ART- Assisted Reproductive Technology
BBT- Basal Body Temperature
BC- Birth Control/ Before Children
BD- Baby Dancing ( intercourse with the aim of conceiving)
BF- Breastfeeding
BFIP- Breastfeeding In Public
BFN- Big Fat Negative (Pregnancy test)
BFP- Big Fat Positive (Pregnancy test)
BW- Blood Week (period)
B/W- Blood Work
C- Cycle (menstruation)
CC- Controlled Crying ( a sleep training method for infants)
CD- Cloth Diaper
CIO- Cry It Out ( a sleep training method for infants)
CLW- Child-led Weaning
CM- Cervical Mucous
CVSs-Chorionic Villus Sampling which is a form of prenatal diagnosis for chromosomal or genetic disorders
DA- Dairy Allergen
DD- Dear/Darling Daughter
DF- Dairy Free/ Dear Fiance
DH- Dear/Darling Husband
DI- Donor Insemination
DPO- Days Past Ovulation
DS- Dear/Darling Son
DSD- Dear Stepdaughter
DSS- Dear Stepson
DTD- Do the Deed (sexual intercourse)

DW- Dear Wife
DX- Diagnosis
EBF- Exclusively Breastfeeding
EBM- Expressed Breastmilk
EDD- Estimated Date of Delivery (due date)
EN- Extended Nursing
EP- Ectopic Pregnancy
ER- aside from Emergency Room, Egg Retrieval
ET- Embryo Transfer
FF- Formula Feeding
FTM- First Time Mom
GD- Gestational Diabetes
GF- Gluten-free
HCG- Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ( a hormone that is secreted by the placenta for maintenance of the corpus luteum of pregnancy)
HP- Horse Pill (Prenatal Vitamin)
HPT- Home Pregnancy Test
IUI- Intrauterine Insemination
IVF- In Vitro Fertilization
LAM- Lactational Amenorrhea Metho which refers to natural infertility from breastfeeding
LO- Little One
LP- Luteal Phase
MC or m/c- Miscarriage
MS or m/s- Morning Sickness
NAK- Nursing at Keyboard
NFP- Natural Family Planning
NIP- Nursing in Public
NPM- Newly Pregnant Mom
NTNP- Not Trying/ Not Preventing
O- Ovulation
OH- Other Half
OPK- Ovulation Predictor Test Kit
OWT- Old Wives Tales
PG- Pregnant
POAS- Pee On A Stick (Pregnancy Test)
POF- Premature Ovarian Failure
RXPNV- Prescription Prenatal Vitamin
SAHM- Stay-at-Home Mom
SB- Still Birth
SW- Starting Weight
TTC- Trying to Conceive
US- Ultrasound
VBAC- Vaginal Bith After Cesarean
WAHM- Work-at-Home Mom
WOHM- Work-out-of-Home Mom
WM- Working Mom

These are the usual acronyms that you may see being used by couples TTC (trying to conceive) or parents. If you see any of those acronyms in mommy blogs, you can use this post as a reference so you can crack the code embedded in their writing.

One mom in a forum complained about her frustration with all the acronyms and asked if it is possible that all words be spelled out to avoid confusion. In my opinion, if you are "chatting" or "conversing" in a forum, acronyms are fine to use. But, if it's a blog post, I think it's best if most of the words are spelled out because sometimes we might encounter a reader who isn't well-versed in mommy lingo basics and may emerge from our blog more puzzled than enlightened. Or you may simply put a glossary of the acronyms you used at the end of your post. I would have been grateful if the author of the post I mentioned at the beginning had done that. I wouldn't have had to fill in the blanks myself.

Hope this is useful. For a more extensive list, you can check this website, Mommy Lingo.

Have a great week!