Attached parenting. Baby whispering. Lactivists. Perineal massage. New motherhood is a country with a language all its own. Baby manuals, parenting mags and even gossip rags are dotted with baby-centric terms that have become part of the lexicon e.g. mannies (male nannies as popularised by Britney Spears), babymooning (the honeymoon period with your newborn), glammas (glamorous grandmas) and more. The Macmillan Dictionary webzine has a fun article on new words and parenting called Babytalk.
Brand New Mama is creating our very own Mamalingual* Dictionary to help new parents navigate this strange terrain. Every week we will be updating our dictionary with words and phrases that we have coined or adapted. This is a collaborative project so contact us if you’d like to add or share your own made-up mama speak (and earn a creative credit in the Mamalingual dictionary). Let the mum-bo jumbo* begin.
Mamalingual (adj.) 1. fluent in the many languages of motherhood (origin: Brand New Mama 2007)
Mum-bo jumbo (noun) 1. meaningless language or rituals that only make sense to new mothers (origin: BNM 2007)
Pic via The Superficial.com
2 comments:
I think babymoon is not the period with your newborn, but rather a trip you take with your partner before a baby arrives, to celebrate your last days or months of being a duo.
Hey, I like that definition as that period did feel like a honeymoon for us (before baby kicked in!) I've also read another definition of babymooning - when breastfeeding mothers are advised to take their babies to bed for a 'babymoon' period, to help increase milk production. Maybe it's just a UK thing?
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