"Play date"

I went to the park today for what moms now apparently call a play date. Of course, it wasn't really a play date since Liam can't play on the toys yet. But we went for a walk in the park together and then my friend's two-year-old son played on the toys with his mom while Liam and I walked around the equipment watching him. It was a fun time.

But let me back up for a second.

Has anyone who does not have children ever heard of a play date? OK, maybe you've heard this term on a TV show or something. But seriously, there are a LOT of terms that I had never heard before I got pregnant with Liam. And most of them, I am convinced, were created recently by magazines like Parenting and websites like Babycenter.

Here are some examples. If you don't have children, or haven't had them recently, I bet you don't know what some of them are!

Co-sleeping: Sleeping with your baby in your bed. Highly controversial. Doctors say never do it. But many families do it anyway.

Baby wearing: This cracks me up. Like they are an accessory. It means people who use slings or front packs almost all the time when their children infants. They say it promotes bonding. I say it stunts development. (I do love my front pack, but let's be reasonable.)

MOPS: Mothers of preschoolers. A mom's group that meets to do mom things while someone watches their children. AKA sanity for stay-at-home moms.

LLLI: Le Leche League. The breastfeeding zealots! They have good resources and will send out a lactation support person to your house if you need help.

Cruising: This one I just learned. It's a term to define the time when your baby isn't walking, but is holding onto furniture and getting around the room from one piece to the next.

Tummy Time: Otherwise know as torture, at least Liam thought so when he was under four months old. Putting your baby to play on their stomach so that they can earn to lift their head and push up, and eventually crawl.

Attachment parenting: Dr. Sears method of parenting. He basically says that children form strong bonds when they are babies with their parents, and during this sensitive period need to feel emotionally and physically safe. It often includes things like natural childbirth, not letting your child cry, and altered shot schedules.

Cry it out (CIO): The opposite of attachment parenting. (Ha Ha.) I have been attacked by numerous people for letting Liam CIO--which really translates to fuss it out--when learning to put himself to sleep. But I'm a better mother and Ryan is a better father because Liam learned--in two days--to sleep through the night at three months old. He is a happy, healthy baby and I don't think we have damaged him by letting him fuss to sleep. That's the thing about parenting, everyone gets to do it their own way. And this was our way.

Extended nursing: Breastfeeding until your child is older than 3yrs. I will not be participating, thank you.

Demand feeding: Breastfeeding anytime your chid cries or looks remotely interested in nursing. Works for some people. I did this for Liam when he needed to gain weight in the beginning. It is hard.

And don't even get me started on acronyms used on baby websites and boards!
Here are a couple common ones. Can you guess what they mean?
DH
SO
SAHM/WAHM
DD
DS
BFP
BF
LO
SSTN
EBF
CD


You need a resource guide just to learn all this stuff! As if we mothers don't have enough to do.