For some reason baby equipment is an area in which American English differs markedly from British English. As well as learning how to care for a baby, we had to learn a whole new vocabulary! Fortunately we are now fluently bilingual, and I have compiled a handy US-UK baby dictionary for you.
Diaper n. Nappy
Mom says if you can read this change my diaper.
The first time you change one of these you will be all thumbs and stick the little adhesive tabs to yourself, the baby and probably the changing mat before you get them where they ought to go. A few years later you will be able to lasso a running toddler and change them before they even know what's happened (yes, I have seen it done). You will also get through more diapers than you ever thought possible, creating scary amounts of expense and waste. Hence we are now mostly using:
Cloth diaper n. Reusable nappy
Cool baby.
No longer those terry squares, the main drawback is that there are now so many types it can be quite overwhelming to work out what you need. But they come in all sorts of cute colours and patterns, so your baby gets to look cool while doing his bit for the environment. I have to admit the Texas sun makes cloth diapering a lot easier; they dry in half an hour and bleach out beautifully. And while we're on the subject:
Poop n., v. Poo
Nice clean baby who will shortly make a mess.
This is what your baby produces approximately five minutes after you last changed him. If you just gave him a bath, too, it will get up his back and down his legs and you will wonder why you even bothered. At first babies poo all the time; later they settle down to doing it only at the most inconvenient times. See also:
Pee n., v. Wee
Practising his innocent look.
In the case of a male baby, a pretty little fountain that goes all over his clothes just as you were congratulating yourself on getting away with not completely changing him this time. Sometimes he will score a direct hit on his face. This may disgust you but doesn't bother him in the slightest. Having got the revolting stuff out of the way, we can move on:
Stroller n. Buggy, pushchair
Pacifier, passie, binky n. Dummy
Crib n. Cot
Playard, Pack'n'Play™ n. Playpen
Onesies™ n. Babygro, bodysuit
Burp cloth n. Muslin, muzzie
So there you go. Your complete illustrated guide to being a bilingual baby.
Comments
Lovely pictures.