In my journey of conceiving my 3rd baby I bought a computer and hooked up to the internet. At first my dealings with cruising the net were very timid. I knew absolutely nothing about surfing the net and certainly knew nothing about its very special and own language – internet lingo. I began to venture out and into chat rooms and message boards and forums. I remember being invited to a particular board when I had ordered a home pregnancy test from a site – and I accepted the invitation and joined. I was trying to act like I knew what was going on – but the language threw me. I had to ask what this meant or what that meant – and finally caught on and joined in the conversation with the best of them. I am an ole pro at it now. However I’m on several email groups and boards and there are others who come along and have to ask what certain abbreviations stand for. It’s with these women in mind that I write this article explaining the complex internet lingo especially suited for those trying to conceive.

For starters I will list some common abbreviations and then will dive into the special “trying to conceive” lingo.

• BBL = be back later
• BFN = bye for now
• BRB = be right back
• df = dear friend
• dh = dear husband
• LOL = laugh out loud
• so = significant other
• TTYL = talk to ya later

• af = aunt flo
• bd = baby dance
• bbt = basal body temperature
• bf = breastfeed
• cf = cervical fluid
• cl = coverline
• cm = cervical mucus
• cp = cervical position
• lp = luteal phase
• lpd = luteal phase defect
• m/c = miscarriage
• m/s = morning sickness
• pg = pregnant
• TTC = trying to conceive

These should get you started if you haven’t already figured these out. There are many good forums, message boards and chat rooms available to support those who are trying to conceive. This language is a must in these areas – you will be lost if you don’t know it.