# Mama vs Mommy



## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

It seems to be the culture of MDC to prefer the name Mama to the more common (or so I thought) in the USA Mommy. Is there any reason for this?


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## 2goingon2 (Feb 8, 2007)

My kids made the ma-ma-ma sound first so it became logical for me to refer to myself as "mama" instead of mommy. To me, it has a softer, sweeter sound than mommy. I can hear mommy being said in a whiney tone for some reason.


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## Teenytoona (Jun 13, 2005)

Same as the PP mommy has a distinctively different sound to it than momma. I prefer the -ah sounding ending. But additionally, I just kind of like the thought of an adult child calling their mother "momma" IDK, just a thing for me.

As far as MDC as a community, IDK. I wonder about that too. I think Momma/Mama is kind of a way we greet each other, kind of in place of "woman" or "gal." How many threads start out something like, "Hey Mommas..." But not sure as to why momma instead of mommy for the community.


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

I don't prefer mama from my child. She called me Mommy and then switched to Mum or Mummy.

I think mama sounds better than mommy if you are referring to another adult on a message board.


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## Alyantavid (Sep 10, 2004)

I do prefer mama, but I don't really know why.

My kids rotate through mom, mama, and mommy.


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

i much prefer mama. mommy sounds whiny to me.


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## rootzdawta (May 22, 2005)

Dunno . .. ds can make "mama" sound pretty darn whiny. LoL. I think "mama" sounds a little more earthy/nurturing than mommy to the ear. That's probably why it's used on MDC. I generally address other moms I'm close to as "Mama" . . . I see it as a term of endearment. DS calls me mom, ma, mommy, mama . . . I guess whatever feels good at the time. I don't really have a preference.


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

I prefer Mama, but the daycare ladies call all mothers "mommy", and now DS does too. *sigh* But when my kid jumps up and ecstatically yells "Mommy!", the truth is, he could call me anything and I'd still like it.

I def prefer "Mama" as a way to refer to other mothers on a message board. For some reason, "mommy" doesn't sit with me at all right for that.


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## CheapPearls (Aug 7, 2007)

I prefer Mama. It sounds so southern and homey.









When my oldest was 4 he picked up calling me mom/mommy for a few weeks, I ended up telling him that I rather him call me mama instead. He calls me mom from time to time but the three of them pretty much call me mama.


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## ~ Wonderful Life ~ (Apr 14, 2009)

Did I copy your post or did you copy mine?!


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## kirstenb (Oct 4, 2007)

DS started out calling me Mama, and now he switches between Mama and Mommy. Sometimes I'll get a Mom. I don't really care either way. If he's going to whine, whatever he calls me is going to sound whiney.

I prefer Mama for a place like MDC- it sounds weird to me to call other mamas "Mommy".


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## Maela (Apr 2, 2006)

I really don't care. I mostly call myself Mama, but I've called myself Mom and Mommy too. Dd calls me all three names, but mostly Mama.


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## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *~ Wonderful Life ~* 







Did I copy your post or did you copy mine?!





























Oops, your timestamp shows your thread first. I swear, I didn't see it!!!!!!


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## phrogger (Oct 16, 2006)

I don't really care for Mama. I do however have kids who call me just about everything. Mom, mommy, MOTHER (if they are mad) and my oldest started calling me lady. He said I ignore mom so easily now he had to come up with something else. HA.


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## guest9921 (Nov 3, 2005)

Like other PPs, I think mommy sounds whiney.
I also dislike Daddy. (The boys use 'Papa')

I think they just sound infantile and cutesy. [Mommy & Daddy that is.]


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## CarrieMF (Mar 7, 2004)

I've always been Mum, the odd time Mother. My kids have never referred to me as Mommy, most likely because I never referred to myself as it.

It's the same with their Dad. It has always been Dad, never Daddy


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

there is a sweetness to the way my dd calls me mama which does not carry over with mommy.

with the way she says it, mama is much more affectionate.

however i enjoy all of it. coz it gives me an idea where she is coming from.

for instance

MOM is used when seh is frustrated and wants me to pay attention. like hello is anyone listening attitude. if i dont respond to mom it changes to MOTHER and the whole body stance.

mommy is more indirect. more whiny. it isnt so much about me but more about what seh wants from me. or what she needs from me. where i am a tool. make me a sandwich. help me with homework. kwim.

but mama - oh that is so sweet. melt in the mouth sweetness. its pure affection. its where she wants me. where she wants me to be silly, where she wants me to show her love.

ETA: its the same with 'daddy'. she calls him dada affectionally. daddy as in formal talking.


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## Just Elsa (May 18, 2009)

Mama is an organic sound kids make early on. Mommy requires learning to say and feels less genuine to me.


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## Apple Girl (Nov 2, 2007)

I prefer to be called Mommy by DS.

Someone at preschool has been referring to the parents at "Mom" and "Dad", because recently he's been coming home calling me Mom.









ETA - I've never really thought about this... DS1 historically *always* called me Mommy. He had a speech delay, so by the time he was starting to talk, I guess "Mommy" was what he decided I would be... and I was so thrilled he was talking, I just became Mommy.

DS2 on the other hand, is a much earlier talker... he's been calling me "Mama" and his favorite food "Mama milk" since he was about 8 months old... I wonder if I will morph into Mommy with him, or stay Mama?

I guess I like both, but I think "Mom" is something older kids say, so I'm not really ready for my boys to call me that yet.


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## riverscout (Dec 22, 2006)

My daughter started out calling me Mama because that's all she could say. Isn't this true for most kids? Anyway, at 3.5 she now seems to mostly call me Mommy and that's okay with me I guess, but she sounds more grown up because of it which is kind of weird for me. I think I might flip out when she starts calling me Mom.

As far as MDC is concerned, I think Mama is used as sort of a term of endearment for other mothers. I think it would be odd to call anyones else Mom or Mommy, but Mama is okay.

Later mamas!


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## Cinder (Feb 4, 2003)

My 5 year old son calls me mama, my 6 year old daughter uses both mama and mommy...but as a baby/toddler, she called me Jillian and DH Ryan almost exclusively...

Anyway, we go with whatever they want to call us...


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## daytripper75 (Jul 29, 2003)

I prefer mommy to mama and cannot tolerate mom. I'm mother or mommy usually.


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## heather+mike2005 (Apr 1, 2008)

I have to admit I prefer Mama, too. Mommy does sound whiny. But still, I'd rather be called Mommy anyday over Mother.


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## JamesMama (Jun 1, 2005)

I prefer to be called Mama. My and DH's family insist on "Go give this to your Mommy." and quite honestly it makes my ears bleed. Thankfully James KNOWS that I want to be called Mama...Mommy grates on my nerves (coming from MY kids, other kids can call their mothers Mommy and thats fine, but I don't like it from MY kids).


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## Sasharna (Nov 19, 2008)

Mama sounds younger and more energetic to me. I wouldn't mind being "mum" someday... but never, ever "mom". Like others pointed out, "mommy" sounds a bit unnatural, but I don't mind when DS says it.

I wish I'd called my mother something other than "mom" because it doesn't seem to fit her either. She's way cooler than a mom, and not so soft as a mommy.

I call my partner "dada" to the kids. Sometimes I switch to "daddy". But, again, "dad" just sounds old to me. He's 24! So not a _dad_.


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## josybear (Jul 24, 2006)

i'm mama. my older son and i have joking arguments where he calls me 'mommy' just to get a rise out of me then i tickle him until he admits that i'm mama...it's just a game, he knows that i prefer mama.


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## zinemama (Feb 2, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ixia* 
I think they just sound infantile and cutesy. [Mommy & Daddy that is.]

I feel the same way. I called my parents Mommy and Daddy but I never liked those terms and always cringed at the idea of being "mommy." To me "Mommy" is that annoying thing strange doctors call me in front of my children.

Early on in my pregnancy I told dh that we were going to be mama and papa. From his bemused look I could tell that what his kids would call him had never crossed his mind, nor did he care at all. Thank goodness.


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## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

I don't have a preference at all. I also wouldn't care if he grew up calling me by my first name. Right now I'm "mamany." (mama-knee) lol!


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## KristyDi (Jun 5, 2007)

I grew up calling my mom mama. (strangely now that I think about it when I refer to her while talking to someone else she's "mom" but when speaking to her I use "mama.")

I prefer mama or mom to mommy (though DD dosen't really talk yet so she uses none of the above yet)

I call my dad daddy. Same deal with using "dad" to refer to him in conversation with others, but addressing him as "daddy." But here (deep south) it's normal for grown women to use "daddy" till their dying day.


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## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

I prefer mommy, am ok with mama, eh about mom, and hate mummy.


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## Steady Mom (May 23, 2009)

My kids all call me Mommy, but it's true that if I'm talking with another Mom, I usually refer to her as Mama.

Never really thought about the reasons, though!


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## major_mama11 (Apr 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *katiesk* 
i much prefer mama. mommy sounds whiny to me.

Exactly.


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## beanma (Jan 6, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KristyDi* 
I grew up calling my mom mama. (strangely now that I think about it when I refer to her while talking to someone else she's "mom" but when speaking to her I use "mama.")

I prefer mama or mom to mommy (though DD dosen't really talk yet so she uses none of the above yet)

I call my dad daddy. Same deal with using "dad" to refer to him in conversation with others, but addressing him as "daddy." But here (deep south) it's normal for grown women to use "daddy" till their dying day.









:

I call my 83 yr old mother "Mama" and it just seems natural to me. My kids do sometimes call me "Mommy", too, but seem to prefer "Mama" more these days. They went through a "Mommy" phase, but almost always call me "Mama" now. They call DH "Dada" and I don't think he's overly fond of that, but he doesn't correct them.


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## Rico'sAlice (Mar 19, 2006)

I'm a "mama" largely b/c it sounds better w/ PaPa which is what my (German) DH goes by. I always called my mother "mommy" and later "mom."


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## LiamnEmma (Nov 20, 2001)

My kids use Mom primarily, with Mama and Mommy falling in that order behind Mom. I use Mama because my dh uses that as a Spanish speaker.


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## AVeryGoodYear (Mar 31, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onlyzombiecat* 
I think mama sounds better than mommy if you are referring to another adult on a message board.

This.

I'm 26 and still call my mom "Mommy" tho 

DH & I refer to me as "mama" to our little girl.


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## choli (Jun 20, 2002)

I cannot abide Mama. Mom, Mommy and Mother are all fine with me.


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## babymommy2 (May 14, 2009)

To me MaMa is what you say when just learning to talk until you can say Mommy. Ma Ma is baby talk to my ears, I can not imagine my 5 year old saying that to me! Perhaps these are regional differences? I do not know any child who says mama except 1 and 2 year olds learning to talk. I assume my child will graduate to Mom, once he is in elementary. The way we say it, is more like mum or Mummy, again maybe regional differences. As far as whineyness, I think all words can be said in a whiney tone, if you really want to whine.


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## riverscout (Dec 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *choli* 
I cannot abide Mama. Mom, Mommy and Mother are all fine with me.

Can Mother actually be used in a nice way? I'm thinking exasperated teenage girl saying "Uh, Motheeeer...."


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## Just Elsa (May 18, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *babymommy2* 
To me MaMa is what you say when just learning to talk until you can say Mommy. Ma Ma is baby talk to my ears, I can not imagine my 5 year old saying that to me! Perhaps these are regional differences? I do not know any child who says mama except 1 and 2 year olds learning to talk. I assume my child will graduate to Mom, once he is in elementary. The way we say it, is more like mum or Mummy, again maybe regional differences. As far as whineyness, I think all words can be said in a whiney tone, if you really want to whine.

Total opposite here. Mommy would be infantile in our area. I suspect you're right about the regional being at least part of it.


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## holyhelianthus (Jul 15, 2006)

Sometimes Mama drives me nuts when my 5 year old says it but that is usually because she is is saying it in a baby voice. Then again there are times it's just fine. Mommy is ok too. For some reason they have taken to calling me Mother (think of my 5, 3, and 2 year olds sighing and saying "yes Mother"). I guess I really have just been an awful grump lately









ETA- I call my girls Mama or Mamas. I have done that since they were born. I also call little boys Papa. Some people think that is weird but in my area a lot of folks do it


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## Cinder (Feb 4, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ixia* 
Like other PPs, I think mommy sounds whiney.
I also dislike Daddy. (The boys use 'Papa')

I think they just sound infantile and cutesy. [Mommy & Daddy that is.]

I think mama, dada, and papa sound more infantile...just cause, well, it's something infants say...

My mom would only let us call her mom, she hates mama, mommy, and mother...so I decided as a kid my kids could call me whatever they want.


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## hhrules (Jun 2, 2009)

ds1 and ds2 have always called me Mom. When ds1 went away to college we got in the habit of sending random texts throughout the day...just little stuff we would see or hear that we wanted to share. and then, sometime during second semester, about the time I was getting used to not giving a hug goodnight, ds1 started texting "goodnight, mommy". i have very rarely felt so cherished.


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## Lollybrat (Sep 18, 2008)

Before having DS, I always said that I wanted to be "Momma" rather than "Mommy". But DS was close to 3 when he started talking, and by that time I was just hoping he would start to call me something. Before then he used the ASL sign for "Mother". DS has autism with hyperlexia, and could read before he could talk. When he finally started talking, he spelled everything out. So he called me "M-O-M-M-Y", but it always more of labelling me as an object than calling/addressing me. To be honest, teaching him how to use the word "Mommy" when he wanted/needed something was such a huge task that I really didn't give much thought to my previous idea that I would rather have been "Momma".


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## crl (May 9, 2004)

I don't why from an MDC cultural prespective. I strongly prefer mama for myself because when we adopted DS, from China, he had been taught MaMa (mom) and BaBa (dad). We retain both, although DS does sometimes say mom or mommy. Interestingly he never says dad or daddy. . . .

Catherine


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## sinsaratea (May 14, 2004)

I said Mama growin up so that's what I wanted. I just thought it was a southern thing. It also sounds a bit more "crunchy"... like Earth Mama or something.

Her father refers to me as "mommy" when he is referring to me though. As in "So what did you and mommy do today?" or "Go ask mommy."







:Grates my nerves every time.


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## karne (Jul 6, 2005)

I am "Mama" (my kid's choice), and I'll cry the day I stop hearing it.


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

I dunno what it is, but somehow mommy sounds more mainstream and mama sounds more crunchy/organic. I am definitely mama to my son.


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## Devaskyla (Oct 5, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *babymommy2* 
To me MaMa is what you say when just learning to talk until you can say Mommy. Ma Ma is baby talk to my ears, I can not imagine my 5 year old saying that to me! Perhaps these are regional differences? I do not know any child who says mama except 1 and 2 year olds learning to talk. I assume my child will graduate to Mom, once he is in elementary. The way we say it, is more like mum or Mummy, again maybe regional differences. As far as whineyness, I think all words can be said in a whiney tone, if you really want to whine.









:

Honestly, I would cringe if my older kids called me 'mama'. I love hearing them say it when they're babies, but I guess 'mommy' is kind of a milestone. I haven't gotten it for very long, though, ds1 has been saying 'mom' for awhile & ds2 copies him. Being 'mom' already makes me a little sad, to me it's something you say when you feel like you're too old to be saying 'mommy'. Whenever I accidentally refer to my mom as 'mommy' because I've been speaking in the third person *way* too much, I'm always happy when no one hears me say something I consider very babyish for me to be saying.


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## MayBaby2007 (Feb 22, 2007)

DD says mommy. When she switched from mama to mommy, it was soooooo sweet. The way she said it was just









And now I hear it SO much it makes me nauseated at times







:







It's whiney and the "eeeee" part is like nails on a chalkboard, depending on how she says it. OTOH, if she stops calling me "mommy", I will miss it


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## jlobe (May 1, 2009)

I like and my kids call me mom. Mama always reminds me of the Bernstein bears and I find that whole family incredibly annoying.


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## muttix2 (Apr 24, 2005)

I love being called Mama. There is a whole sense of person that I have behind that. The type of parent I want to be is, in a sense, connected to the name "Mama" to me. I'll be sad if my boys end up calling me something else as they get older. Of course, we're in the South so it is socially acceptable for an 80 year old to call his mom "Mama" so I might be able to be Mama forever which would make me super happy.


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## Phoenix~Mama (Dec 24, 2007)

I have to agree with PP's on the sentiment that Mama sounds more natural. I just love the way Mama rolls better than Mommy.


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## benj (Jun 4, 2009)

my son says mama or ima (hebrew) but he's two. i don't think she really cares what he says.


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## Lynn08 (Dec 2, 2008)

I've known I never wanted to be called "mommy" since adolescence when my mother started making us call her "mommy dearest". It was a short lived phase/power trip but it ruined "mommy" for me. I only called her "mom" or "mother" after that.

So mama was pretty much the only option left for me. It's a good thing it's my favorite!







And dh is "daddy" by his choosing.

And a pp mentioned being called "lady" which made me thing of what I call my gm - Grandma Lady, Grams, or Woman (all with the utmost respect and love). I have no idea where they came from (all my other sibs call her grandma); they just kind of evolved. So I hope one day my children will call me whatever they feel best suits me (as long it's not "mommy"







).


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## Bug-a-Boo's Mama (Jan 15, 2008)

Before I became a Mother I never liked the idea of being called Mama. I always thought I would be Mommy. But now that I am one and Mama is the first thing he called me, I LOVE it







. Mommy is a transition as they get older. But I love Mama and want to keep it forever.


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## vegemamato (Jul 4, 2007)

Mine have always called me mama, even before I became really 'crunchy'









Lately, they call me 'kookoo bananas' though :nana:


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## peainthepod (Jul 16, 2008)

I no longer have contact with my mother because she is very toxic to me. She always insisted that my siblings and I call her "Mommy" (even when we were old enough to prefer to call her "Mom"), so I have made a conscious distinction by hoping the baby will call me "Mama" when he begins to speak. It's up to him, of course, but for my own reasons I much prefer mama.


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## Snuzzmom (Feb 6, 2008)

My child calls me Mommy, Mama, Mommy-Moms, Mommy Monster, Monkey, Cake (my name is Kate)... it's all fine with me. It all sound cute coming out of his little mouth.









I don't think one sounds inherently whinier than the other. I think whining makes them sound whiner.


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## texmati (Oct 19, 2004)

I only say mama on mdc? I never thought about it before, it just seems like that's what everyone does.

Maybe because mama is cross cultural? The only people who say mommy that I know of are english speaking-- most everyone else says mama, with a little bit of amma peppered in there.


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## Draupadi (Jul 19, 2007)

DS calls me Mama. I'll be really sad when he starts calling me "Mom" because it will mean that he is no longer my little baby.


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## karemore (Oct 7, 2008)

Mama sounds more endearing to me, but DD calls me mom, mommy, mother, mama, all depending on her mood or phase she's in.


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