It was a mystery so perplexing, not even Nancy Drew could crack the case.
It started last week. My 2-year-old son, who has a solid grasp of the words “mommy” and “mama,” abruptly pointed at me and said, “Bemeelmama.”
Bemeelmama?
“Mama,” I said, pointing at myself.
“Bemeelmama,” he replied.
What does that even mean? I had to get to the bottom of this.
“What’s bemeelmama?” I asked.
“Bemeelmama you.”
I gave my son a cup of water and a snack to make him more comfortable before I began the interrogation. I ran through the usual list of questions – the when, where, why, who.
Is bemeelmama something in the house? Is it a person? Is it something you want? Why are you saying this? Is it something on me? Is a beetle? Have I turned into a beetle? Am I living in Kafka novel?
My son grew more agitated and frustrated.
“Baymee. Mama,” he said.
“Baymee mama?” I turned to my iPhone for help. Maybe there’s a character on some children’s show named Baymee. Maybe there’s a book about baymees? What’s a baymee anyway?
“Siri, search the web for ‘baymee,’” I said.
My iPhone replied, “Your wish is my command, Baby Mama.”
Suddenly it all made sense. As a joke, my husband programmed my phone to call me “Baby Mama.” My son must have heard it, and the name stuck.
“Baby Mama,” he said. He pointed at me and smiled.
As of late, our days are full of these mystery words, and I often feel like Encyclopedia Mom and the Case of the Toddler Tongue. The other day my son sobbed for “buckeye.” It took hours to decode that he wanted to go for a bike ride. My child also knows more Spanish words than I do, so sometimes he’ll make a request, and I’ll realize we are literally speaking different languages.
It can be frustrating or downright funny, but mostly it’s a marvel. Language acquisition is fascinating at this stage, and I’m constantly amazed by the words that stick with my son and how he chooses to use them.
There was recently a lively discussion in the BabyCenter community about the mystery words our little ones use. Here are some of the responses:
- “Sometimes he says ‘duca-du duca-du.’ No clue what it means, but DH and I call it his duca language.” – Notyourminivanmama
- “One of my twins keeps saying ‘appa-day’ over and over when he’s scooting around with a toy. He says it in a kind of growly, monster voice. We thought he might be trying to say ‘up and down,’ but not sure.” – Katiedaw
- “Bit-ey. She usually says it around meals/food. She gets so frustrated that I don’t understand. Bite? Butter? Better food? Argh!” – ORmom42
- “He would shout for ‘doe-bo’ all the time. What in the hell is a doe-bo?! I even took it to Facebook. Turns out, he was asking to watch a ‘Disney’ movie. Disney, doe-bo?!” – MamaMaestro
- “My daughter kept asking for ‘pop troll’ for a present at Christmas. She was 2.5 years old. It took four adults two full days to figure out it meant ‘Paw Patrol,’ which none of us had ever heard of!” – Tyrinae
What mystery words do your children use?
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