One day when my first child was an early toddler she insistently told me
she wanted a snack, and after offering a litany of vehemently and
progressively more irritatingly refused options I got really exasperated
and said "I can't figure out what kind of snack you need!  Do you want a
food snack or a mama snack?" without any prior consideration of the
terms.

Her eyes lit up and she said "Mama snack!" and thus our family word for
breastfeeding was born. Almost 10 years later it's still in full use,
and has survived alterations due to the early verbal efforts of nine
nurslings that I know of so far, because it snuck into the vocabulary of
my sister's family, and my two sister in law's families, and at least
two of my friends' families.

Personally, I was really glad with how our family name for it evolved,
as there was something that always bugged me about the thought of the
baby only wanting the breast and not necessarily also asking for the
arms and hands and skin and heart and lap and head and soul (and stretch
marks and squishy spots and...) that are inherently attached to said
breast.

While some families do consciously decide on what they're going to
'call' breastfeeding so that there's a code that can be socially
acceptably discussed in public, I would venture that more families end
up with more of an 'organic' process similar to ours.  This is a very
common and recognized aspect of the never-ending evolution of overall
language among humans, and linguists catalog and document these
mini-ecosystems of language.  They are typically referred to as family
words.  A neat little book about this was published this summer (I have
no connection to this book other than hearing Bob Edwards interview the
author while driving) http://pauldicksonbooks.com/work1.htm

Another favorite family word I have is one a friend's daughter coined -
a side of milk.  It evolved from her asking or offering the other
side/breast.  It always makes me chuckle that it sounds like an order
for the waitress - I'd like a side of milk with that please!

Sincerely,
The other Kat in Atlanta, GA USA

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