Who knew the adult baby and diaper lover’s world had so many terms? What’s a confused baby to do? Easy! We’ve compiled this list of the most commonly used terms, abbreviations, and “portmanteaus”. Read on…

AB: Adult Baby; enjoying playing, dressing, or being treated like an infant, toddler, or young child. If you’re reading this page, then you likely already know exactly what this is!

ABDL: Adult Baby/Diaper Lover. Around here we stress that not all Adult Babies are Diaper Lovers, and not all Diaper Lovers are Adult Babies. However, there’s an exception to everything, and ABDL usually refers to the collective group of people who enjoy adult baby play AND diaper love.

age play: Where one or both partners takes on a childish or infant’s role or personality for the purposes of role play. Does not always have to coincide with AB or DL play.

anaclitism: Highly scientific word for describing the fact that you get off sexually on objects that you were introduced to as an infant. Breastfeeding, diapering, spankings, or finger feeding are all good examples of this.

autonepiophilia: Another highly scientific word to describe Diaper Love. We think these scientists are just trying to hide their own DL behind these big words.

babydoll dress: Short youth’s dress that flares out with no waist, usually the sleeves are puffed out or decorated in some fashion, or the dress is left sleeveless.

babyfur: a person who is both a “furry” and is an AB. Think of it as a big Adult Anthropomorphic Animal Baby – the Muppet Babies are a good starting point.

babyspace: the mental “zone” where ABs asusme their babyish characteristics. Stems from “headspace”.

binkie, dummy, soother, sooky, soo-soo: Pacifier. NUK is a great brand name that manufactures adult pacifiers (Size 5).

black hole effect, downward spiral, black hole theory, down the rabbit hole: The inevitable path that some AB or DLs seem to follow where they start off simply but tend to move toward more and more complex practices in the AB or DL communities. Some people don’t head down this path, and are content to remain with their old practices, but you always find the odd bloke who gets in so far that it becomes a 24/7 obsession for them.

bloomer: a short pant with legs that end just above the knee.  Usually frilly and oversized in the AB world.

cereal feeder: A baby bottle with a larger hole in the nipple that allows the AB to drink pureed cereal (as opposed to milk or juice which can be consumed through a normal nipple.) Usually you can modify a standard nipple by scoring an X in the top with a sharp knife to make a cereal feeding nipple.

chlorophyll: a supplement derives from plant leaves that is taken orally that reduces the smell of feces. It does tend to temporarily turn your teeth and tongue green, along with your poop, so don’t be alarmed. You aren’t turning into Kermit the Frog.

conditional incontinence: where an AB or DL has less bladder control when wearing diapers, but able to control their bladder urges when not wearing diapers. See “untrained”.

contour diaper, fitted diaper: A diaper manufactured or cut in an elongated “hourglass” shape, having less material between the legs for more comfort.

creeper: A onesie with long sleeves. Tends to get dirtier than the short-sleeved versions when the AB is also a crawler.

creeping, crawling, creeper: An AB who gets around on their hands and knees with the body close to the ground.

crinoline: Seen mostly in the construction of dresses. A stiff fabric used to give skirts and dresses their “poofy” look, akin to a ballet dancers’ tutu.

Daddy: Someone who acts as a male caregiver for an AB, or someone who takes on the male parent role in an ageplay.

diaper dependent: Usually abbreviated as DD. An AB who has been “untrained” and lost his or her toilet training and must wear diapers.

DL: Diaper Lover. Not all Diaper Lovers are Adult Babies and…well, we’ve given you that lecture before, haven’t we? Diaper Lovers tend to stay in the adult headspace and incorporate their diaper fetish into their sex play.

doubler, soaker:  a smaller absorbent pad worn inside a diaper which increases bulk but also cuts down on leakage for those ABs or DLs who wet their diapers

diaper stuffing: using a household substance such as chocolate or porridge to simulate a messy diaper. Great solution for those who are untrained or for those who don’t want to deal with the mess.

gerries, jerries, gerrys, G: An ageplayer who likes to take on the role of an older (geriatric) person. Usually incorporated with diaper lovers.

headspace: a state of mind that is assumed by ageplayers, ABs, DLs, etc where they are “in the zone” and fully engaged in their role as a DL or AB.

headspace-appropriate: acting your age, and not introducing inappropriate activity (usually inappropriate sexual activities) which are not part of the headspace being engaged in, even though the act or situation may be legal based on the AB’s physical age.

hooded towel, baby towel: A towel, with a turned-over flap at one corner which is used to cover the head. A standard bath sheet is easily turned into a hooded towel with a few stitches on a sewing machine.

incontinent: Unable to control the movement of urine or feces. See “untrained”.

infantilism: Another scientific term that generally covers the practices of an AB, occasionally extending to cover DLs as well (although many DLs would beg to differ.)

jumper: A one-piece garment consisting of an overall-like upper part and a skirt, joined at the waist.

layette: A set of clothing and equipment for a baby. Usually consisting of a gown/nightie, snap side shirts, onesies, bibs, towels and face flannels. Generic term for a baby’s  wardrobe.

Mommy, Mummy: Someone who acts as the female caregiver for an AB, or someone who takes on the female parent role in an ageplay.

onesie, diaper shirt, baby shirt: A one-piece garment like a T-shirt, with flaps of material that snap under the crotch. Used to cover the baby while providing quick access to the diaper.

pants, panties: usually feminine underwear that covers from waist to hip. Usually loose fitting, but elasticized at the waist and leg openings.

paraphilia: These crazy scientists again! Paraphilia is “a persistent drive toward an unusual sexual practice or social role”. But that’s assuming that AD or DL are unusual sexual practices. Hmph. We’re a little insulted by that definition.

paruresis: The condition of a shy bladder; inability to urinate at specific times in a social situation such as in crowded restrooms. Also known as “Overtrained”.

pinafore: A sleeveless dress-style garment that fastens in back, often worn as an outer covering over other clothes.

prefold diaper: Diaper manufactured with padding in the center, which eliminates the need to create a second fold in the middle. Most modern diapers are prefolds.

purge: To donate, get rid of, or destroy all possessions relating to AB play. Part of the binge-purge cycle that some blokes go through (i.e they develop an aversion to the AB lifestyle for fear of being found out, get rid of all of their AB accessories, but eventually find their way back into the lifestyle and need to rebuild their inventory. Poor saps.)

receiving blanket: A lightweight blanket that can be wrapped around a baby. Usually used for naps on hot summer days.

regression: the process  or state of regressing through body functions, language, or social skills. Usually used as a  blanket term to describe the retreat into the infantile headspace, or the gradual acceptance of an AB into their lifestyle.

ring diaper: a cool Japanese cloth diaper manufactured as a loop. These diapers can be folded in many ways, such as, wingfolded, triangle-folded, or doubled-up. Held in place by knots, cords, or ties around the waist of the diaper, in contrast to the diaper pins used by Western diapers.

romper: Type of overall with a larger, flouncy lower half, or one that is legless and is drawn up between the legs in a similar fashion to a onesie.

sailor suit: A loose shirt with a distinctive collar flap over the back half. Usually decorated with blue pinstriping. Usually worn with short skirts or shorts.

side-snap shirt: a type of T-shirt that opens all the way up on one side of the torso which fastens with snaps.

sissy, sissy-play: A man who likes to be dressed and treated like a baby girl. Where infantilism and transvestism meet.

spunbond-meltblown-spunbond: A textured, cloth-like material found in modern adult diapers. Much preferable to the old plastic shells.

sleeper: A one-piece garment long sleeves, usually made with snaps (young infant) or zipper (older baby) running down the inside of one leg up to the neck for ease of dressing.

soaker: a smaller pad or second diaper placed inside the main diaper to increase absorbency.  Also known as a doubler.

stuffer: Pretty much the same thing as a doubler or a soaker. Just to confuse things, stuffing is a different term that refers to the pretend feces that ABs place in their diaper, while stuffer is the pad that soaks up the stuffing.

teething ring: A ring of hard rubber or plastic upon which a teething baby can chow down. This is not the same thing as a pacifier. Usually kept in the fridge to make baby’s gums feel better.

transvestism: The desire to dress as the opposite gender. Check out “sissy” for the connection to AB.

triangle fold: A classic method of folding diapers. The diaper is folded diagonally, to produce a triangle. The baby is placed on the triangle, with the wide corner pointing down toward the feet. The doubled corner passes up through the legs, and the two smaller corners are wrapped around the sides. Use a single pin to hold it all together in front.  The other common (and notably better) folding method is the “wingfold”.

trough: The area of a diaper between the legs. When baby is standing, this is the part that will hold any waste or stuffing. This is the area where the doubler or stuffer goes in order to catch the urine.

wingfold: A alternate way of folding a diaper, which is a little more complex but results in a much more snug diaper. Start with one side of the diaper, fold it inwards and lengthwise at about one third of the way in. It is then folded back upon itself so that the sides line up with the previous fold. Repeat on the other side, and then spread the back part out a little so that the back will pass around the waist.

untrained: achieving the state of incontinence so that one can truly possess the loss of body control that infants and young children experience. Not a prerequisite to AB or DL play by any means.

That’s all. Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments!