Along Alyss' journey as a stepmother, she has come across a plethora of "terms", acronyms or labels that have evolved from the blending of families overtime to identify and navigate the environment. For the most part labels describe who you are and how you feel about one other in the family dynamic. In this episode, Meridith and Alyss take some time to dissect a couple of the terms to make sense of it, if they can. They get into a few they feel are a little controversial or conflicting for them, Bio mom, HCBM (High-conflict bio mom), bonus mom and blended. Tune in!

Below are a handful of terms (yes, there's more) we've come across, let us know if you think any of these are useful, helpful or just plain unnecessary...

• BD = Bio dad or bio daughter, depending on context
• BS / DS = Biological Son or Dear/darling/direct son
• BM = Biological mom /Baby Mom
• DD = Dear/darling/direct daughter (this is sometimes used instead of BD)
• DF = Dear/darling fiancé
• DH = Dear/darling husband
• DW = Dear/darling wife
• FH/FW = Future husband/wife
• HC = High conflict
• HCBD = High-conflict biological dad
• HCBM = High-conflict biological mom
• OH = Other half
• SD = Stepdad or stepdaughter, depending on context
• SF = Stepfather
• SK = Stepkid(s)
• SM = Stepmom
• SO = Significant other
• SS = Stepson

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