DS
Also called ds, DS1, DS2, dear son, darling son
DS stands for dear son or darling son, the way parents refer to their son online without using his name. A number after it, as in DS1 or DS2, tells several children apart.
How it's said
I just came home from hospital with new ds yesterday.
Not NCT, my 'baby' group with ds1 was my antenatal swimming group.
I need clarification on whether DS2 is your second son, or your two year old son as I seem to be seeing both.
Who says it
Where it came from
It's parenting forum shorthand, where the D stands for dear or darling. Forum acronym lists note that DS can also mean Down's syndrome, so the thread decides which one is meant. Dictionary.com lists the son meaning as used especially by women in digital messages.
The number after it first meant birth order, so DS2 was a second son. Some posters now use the number for age, and readers ask which one a post means.