Babby
Babby is the Birmingham and West Midlands pronunciation of "baby", used for infants and as a term of affection. "Her's had the babby" means she has had her baby, in a form of words that is also typical of Black Country speech.
In practice
Babby is one of the words that Brummies use without thinking and that newcomers notice straight away. You will hear it in shops, on buses and in families, and see it in shop names and greeting cards sold locally. It sits alongside other local features - "tara-a-bit" for goodbye, "ow am ya?" for how are you - that make the West Midlands voice so distinctive.
Why it matters to newcomers
If a colleague is "off with the babby", they are on parental leave. If an older neighbour calls you "babby", it is warmth, not condescension. Understanding the word is enough; nobody expects you to use it.
Related
- Bostin' - the region's word for excellent
- Brummie - the accent it belongs to
- Island - a word that matters for directions
Source: Wiktionary: babby.