Deep Discussions in the Car, with My Four-Year-Old

Seth:  "Momma, how do babies get into their mommies bellies."

Oh boy!

We had just pulled out of our driveway enroute to the grocery store and I was certainly not prepared to be hit head on with a question such as this.

However, in typical Seth fashion, as of late, he already had an answer concocted in that sweet little brain of his.  Asking the question was merely a formality.

Before I could dig through my brain for the suitable kid-friendly quick version of this query, Seth cut me off (whew!) to say:

"I know, I know, I know.  The Mommy goes to the hospital and gets a baby from the baby store and the doctor cuts her belly open and puts the baby in."

Hmmm...interesting.

And gruesome.

And why the need for the middle man, if there is actually a baby store?

At this point, I thought I needed to become an active participant in this conversation.  At least to fill in some of the holes in this four-year-old logic.

Momma: "Seth, there is no baby store.  Babies come from God.  Why would a doctor cut your belly open to put a baby in?"

Seth:  "Well, you know when you swallow a Lego and have to go to the hospital to have your belly cut open to get it out.  That is what the doctor does to get the baby in.  Then when the baby is ready, you go and he takes it out. "

Let me stop right here to tell you that, yes, we have used this scenario on many occasions to divert our children away from putting Legos in their mouth.  Those sharp, pointy, and more jagged than a broken bottle Lego pieces... I can only imagine what they could do to an esophagus or stomach, based on sheer agony of the foot torture experienced when one is stepped on.  Any time we have witnessed a Lego going anywhere near our boys mouths, we have painted this hospital scene for them to store in their heads.

Gruesome. Yes.

Effective.  Definitely.

Connected to babies.  Never dreamed he would do that.

Anyway, back to the conversation at hand. 

Momma:  "Seth, God gives us babies, and mommies and daddies don't always have to go to the hospital to get one.  You and Biz were born right in Momma and Dada's bed."

Seth:  "Okay then. How did YOU get me out of your belly?"

Uh...maybe I should have stopped with the Lego analogy.  It is not that I don't invite the hard questions from my boys.  I would much rather they ask Eric or I than anyone else.  It is just that sometimes with the anatomy related questions, I have a problem switching from doctor/anatomy teacher mode on the fly.  I need a little time to prepare my brain so I can use age appropriate, kid-friendly terms and keep it simple enough to not lead to a whole other arena of questions that might leave them even more confused or with too much information under their belt for their delicate little ages.  Plus, this is a topic that Caleb was never too interested in, so I don't really have my "this is what I said to my first born and he turned out okay and untraumatized" pool of experience to draw from.

But that day is a-coming, so I need to get prepared.  As for yesterday, I was thankful that we pulled up to the grocery right at that moment and Seth's attention was immediately captured by something else and our little "where do babies come from" conversation was put on hold.

For now.

For a few years, hopefully.

And next time, hopefully, it will be Dada in the driver's seat.