Thursday 8 January 2015

Conversations with a 5-year-old about pregnancy

My niece didn't seem super impressed when she was first told a few months ago that I was expecting a baby.  As the only child on our side of the family, both my sister and I assumed that she was just pouting about having to share attention with a baby at some point.  But then she asked my sister one of those questions that only a kid could come up with.  She asked her why I didn't want to be an auntie anymore.


You can imagine, then, that I felt even worse when I had to disappoint her by telling her that she wasn't going to get the girl cousin that she wanted.  I think I managed to save that one though, telling her that it was good that I was having a boy because then I could keep doing all my "girl" activities with her.  She apparently liked that.

I know.  Give an auntie a break.

By the time I arrived for Christmas, she seemed to have come around even more and was joining in the fun of tossing around baby names and feeling up my belly.  She was lucky enough to catch a few kicks, which she seemed excited about, and of course she had a few questions too.  At one point I was looking at one of my pregnancy apps on my phone, and she was curious about the diagram of the 28-week fetus in utero.  I enlarged the pic and decided to do my part for edumacation, explaining to her that this was what the baby looked like while it was inside me.  She pointed out the umbilical cord and wanted to know what it was, so I explained that it was connected to the baby's belly button and it was how I shared what I was eating and drinking with the baby so that it could grow bigger.

This idea clearly resonated with her, and on a couple of occasions she would comment while I was eating or drinking something, "You're sharing a cookie with the baby!" or "The baby is sharing your water!"  Then, one morning I was letting her play with my makeup as I sipped my one daily cuppa joe.  I caught her looking at me quizzically in the mirror, and she stated, more than a little accusingly, "You're sharing coffee with the baby.  Why would you DO that??"

Way to get a head start on judging pregnant ladies, kid.

Something else that was pretty cute was when she asked whether the baby could hear her.  I said yes, so a couple of times when Chalupa Batman was sleeping and she wanted to feel him kick, she'd press her face right to my belly and intone a deep "WAAAAAKE UUUUUP".  She would also adorably say goodbye to him by pressing her hands on either side of my belly, getting up close and whispering a tiny "goodbye!"


Finally, on the second last day of my visit, she asked the question that we all knew was coming.  I was keeping her occupied in her playroom while my sister was cooking dinner.  Out of nowhere she asked, "How did you get the baby in your belly?  Did you buy it at the store?"  I stifled a laugh while thinking how inadvertently close to the truth she was, and told her that was a great question to ask her mom and dad.


26 comments:

  1. I love your niece! I'm sure she's going to be an awesome cousin. I predict lots of teaming up against the adults in the future. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your niece is hilarious! I love that you told her to ask her parents about how the baby got into your belly. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a little sweetie pie! And I love how you put that question back to her mom and dad.. Haha

    ReplyDelete
  4. She sounds like a smart cookie! She's going to be a great influence on your son.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's so sweet that she was worried about you still being her auntie. Little kids just say the cutest thing. When my bf was pregnant, her 2 year old nephew really wanted her to be pregnant with a tree!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Haha. One of the perks of being the aunt! We still have a few years before we have to answer that question. Your niece is adorable! Sounds like CP has an awesome cousin!

    ReplyDelete
  7. NMG, that is too cute. It will be adorable to see them together.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, when two people love each other and want to have a baby, they travel to Prague...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aww, your niece is such a sweetheart! Having a close relationship with my nieces and nephews, these stories about your niece melt me into a giant puddle. Also, way to go by dodging that last question! Hahaha! I like Lilee's answer.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So awesome! I would love to be a fly on the wall when the last question gets answered....

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aw. What a sweetheart! (Both of you!)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cutest story ever! I love that you referred her to your parents. And I had the same thought you did when she asked if you bought it at the store :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. There's that Beatles song, "(Money) Can't Buy Me Love." Um, yes. Yes it can.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So cute! I love how she tries to get him to wake up. All I got from my 4 year old niece over christmas was a lecture about how her teacher says no feet on the table. Good lesson, but not as charming.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for sharing such important information. It will be very useful for us in future. Good keep it up and keep writing. Read more about
    Curtain Dubai


    ReplyDelete
  16. Great job, This content is very very great content, I got really good information from this content and it helps me a lot, I hope it can help many people like me.
    carpets in abu dhabi

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you for sharing such important information. It will be very useful for us in future. Good keep it up and keep writing. Read more about
    Carpets in Sharjah


    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for sharing such important information. It will be very useful for us in future. Good keep it up and keep writing. Read more about
    CARPET SHOP DUBAI


    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello man! Incredible post however I extremely needed to simply drop a remark on your blog. Your blog has a super cool outline. Is this wordpress by possibility?
    Curtains Dubai Expatwoman


    ReplyDelete
  20. The blog are the best that is extremely useful to keep.
    I can share the ideas of the future as this is really what I was looking for,
    I am very comfortable and pleased to come here. Thank you very much!
    Curtain Makers in Dubai

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello man! Incredible post however I extremely needed to simply drop a remark on your blog. Your blog has a super cool outline. Is this wordpress by possibility?
    Serging Carpet

    ReplyDelete

  22. Great job, This content is very very great content, I got really good information from this content and it helps me a lot, I hope it can help many people like me.
    rubber mat abu dhabi

    ReplyDelete

  23. Stunning, Fantastic its looks so astounding. Much obliged to you for sharing this article and keep doing awesome.<a href="https://dubaiupholstery.ae/LEATHER-UPHOLSTERY/
    Upholstery Leather Sofa

    ReplyDelete
  24. Stunning, Fantastic its looks so astounding. Much obliged to you for sharing this article and keep doing awesome.Carpet Sewing

    ReplyDelete

I'm needy and your comments validate me. Help a sister out!