the birds and the bees

Today the girls and I went to the library for new books. I also checked out an illustrated book for kids about how babies are made. Abe and I planned an FHE where we gave really simple, scientific explanations about the origins of babies. It was supposed to end in a trip to the hospital where we could tour the maternity ward, but Mary was so tired I knew she’d fall asleep en route. We skipped the hospital tour.

Abe remembers being nine years old and honestly believing that babies came out of women’s toes. (Someone told him that they came out of his mom’s bottom, and he figured the bottom of his mom was her foot.) At least our kids won’t have that problem.

Lydia has been curious about babies ever since I got pregnant and we’ve watched lots of in-utero youtube videos that follow the progression of sperm and egg into full fledged baby. Even though we talk about it a lot, she still has questions.

So Abe and I hope we’re not doing anything wrong by laying out the facts this early on. A lot of parenting stuff feels like guess work to me. Abe and I put the girls in front of Barney while we flipped through the book and tried to figure out what to include in our talk and what to leave out. It felt confusing. I also kept hoping that our kids don’t shock the neighbors or their friends by talking about how babies are made…but Lydia loved the book and took it to bed with her. So maybe that counts as success?

Anyhow, I only have one picture from today. Tonight was the first night in a long time where I expended effort on dinner…and Mary opted to skip dinner and eat a pb&j after FHE instead. Here she is lounging outside. (She was banished from eating inside since the table and floor had already been scrubbed down.)

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