How Does The Baby Get IN There?

My mother made a promise to her kids from the moment they were born that she would never lie to them. I tell you, that is one of the most important gifts my mom has ever given to me. I know I can trust her with my utmost confidence.

I also made the same promise to Gabi when she was born. Which is why we don't do Santa Claus. And if Gabi asks if the Binky Fairy is real, I'll sadly have to tell her no. And my excuse for telling her about the Binky Fairy in the first place? Well, I tweaked my promise to never lie to her a tiny bit. When it's for my her better good, I've decided I don't mind fibbing stretching the truth. But only occasionally.

Like when she asked me HOW the babies got inside their mommy's tummies.

Gabi loves to look at the pictures of her birth. She's seen my big belly, and her head coming out in stages, and all the muck and goo that went with it. I've always been pretty up front with her about pregnancy and birth. For a three year old, she knows quite a bit!

But when she asked me that final question, I just wasn't ready to have The Talk with her yet. Nor was she ready to hear it. So in a moment of panic, I told her that God puts the baby in the mommy's tummy.

Gabi: But how does he DO that?

Me: God can do anything! Did you know that? He touches the mommy's tummy, and a baby starts growing inside her!

Gabi: Why does God put a tiny baby there? Why not a big baby?

Me: So that the mommy has time to bond with her baby before it's even born! Isn't that neat?

Gabi: I guess so. Why doesn't God just put the baby in the mommy's arms?

Me: Hey, want to watch some cartoons?

Gabi: Sure!

I'm just not good at spur of the moment explanations. I think I might turn into the mom that says, "Because I said so!" for lack of anything better to say. Yeah, I'm so going to suck at that knowing the perfect thign to say part of parenting.

She's been questioning everything lately, so I should have been more prepared for her to start asking about this. But lately I've been a bit distracted with teaching Gabi why it's not okay to loudly ask in public if a woman has a baby in her tummy, while pointing in the direction of someone, um, portly. Because most of the time the woman doesn't. And because sometimes she's pointing at a man.

I hope as she grows up that Gabi has the same trust in me as I did in my mom. I know there will be a day when I will need to look her in the eye and say, "I will never lie to you." I think by then she'll be old enough that the occasional fib stretch won't be necessary anymore, anyway. But once I say it, I will mean it with my whole heart.