I am watching my 9 year old brother 2 days a week this summer. He doesn't know how I feed Beatrice. When I nurse her, he wants to know where the bottle is. I always nurse under a cover and rarely in front of anyone but JD. I have begged my mom to just tell him how I feed her. Chances are, he will just laugh and think it is hilarious. But at least he would know.
Today I had to nurse her in the exam room at the doctor's office. Cole was in the room playing games on my phone. When he realized that I was feeding her, he asked once again where the bottle was and why I had to feed her covered up. I don't lie so this always puts me in an awkward position. I told him that she can feed herself (answer to where the bottle was) and she gets distracted (answer to why she was under the cover). Both truthful answers, but not quite the full story.
I am all for preserving the innocence of children, but my 3 year old niece knows how I feed the baby. My sister in law nursed my nephew. I'm not saying tell him about the birds and the bees yet, but the poor guy can't figure out where the bottle is and we are running out of truthful explanations. Somebody needs to tell him already.
I asked JD if he wondered where babies came from or about breast feeding when he was a kid and he said no. "Boys don't think about stuff like that, Aly." Oh. Was I the only little girl trying to figure this stuff out? Maybe Cole is better off not knowing all of the details. Maybe he doesn't really care where the bottle is and maybe I'm the only one feeling weird about it. I do know one thing for sure: I will not be telling him anything more than I already have. I'll leave the details for my mom. And if I know her like I do, Cole will never find that bottle.
Vintage Aly for your viewing pleasure
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My son is 10. He knows everything about how babies are conceived, how they are born, and breastfeeding. We have a very open house and discuss it whenever something pops about any of these subjects. It's all very easy to talk about it you start early enough. We began a couple years ago and started with how Mommy's and Daddy's bodies fit together like puzzle pieces...yada yada..and now he knows it all from egg and sperm to how it turns into a baby. If parents don't make a big deal about it, it's not a big deal for the kids to not be embarrassed to discuss it. And he totally asked us about all these things--so boys are curious too.
ReplyDeleteThey are gonna get crazy info from their friends, so I'd rather beat them to the punch. :)
I agree that there is a lot of misinformation at school. We all went to private Christian school and heard the crazy info even there. I think it may be easier for me to talk to Beatrice about the birds and the bees, but finding the appropriate age will be difficult.
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