From the Perspective of a Child: Pregnancy/Babies

I have a three-year-old daughter and am expecting baby number two in December. We waited until about week eleven or twelve to tell her that she was going to be a big sister soon because we figured once she knew, she’d tell everyone she saw. Turned out she didn’t really mention it much, but she did have some other rather interesting things to say about the whole thing! Below are some anecdotes, not only from my own situation, but from other ICMB writers, my friends, and some of our readers.

 

I’m currently pregnant, and when asked if she thinks the baby is a boy or a girl, my three-year-old daughter usually replies, “a girl, because girls have girls and boys have boys.”

After watching her aunt and a good family friend nurse, my three-year-old daughter now makes sure all her dollies are well fed by “breast feeding” them. She lifts up her shirt and crams the dolly’s head underneath.

So far my three-year-old daughter hasn’t been overly curious about how babies are made or how exactly one is born. She thinks the doctor “just takes the baby out” when it’s time.IMG_0245[1]

My daughter (almost four) would say that one breast had milk for drinking and the other had food, you know like mac-n-cheese.

My daughter (almost four) asked me one day how the baby was going to come out, and before I could respond, she said, “Out your butt, it’s gonna come out your butt!”

My daughter poked at my pregnant belly one day, and I reminded her to be gentle so she doesn’t hurt the baby. She responded with, “But did I just break the baby?”

When I was pregnant with baby number two, my son (almost two) was adamant that we should name the baby ‘Basketball.’

My friend was VERY pregnant and her belly button was sticking out. That intrigued my daughter (two at the time) a lot, to the point that we were giggling at how much she was looking at it from a distance. After some time, she came over to me and whispered/questioned: “You push be-boo (her word for belly button), baby come out?” We couldn’t stop laughing, and I realized that she must have been afraid to get too close for fear of “pushing the button” and having the baby appear!

Every time we would read a book called Little Brothers, at the part when it reads, “Little brothers make you smile,” my 2 ½ year old son would say, “No they don’t!”

When we asked my 2 ½ year old son what we should name his little brother, he suggested “Creaky Cranky, Percy or Fiery Flynn,” all Thomas the Train characters.

When our youngest was born, our oldest seemed to feel like she was going to be responsible for her. She would joke and say, “I’ll take care of Addison [middle child], then you and daddy just have to take care of the baby.” But, I could tell as soon as we came home from the hospital she didn’t seem happy. I took her for a walk outside and asked what was wrong and she said, “It’s just going to be so much more work now.” I realized right then that I had to make it clear that although being a big sister is incredibly important, she was not actually responsible for caring for her sisters.

When I was pregnant with Addison, Layla was helping pick names. For MONTHS she was 100% certain we would name the baby ‘Pants.” Eventually she accepted that wasn’t going to happen so she settled on ‘Lollipop.’ Which is why I named my business Little Lollipop Designs. That way she knew I valued her opinion…just not enough to name my baby Lollipop.

My three-year-old daughter has seen the stretch marks on my belly and says that it’s from when she and her older brother “scratched me.”

My five and three-year-old say that to have a baby, “You eat a lot of food, then your belly gets big, and then you have a baby!” So now when someone (including themselves) eats a lot, they think that person is going to have a baby.

Toddler_BabyWhen I was pregnant with my third son, my middle son (who was four at the time) and I were looking through his baby book. We found a picture of me when I was pregnant with him and he says, “Mom, your butt wasn’t nearly as big with me as it is with Cam!”

One evening while not feeling so hot (expecting number 3), my three-year-old asked why I was throwing up. I tried explaining that sometimes the baby makes mommy not feel very good and he got right up to my belly with a serious face and poked it saying, “You better be nice to my mom!”

My son said, “I like your cheesy belly mom, because me and my sister did that to you.”

My oldest daughter was devastated to learn I was pregnant with baby number 4. She said it was going to be too much work having two babies. She wasn’t thinking baby number 3 would grow up and be older when the next baby was born.

We made a calendar for our daughter (almost three) for her to put stickers on for each day for six weeks, which is when I could pick her up again after my c-section. But we got towards the end of the calendar and she says, “When your scar is better, then James will go back!” My husband and I looked at each other blankly going “Well crap, she thinks he is temporary!” We had to explain that he was here to stay forever!

Any funny pregnancy or baby stories to share? Comment below!
Becky
Becky is a Minnesota Native and Wisconsin Badger fan living in the heart of Hawkeye Country. Since graduating from high school, she has lived in Duluth, MN; Birmingham, UK; Minneapolis, MN; Louisville, KY; and Madison, WI, but is now happy to call Iowa City home. She and her husband have been married for ten years and have a spirited four-year-old daughter and a mischievous baby boy. Becky juggles working from home and keeping two kids happy each and every day. In her free time, she enjoys working her side business, spending time with friends, relaxing with a good book, and eating snacks.

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