"How will the baby come out of your tummy Mummy?"

[Ghosty]

I was just wondering how other mumsnetters tackled this question from their dds and dss ...
DS asked me the other day (he is 4 in a month) and we had a very honest and truthful chat. I told him that normally babies come out of a hole in their mummy's 'nunney' (sorry, but that is our word for girly bits) but that he came out through a hole in my tummy that the doctor had to make because he was too big to come out the other way ...
I told him that I didn't know yet how our baby was going to come out and that we would have to wait and see.
He wasn't fazed by it at all ... and he gave an adorable explanation to his dad later that day ... "Our baby might come out of the same hole that I did or it might come out of another one ... "
I didn't want to tell him any fibs about it (am a firm believer in telling the truth about this sort of thing) but I am wondering whether he is a bit too young for that much info??

I worried about this too Ghosty, dd1 asked me the same question and I said that she came out of mummy's 'mini' (our word for it!). She was flabbergasted and pointed out that her mini was tiny and couldn't fit a baby. I was utterly thrown and ended up saying, well, when you are a big lady your mini grows big enough so a baby can get out.

If only that were true

She also told me the other day that you have to put a boy in your tummy to grow a baby. I just said 'yes, sort of'...and changed the subject - what a coward.

I never know whether to be quite honest or to gloss it over completely.

She is also going to be 4 in a month BTW

sounds good to me ghosty

Luckily he hasn't asked yet how the baby got there .... am desperately trying to formulate an answer in my head just in case ....

Ghosty, I'd just answer honestly as they ask but not go into too much detail or give too long a speil. Think they just want the basics and start shreiking with excitement when they realise where it comes out. My daughter acts out 'giving birth' complete with 'grunts'

Not to young.I got preg. a couple of months before my sons 2nd b.day(unluckily I miscarried)He asked this q and my partner and I tod him the truth and showed him a how my body works vid(it had just been re released)it explained how a baby was made and got out really simply and he understood a lot more.He even asked what were the patterns that make mummy a girl and daddy a boy.He meant DNA though it took us a while to figure out what he meant.My brother and partner have had a baby recently(ish) and we again got the vid out for dd.She loved it although got a little confused recently and said that we took her and her brother off a hook(not a shelf a hook!) put them on the 'payer' and bought them She had just watched raggy dolls so I think she was just playing she does this sometimes.Children really do understand a lot more than we as parents give them credit for.

Ds1 knows he was born by c-section, but his brother was 'natural', so for this one he varies between running after me with some implement declaring he's a doctor and it's time to cut the baby out! Other times he thinks this one will be 'natural' and it's like me doing a great big ginormous poo! He's 4 and VERY interested.

i told ds (almost five) that he came from a hole near the hole where my wee wee comes out. when he asked to see the hole I explained that I could not show him the hole as it was a 'private part' and children should see someone else's private parts - don't know if that makes me prudish but it was the best I could manage in the circumstances - I really was not expecting him to ask to see the hole!

Some years back I was out in the park with my (then) partners 2.5 year-old DD. She approached a woman with a tiny baby, beaming and saying "aaaah, tiny baby" The woman smiled sweetly and bent down to show her the baby, at which point DD said loudly "and did that baby pop out of your fanny?". The woman nearly fell over.
MY Mum just told us that we came out of a special place between Mummy's legs that we would know all about when we were ready to be Mummies and Daddies.

I have been very honest with ds and got the "Welcome Baby" book which was recommended on the homebirth discussion. I have also in response to his questions said that he had to come out because he was growing too big, and that mummies' bodies change to let the baby out, and that it hurt me but I did not mind because I knew that he had to come out. On the other hand, I am determined not to tell him the facts of life for as long as possible! The only question about childbirth which I find really really impossible to answer nicely to a hopeful little boy is, "Mummy, will I have a baby in my tummy when I grow up."

Blu, that's something I'm waiting for my dd1 to say too....

I said that girls have three holes - a wee hole a poo hole and a baby hole - easy.

The 'Mummy laid an egg ' book is good. I bought it after a recommedation on another mumsnet thread for my DS's (3 and 5). We had a discussion today about it (DD was due 24/10 and is running a bit late so its a bit of a hot topic at the moment) DS2 still finds it difficult to believe girls don't have willys, and when I explained the Wee hole, baby hole and poo hole bit DS1 was a bit indignant that we got to have more holes than him...?! I think it is important to be as honest as possible, it'll save confusion later.

My 3 year-old just asked me this this morning! A bit of a shock, though it shouldn't be, as he knows that he and his sister grew in my tummy. I'm glad that this thread has been running so I was prepared.