How to explain to 2.5 yr old dd how babies are born

[Plarka]

When we talk about how there's a baby in my tummy and it's going to be born and come out (well, I'm not so sure of that anymore, now that I'm one day overdue.....!) I sometimes almost tell dd where it will come out of but then I stop, thinking it might freak her out! I just saw a friend today who told her little boy that she has a hole where wee comes out, one where babies come out, and one where poo comes out, and he was one for wee and one for poo. I thought that sounded good, except how do I explain to 2.5 yr old dd that she also has a hole where babies come out? I don't want to freak her out thinking she's going to have a baby!!! Help! I want to be real and explain this stuff to her, in the right way!

[hollytheteacher]

Have you thought about just waiting until she asks?

and/or just being super matter of fact and not elaborate unless she asks

"The baby is in mama's uterus but wheh he/she is ready to come out mama will push the baby out of her vagina and then he/she will be born!!" something along those lines?

I've said things sort of like that before in front of ds (also 2.5) and he just sort of accepts it and doesn't even ask anything more.

[greenemami]

well, I would just explain it to her in real terms like you said-dd has known that she has a vulva and a butt since she was probably 1-since i have been pregnant, I have explained that the baby comes out through my vulva and the mommy has to work really hard to get the baby out. Recently, I explained that part of the vulva is the vagina and that is what opens up so that hte baby can fit out. She says that the vulva will open wide and the baby will come out-and also that I better wear a nightgown so that the baby doesn't get stuck in my pants, LOL!!! I think that the little ones don't get freaked out because they don't have any preconceived notions about it, KWIM? My 8-year-old on the other hand, does NOT want to see the birth, while dd (who will be 3 in April) is so excited about seeing it all and loves to look at pictures/videos of actual births and is not grossed out in the least.

[slgt]

ignore - double post.

[slgt]

DD is 2 and we have just started trying to get the idea into her head that there is a baby inside mama. It's still abstract (I'm only 20 weeks so not much belly), but she talks about it. She knows the general area that babies come out - she points to my vagina and says, "I was borned there, now it's another little baby's turn." But I don't think we'll get too technical with her unless she asks. The concept of a new baby is big enough!

She keeps trying to look in my belly button to see the baby.

[almadianna]

My daughter was 20 months and very verbal and inquisitive when I gave birth to her brother. She saw it and we prepared her with many movies and books on the subject. She was not freaked out because she understood that to get a baby you need someone to put the baby in the tummy for you. she know she doesnt have someone to help her with that and wont for a while.

[gabsev]

My daughter is also 2 1/2 and very inquisitive, we used this puzzle
http://www.amazon.com/Beleduc-5-Laye...7050090&sr=8-3
and it has been a wonderful tool for her to visualize progress. Best of luck!!

[rere]

When my daughter was that age she LOVED watching videos(or slide shows) of births.There were some really nice ones on you tube but not sure if they're still there.

[BeanyMama]

I just told my kids that babies grow and develop in their mama's wombs, under their bellies, and that they come out of their vaginas. So far no one has asked specifics on where exactly or found it weird. We showed them birth videos when I was expecting, but we made sure they were all very joyous births.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

We didn't really go into much detail with DS. I told him the baby was in my belly, he used to be in there before he was born, and when this baby was ready, momma would push it out just like I did for him.

He saw the birth, and in the morning, he said, "this is our new baby brother and he came out of momma's butt!" We quickly corrected him that the baby came out of mommas vagina from her tummy, and he was happy with that. I thought my MIL was going to die when she heard his little three year old self say "bagina".

Honestly, he wasn't too interested in it once his little brother got here.

[zinemama]

When she asks, tell her it's going to come out of your vagina. And that only grown-up women can have babies come out of their vaginas. Easy-peasy. (The explanation, that is, not the process...)

[Anandamama]

There are some very peaceful, low-key births on youtube. Definitely screen them first! I've watched a few with my 2-yo. At least she gets the basic idea of what happens in a birth. The ones we watched were of water births where the mom is in the water looking very focused and maybe grunting some, and then out the baby comes (can't see much underwater) and she catches it! I told my DD that this was just a normal thing and the mom was not sick - she was making those noises because she had to concentrate very hard to help the baby to come out. (Kind of like when making a big poop some people grunt.)
I doubt that if you pointed out the basic parts of the "bottom" and explained their basic functions your dd would freak out. She can understand that people only have babies when they're grown up and after their bellies get very big.

[sapphire_chan]

Don't really see how it's any different than how she knows your vagina had blood come, oh, right, she was probably a bit young for that back when you were having your period and you might not have menstruated with her nursing.

So, um, anyway : to all the people mentioning she has no preconceptions.

[sophi4ka]

DD is 2 and 2 months and we are preparing for a homebirth of her sibling in 2 months. So I was showing her lots of YouTube videos of birth. Let me tell you - she is so fascinated by those videos, she gets literally glued to the screen and asks to see more and more! Especially waterbirth for some reason.

She LOVES watching babies being born. It doesn't look gross or traumatizing for her at all. Just fascinating. And she has all kinds of comments while watching - like "oh, baby is stuck", or "baby, come out already, where are you?", or "baby fell asleep" for baby whose head got out and the shoulders were stuck and he/she had the eyes closed. Its so funny.

I think she pretty much got the idea now of how babies are born now.

Sophie

[Freud]

Believe it or not, young children do have their own ideas about how the baby gets out of there, and they are almost always wildly inaccurate, which can easily be proven by simply asking them they think. I think its a good idea to wait until they ask and then you can use it as an opportunity to dispel and of their fantasies about it. When she asks you, just ask her "What do you think?" And if she says that she thinks the belly explodes like a balloon (this is what my niece thought), or anything equally untrue, then you can correct that and make it more reality-based. At that age, it is not at all necessary to get technical or show pictures/videos. While she may know what a vagina is or where it is located, she probably does not know that there is a hole there, so telling her it will come out of the vagina, the area where she thinks pee and poop come out, will not make much sense to her anyway and may even contribute to even more elaborate fantasies.