Then I got slapped upside the head with boob talk.

So the other night, Andy randomly said to me, “You know you’re the one talking to the kid about breastfeeding, right?”

Of course, I nonchalantly replied, “of course…”

When in actuality, in my head I was thinking, “Oh SHIT, you’re right! How did I not think about this before!?

Rylee is at that stage where she gets things, but doesn’t quite get them. Where she says things but maybe shouldn’t.

She currently thinks “penis” is a bad word and whispers it when saying something like “daddy goes pee from his penis” {insert nervous 4 year old giggles here}. I always respond in a “kid, it’s really no big deal, every guy has a penis and that’s just how they pee” type answer, but yea…I think you get where I’m going with this…

Breastfeeding…

I nursed Rylee for nearly her whole first year. That’s my plan this time around too. It’s obviously going to come up. It sort of already has…Ry talked about getting to feed baby sister in the hospital. I started laying the groundwork by letting her know that for a while only mommy will be feeding baby sister, but she will get to soon. Too vague? Perhaps.

She’s a naturally curious kid. She’s never been around breastfeeding. It’s obviously a natural thing and nothing to be ashamed of, but I’m pretty modest when it comes to things like breastfeeding. With Ry I nursed almost exclusively in her bedroom. If we were anywhere not home, I always had my Hooter-Hider ready to go and I always found an out of traffic area to feed her. And let’s be honest, to a 4 year old who has never been exposed to it, it’s not necessarily the norm. The last thing I want to do is make a big deal about it. But I also don’t want to make such a “no big deal” thing about it that she’s telling everyone she sees, strangers and all, “My mommy feeds my sister with her boobs.” Because I can totally see her doing that. You know what I mean?

Should I be talking to her more about it before sister is born? What do I say? Have you been in this situation? How did you deal with it? Were there books you read to your kiddo? Clips on youtube? Am I making this into a way bigger deal than it should be?

HALP!

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5 thoughts on “Then I got slapped upside the head with boob talk.

  1. Lisa

    I did not make a big deal about it, and neither did the kids. I just said "it's how the baby eats", because that's true, it's nothing to laugh at or be ashamed of. I don't recall any of my kids mentioning it to others – you'll be doing it so much, especially at the beginning, that it becomes a normal part of life. If it will make you feel better to expose her to the idea perhaps use an animal feeding it's young?

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  2. Kassie

    My 3 year old just thinks it is the way it is. I never talked to him about it directly. He says mommy is giving Gwen baby milk, and he gets big boy milk. When im pumping I just say I am making baby milk and he goes on his way.

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  3. Brandy

    We are just rolling with it. It is kinda hard to explain until the baby is here I think. Ry being a little older is a little different since she can think she is going to feed her and such. Landon has no concept of that…so I don't think it will be a big shift. If anything, it will just be a shift in attention in general.

    With all that said, these are the books a friend gave me. We "read" them last night but I found he lost attention. I just started cutting parts out because they were a little advanced for him (they use the word uterus). http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Way-Sears-Childrens-Lihttp://www.amazon.com/What-Needs-Sears-Children-L

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  4. Angie Matthewson

    Oh, this is a GREAT question. We have just decided to "try", and me being me, I started thinking about how Daphne will react to breastfeeding. She'll be at least 3 by then if/when it happens.
    I remember the couple times I took her visit my family in Nebraska during her first year, a couple of my cousins' kids were quite fascinated by the breast feeding. They'd all been breast fed but not recently enough to remember – so we used the "that's how baby's eat" line. I also like the Baby Milk / Big Boy (Girl) milk distinction.

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