birds and bees and being pregnant

lately i've been thinking it's time i have that "talk" with lana. she's nine. i've seen that book on her bed. the book about her body. for some reason i haven't felt the need. i'm pretty sure i had already had "the talk" with ceily by this age. (after having the talk, she immediately proclaimed she was never going to do that!)

well, on sunday, as lana was in my bathtub taking a bath and i was at my mirror preparing for sunday church, i took the opportunity to discuss a few things. we didn't get all the way about how babies are made and such. puberty was the topic.

me: "lana, do you know what puberty is?"

lana: "i'm in stage two."

me: "huh..."

lana: "yeah, stage two."

me: "what are you talking about?"

lana: "you know that book? it says i'm in stage two. stage one is flat. stage two is fluffy like i am. stage three is when..."(editing.)

me: "well, that's true. your body is changing. eventually you will start getting hair on your body like under your arms and in other places like..."(editing)

lana: "gross! and on my legs. they are already hairy."

me: "yep. all those places. do you know what a period is?"

lana: "yes, when you bleed."

me: "that's right. it's called your menstrual cycle. it will happen every month..."

lana: 'i'm NEVER using a tampon!!! that is just wrong! ..."(editing)

i continued to explain how her body has tiny eggs that she needs to form babies. when those eggs get ready they travel through her fallopian tubes and if she's not pregnant, her uterus sheds the lining inside. if she was pregnant the baby would get nourishment from that lining instead of having a period...etc. i had a few other things to say. lana was quiet...

lana: "mom? am i pregnant?"

me: "no you are not pregnant! you have to have sex to be pregnant. and you only have sex when..."

lana: "i know. you only have sex when you are married."

me: "so, i'm positive you are not pregnant. just because you aren't having your period doesn't mean you are automatically pregnant. other things have to happen."

lana: "oh, good." (at this point there was a brief discussion about how she was going to have a c-section because she wasn't doing it the other way. it would hurt too much. i'll have summer take over educating her about c-sections.)

that was the end. i guess i could have continued with all the mechanics and such about getting pregnant. but i didn't feel it was necessary at that precise moment. she was content with what we had discussed. she was happy she wasn't pregnant and she didn't have to use a tampon.

she actually enlightened me about the 3 stages of breast development. who knew?