The Special Hug

I thought I still had some time before the whole “where do babies come from” talk. I guess not. We had our first go around with Eli the other day, and the bad thing is that I’m the one that led us into the conversation without even realizing it. I’m still kicking myself.

Eli and I were having a discussion. He was upset because I wouldn’t let him have this toy gun that he wanted. I explained that he wasn’t allowed to play with guns – even pretend ones – as long as he lived with mommy and daddy. This is how the conversation went from there:

Eli: Well, can I have a gun when I’m grown up?
Me: If you choose to have a gun when you are grown up, then I guess you can get one?
Eli: Can I still live with you and daddy?
Me: When you're grown up, I doubt you’ll still want to live with mommy and daddy.
Eli: Yes, I will!! I would miss you if I didn’t live with you!
Me: I would miss you, too, sweetie, but aren’t you going to get married when you grow up?
Eli: Married?
Me: Yes. If you get married, is your wife going to live with us, too?
Eli: Well, I DO want to get married so I can have wedding cake, but my wife can’t live with us because Georgia doesn’t like strangers. My wife will just have to live someplace else.
Me: Okay. What if you have kids? Where are your kids going to live?
Eli: Kids? Well, I won’t have kids. Only women can have babies in their tummies, right? I can’t have a baby in my tummy.
Me: Well, it’s a little more complicated than that.
Eli: How does the baby get in there, anyway?
Me: Well, the daddy puts the baby in the mommy’s tummy.
Eli: Really? So daddy put me in your tummy?
Me: Yes, he did.
Eli: How did he get your tummy open to put me in there?
Me: ERIC! Come here! Eli has a question for you!

Then Eric came in and I said, “Eli wants to know how you got my tummy open to put a baby in there.” Oh, I certainly wish I had a camera to capture the look on Eric’s face at that moment.

His response was something like, “Well, hmmm, gee, there’s ummm, well . . . . there’s a special hug that mommies and daddies do.” That’s when I chimed in, “When they’re married and love each other very much.” Eric continued, “When they have this special hug, the daddy plants a seed in the mommy’s tummy and it grows into a baby.”

Eli: Really? So that’s how we got Georgia?
Me: Yes, that’s how we got Georgia.
Eli: Okay.

And off he went. As soon as he left the room, I saw the twinkle in Eric’s eye, and I knew exactly what was coming. “So,” he said. “You want a special hug?”

My husband is so predictable!