So today we returned to a local university neurology lab for continued experimentation on Sweet Pea. When she was born, we checked a box on some form that said something to the effect of "we'd love for random scientists to contact us about putting our kid in a rat maze to be studied." Soon after we returned home, the calls came. We've been going to this one place for years now. It really is pretty fun. We've participated in a few studies and today's batch deals with numbers and math understanding from infancy and beyond. We really love these ones and look forward to going back year after year.
But anyway...
So we're driving there today and Sweet Pea is obsessed with this coffee mug from which I was drinking. It came from a spot we have visited a few times, so she was asking about our visits there
"Was I still in your belly when we went there?"
"No. We went when you were a baby and then when you were older, too. You weren't in my belly then."
The conversation continued along a few tangents and then she wanted to know, "Why don't daddies have babies in their bellies?"
We discussed how every body is a little bit the same and a little bit different. We all have bones and a heart inside. But some other things are different. Girls, for example, have something in their body called a uterus. That is where babies grow in a girl when they grow up.
"Oh. When I get bigger, will I have a uterus?"
"You have one right now. It's inside your body but it is very tiny right now. When you get older, it will get bigger and it will be big enough to grow a baby."
She was (finally) satisfied with this particular line of thought, so I got some peace for the next 15 minutes of the drive.
When we arrived to the lab, we had to wait for someone to come out to the street and buzz us into their parking lot. While we waited, she wanted her window rolled down. No problem. We waited a few minutes. I read email on my phone and she enjoyed a little bit of autumn breeze. The lab assistant finally walks up and I wave hello through my closed window and prepare to speak to her.
Sweet Pea, however, already has her window open so greets our guide with, "I have a tiny uterus inside my body!"
The undergrad assistant just says "Oh?" and looks at me like I'm the oddest and possibly worst parent she has ever met. I just laughed and said, "Hi. I'm Tracy and I'm in midwifery school. This is what the daughter of a midwife sounds like. Now, where do I park?"
