August 07, 2012

Anatomy lesson

My legs are going to be SO sore tomorrow.

My Wii Active workout today was really tough! When I first looked at it, it was the typical stuff... but then I noticed this:
When I first started this challenge, there were just alternating lunges--which I thought were hard enough. Then they introduced jump lunges, which are much harder. And then most recently, I had to do squat holds--squat to where your thighs are parallel to the floor and hold for 60 seconds.

The first time that came up, I was at my sister's house. I made it about 40 seconds on the first try before having to take a break. Then the next time, I could barely squeeze out 30 seconds before a break. Today, I spent the first 11 exercises dreading that squat hold! When it was time to do it, I started the squat and then tried to distract myself--I was asking Eli a bunch of questions. I actually made it through the whole 60 seconds without taking a break!

My legs felt so tired, but I had to go right into three sets of lunges--good grief. And then I had to follow those with another squat hold, which I was SURE I wasn't going to be able to get through. I made a goal to get through 30 seconds of it. Again, I tried to distract myself. Eli was counting down the seconds, but that was making it go so slowly. At 30 seconds, I said "Just 10 more, then you can take a break". Then at 40, I said, "You're more than halfway, you can do 10 more". At 50, I said, "You can do ANYTHING for 10 seconds"... and I did it! Two squat holds for 60 seconds. Maybe that's a piece of cake for some of you, but it was very tough for me!

Finished up the workout, and noticed that I only have six left until I complete the 30-Day Challenge:


I watched a movie with the kids today called Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. I liked that the kids wanted to watch it with me, because I thought it had a lot of good lessons in it--about bullying, working hard for what you want, doing well in school, and stuff like that. What I was NOT expecting, however, was to have the conversation that followed a woman's miscarriage.

Noah: "Can the mom and dad have more babies?"
Me: "Yes, they can."
Noah: "How?"
Me: (Starting to get nervous) "Well, when they decide they're ready, they can choose to have more."
Noah: "But how does the baby get in there?"
Me: (Heart starting to race) "Well, remember in your anatomy books, about the sperm and the egg? The man has a sperm, and the woman has an egg, and when the two come together, it makes a baby. Then the baby grows in the mom's belly for a long time until it's ready to come out." (Praying that the conversation is over).
Noah: "How do the sperm and the egg come together?"
Me: (Dies)

I really didn't want to make a huge deal out of it, because then he might think it's shameful or something. My parents NEVER told me what sex was. So I did what I always planned on doing--gave him the facts, using proper terms. I hope that I didn't come across as embarrassed or anything--I was just totally taken by surprise by the whole thing!

I asked Noah if he understood, and he had me explain it one more time. Then, the only thing he said was, "Oh, I remember in my book it said that the first sperm to get to the egg makes the baby! What if there is a tie?"  Hahaha, so I don't think he's scarred for life. ;)

26 comments:

  1. I admire your determination with all your workouts/runs!

    And the dialogue between you and your son was too funny! Sounds like you handled yourself well :)

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  2. good job with explaining the facts Katie! My parents didn't explain anything to me either. I learned the info at school I think. For my own kids, I didn't want the information to come as a shock to them and wanted them to be able to ask me questions, so I bought an illustrated kids' book called "Where did I come from?" It explains everything in complete detail, but with cute cartoon drawings and with a light attitude. It emphasized the love between the parents which I thought was very sweet. We read it a few times and I left it in their bookshelf so they could look at it any time they wanted. I think it's much better to be open and honest so the kids don't think it's a negative thing.

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  3. Fabulous job (both with the workout and the unexpected "talk")! I'm really impressed! :)

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  4. It's so funny that on the very day I had the "sex talk" with my almost 8 year old, you did the same. Like you, my parents never talked to me about sex or anything related to sex, yes I was even left in the dark about where babies come from. I had to figure "things" out for myself and it wasn't fun. I didn't want that same fate for my son, so I swallowed my embarrassment and talked to him as if we were talking about making dinner (it's completely normal and natural). I, like you,avoided calling body parts slang words. It was great. He was completely comfortable and asked a few times how the sperm got to the agg and he was surprised to learn that women have eggs. I also explained the purpose of breasts (his Aunt is about to have a baby and will be breastfeeding, so I wanted him to be prepared for that).

    You've inspired me to buy and complete the active 30 day challenge. I hope I am able to stick with it like you have!!

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  5. Aww! The conversation with you and Noah is adorable. Like you and some of the other commenters, my parents didn't talk to me about sex either. We didn't even have the period talk! My best friend was two years older than me so having her around helped a lot... plus, we both watched a lot of Sex and the City, lol! My daughter is only 2.5 and I'm already nervous about having "the talk".

    Also, and I know this isn't exactly your area, but have you come across any good weight lifting blogs? I've been looking around but haven't found any that have caught my eye (really, I haven't found very many at all).

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  6. That conversation is hilarious. I'm sure no permanent damage was done! ;)

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  7. LoveAnAnimalAugust 08, 2012

    Hilarious!!! You handled it very well!!!

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  8. soooo, how DO the sperm and egg come together? ;-)

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  9. Way to go mom! Sounds like you did a great job explaining things! And on a side note, I dispose lunges too!

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  10. Good job on the facts of life talk. I never got one either. Not sure if my boys did either.

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  11. My daughter has been asking that question since she was 2! I've had lots of practice answering it with "just the facts" necessary for her age. And just enough to make her happy so she'll stop asking about it. For awhile, babies were made by "biology" and that was the best one word answer ever.

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  12. You did the right thing... using proper terms and just making it matter-of-fact. If you had said, "Oh, it's just some gross rolling around, acting stupid and getting all sticky and sweaty," I'm sure that would not have set a very good precedent for his attitude about sex in the future. Good job, mom!

    ~~ Aundrea ~~

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  13. My older son (now 16 and talks are a lot different!) was about this age when he genuinely wanted to know too. My mom told me all about it when I was ready so I really wasn't embarrassed when the time came. It was much easier for me than I think it is for parents whose own parents didn't talk to them about it. So... I think we're raising a group who will be comfortable talking about sex and asking questions and will be comfortable telling their own munchkins someday too. Which is wonderful!! Much better to be comfortable asking your parents and getting a real answer than asking friends or finding out on your own and running the risk of getting bad info!

    Good job everyone!!!

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  14. haha. my cousin overheard her oldest (kevin) talking about how his half brother was going to come out of emily's butt. so the next time my cousin was alone with kevin (he is a bit older than the other kids) she explained to him that babies dont come from butts and how it all works (even sex). his question was "you and jeff have sex?" and she told me as he was walking out of the room she says and one more thing there is no such thing as santa claus. haha. she also told him not to talk to the younger kids about any of what was said. im thinking his half brother is 3 now and kevin is just about to turn 13. so he was 10 or 9 when this convo happened.
    lessoff

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  15. First, I want to tell you how much I love your blog. I stumbled upon it a few weeks ago, and I've found it to be incredibly inspiring. I have a problem with binge eating, and this is the first time I've really seen someone talk about it like it is a genuine problem. All that is to say: Thank You!

    Your story about explaining the birds and the bees to your child cracked me up, because it reminds me a lot of how my mother approached the subject with me. Specifically, I remember her explaining the anatomy to me (using very technical terms), except that instead of "arousal" she said that a man and a woman get "excited." For THE LONGEST TIME, I thought she just meant excited like I as a child would have been excited to go to a theme park... like, "Yay, we're so stoked, we're going to make a baby!"

    ...Anyway, keep up the amazing work!

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  16. I've read the book that movie is based on - good story! Oh, and that conversation is hilarious! I can't remember being told anything about sex - I don't remember how I found out about it...I just knew. Ha!

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  17. This is completely irrelevant to your post, but I saw this when looking for half stickers and thought of you!

    http://www.cafepress.com/+frank_shorter_quote_rectangle_sticker,179776507

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  18. http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=46543

    you're welcome

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  19. You did a great job! I always dreaded talking to my kids about sex but, much like you, was determined to always use the right terms but try to explain everything in terms they understood and never gave them more infor than they really needed. I made sure to let them know they can always come to me with questions and I would always try to answer them to the best of my knowledge. Because of that, my kids have come to me with so many things-things that are hard to talk to parents about-but because I've always been open, non-judgemental and never acted freaked out, it's been easy for them to open up. It's all about trust.

    Great job momma lol

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  20. I told my son the same thing! Haha. He is 8 now and informs people that the baby doesn't come out of the belly button (my 5 year old daughter thought this) He said, "I think it comes out of your butt, or somewhere near there." LOL I explained to him that girls have another opening near the butt, and that's for babies to come out of. My daughter also knows proper terms and calls her private part the vulva. We were at water country recently and she had to wear a life jacket and she proclaimed loudly around a bunch of people, "Mommy, I want to take this life jacket off because it's hurting my vulva!" They just laughed. :)

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  21. I love it! What if there was a tie? Kids are the best!

    Jen

    http://www.justamomgivingitatri.blogspot.com

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  22. lol we recently checked out "It's So Amazing" from the library and went through the whole book with our 8 year old daughter. It is a good, very detailed book and you can skip whatever you like. Explains it all even how the sperm gets to the egg.

    I had also checked out "Where did I Come From" but I didn't share that one with her. It's a cute book and I was fine with the penis in the vagina part but then it goes on about how the male has to thrust in and out faster and faster.... too much!

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  23. Well done you for being so calm about the sex questions. I keep waiting for my girls to start asking but as the eldest (6 years old) announced today that she didn't like to watch princess films anymore because of the romance and the K.I.S.S.I.N.G (she spelled it out) I should be safe for another month or two.

    I hope I handle it as well as you did!

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  24. My 7 year old hasn't asked too much about babies yet, but he's been obsessed about what tampons are for years. For a long time he called them candles because he saw one unwrapped and thought the string looked like a wick. He finally asked me why there were so many candles on the bathroom. So, I had to explain to him about periods. Boy, that was fun!

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  25. Thank God for health class. It took most of the burden off my shoulders, but explaining how to use feminine hygiene products to your daughter...nothing can prepare you for that conversation.

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