After struggling with infertility, Nancy Bullard was overjoyed to finally welcome her first baby in December. So, before heading off on maternity leave, the North Carolina teacher did her best to prep her 2nd grade class about what to expect in her absence. And when she returned three months later? Bullard (or "Mrs. B," as she's called) decided to do another quick lesson about her time away. She just wasn't expecting it to be such a hit.
Mrs. B whipped up a fun-filled Powerpoint presentation
Then, she headed back to school, stood in front of her class, and began to go over what a "maternity leave" is really all about.
Of course, she had no idea that an adorable flurry of questions was about to come her way. She also couldn't have anticipated the genuine interest her students would express about her life as a new mom. But before she knew it, Mrs. B was fielding all sorts of hilarious kid questions about bringing a baby into the world — from how much they really cry to where exactly "babies come from."
Luckily, the sweet Q&A session was caught on camera
Bullard later shared it on her Instagram page.
In it, the 2nd grade teacher stands in front of her class while running through a maternity leave presentation. But instead of covering addition and subtraction, Bullard opens the lesson by introducing her new son, Sam.
"I wanted to take a few minutes to catch up with students, introduce them to my son, and let them ask questions," Bullard recently told TODAY Parents. "When I wrote my lesson plan for this day I planned to spend about five minutes answering questions, but ended up spending nearly 20 minutes doing so."
As you might imagine, those questions really ran the gamut
"Is it difficult to have a baby?" one student asked her.
"Yeah, yeah it is," Mrs. B told him honestly. "It's pretty tough."
"When he goes to sleep, do you have to sleep with him or does he sleep with his dad?" another kid wondered.
"Nope, he sleeps all by himself in his crib the whole night!" Bullard told them. "Round of applause for baby Sam!"
Judging by all the clapping, the students were clearly impressed.
"That baby is not afraid!" one student shouted.
"I had to sleep with my mom until I was 1 year old!" said another.
But just moments later, one student hit her with a WHOPPER of a question
… one that's enough to send any teacher (or parent) into a panic.
"Where do babies come from?" the student asked her, as a hush fell over the room.
Gulp.
Luckily, though, Bullard is used to 7- and 8-year-olds asking pretty blunt questions. So instead of tripping over her words, she simply pointed to her stomach and said, "They come from an organ called your uterus."
In the end, her lesson was a success
(And fortunately, none of the students asked her to elaborate on the whole "where do babies come from" thing.)
“Regardless of age, all my students understand the basic concept of pregnancy: There was a baby inside me, now that baby is out, and I spent maternity leave taking care of him,” Mrs. B told Today.
And as for all their "interesting" questions? Sounds like she got a real kick out of it.
"Students were interested, curious, and excited to get their questions answered," Bullard told the outlet, adding that, "As a science teacher, I welcome curiosity and always strive to answer questions factually."
