“Hey, Mom, did you breath through your mouth or your nose when the doctor helped get me out of your belly?” Big Guy asked recently.

It’s hard to say which confused me more: Trying to figure out where the question came from or trying to remember if I was breathing at all. All I recall is a saddle block that did nothing to block the pain from the contractions but left my legs so numb I couldn’t tell if I was pushing.

“My mouth … I think,” I replied. The answer didn’t really satisfy him, but he eventually gave up on prodding my memory and trotted off.

A few days later, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” episode told me why he asked. It’s the one where teenage Katara helps deliver a baby. The first viewers see of the birth is the mother covered from the neck down — what can I say, it’s aimed at 6- to 11-year-olds — and panting heavily.

The view quickly moves behind the mother, and you hear more panting and, finally, a cry.

“See!” Big Guy pointed triumphantly. “She breathes the baby out. Now, did you breathe through your mouth or nose.”

“My mouth,” I said. Otherwise, it would add a whole new meaning to the term “little booger” I thought.

I don’t count it as a lie. I just failed to clear up a misconception.

Copyright 2008 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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