The end of the baby phase, or is it?

We had 3 kids in a little over 4 years; the oldest was 4 yrs and 2 months old when we had the third.

So, we were used to babies.

Life with a baby is just what we did. When the baby grew up into a toddler, another baby took its place.

In the case of our 3rd child, the crib was actually still occupied with baby #2 when baby #3 came along (he slept in a pack-n-play for the 1st six months)!

Diapers, pacifiers, baby monitors, nursing sessions, infant car seats, baby gates, a changing table, a crib, a stroller. . .

Were all a part of every day life for years!

But, then our youngest baby began to grow up.

And slowly the baby stuff began to disappear from the house and from our lives.

And now that he's 3 and pretty reliably potty-trained, I hardly ever even grab the diaper bag as I'm walking out the door anymore!

When I'm around a friend who has a real baby (as opposed to my 3 year old one!) I am reminded of just how far we've gone from the baby phase.

And it occurs to me how strange it may be to go back.

I didn't imagine we would.

As we wait to be matched with the child we'll adopt from Ethiopia, our requested age range is 0 to 30 months and we completely expected to get a referral of a toddler rather than an infant because many families only request infants.

But, it seems now that infants from Ethiopia are being more readily matched through our agency rather than toddlers, with some families who specifically requested a toddler waiting longer than the families waiting for infants.

The trend could completely shift back again before we are due to get a referral (still likely months away), but still, it does make me wonder if we'll get matched with a baby.

It will be a blessing either way, a baby would likely have fewer transition issues, but a toddler would be closer in age and more able to play right away with our other 3 kids.

It is kinda weird not knowing what to expect, but God knows just the right baby girl or toddler girl for our family, and the not knowing is just part of the crazy adventure of adoption!

One thing I do know, though, we won't be getting 16 babies like in the picture of all my daughter's dolls she decided to bring downstairs and lay out in our entryway!

Although that would certainly launch us back into baby-mode in a hurry!

This post is part of the Moms' 30-Minute Blog Challenge.

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