Baby Stages

As I'm preparing to spring clean and organize our entire house (as most people do pre-moving), it makes me realize how much baby stuff we have. It also makes me realize that I don't have any babies any more. My 20-month-old can run, talk a little, feed herself, and is preparing to be potty trained. To me when a child is potty trained that's the last "baby" necessity. After that mom is no longer the primary person in charge of physical needs. We also now only have one booster chair out, as Ava likes to sit in a big chair now, and it's honestly nice I don't have two high chairs to clean. Those things are always disgusting and collect dirt.

I imagine the past 20 months of my life has been very similar to having twins, always having two of everything. It will probably continue to be that way. I can't wait until they wear the same size clothes or they're only one size apart.

It will be hard to take down the crib, put away the crib sheets, changing pad, baby toys, clothes, swing, exercauser, pacifiers and monitors. The other day I was folding up a crib sheet and it made me sigh and get a little sad. I look forward to the day when I can get all my stuff out again and be excited about the new person in our family. Until then, I try to wait patiently - but am not very successful. There is no longer any reason I have to go to Babies R us, make registries, the new organic baby store downtown or go to La Leche League meetings with my friends.

A new set of milestones awaits us, things like preschool, reading, dance lessons and having a sunbeam (the 3-year-old sunday school class). Somehow though these seem like daunting tasks, fighting short attention spans and having to get more organized. We probably won't send Ava to preschool because I am really not interested in it. I think I can teach her well at home. Dance, on the other hand, is something that a mom could teach her daughter, but I have such good memories of it I would love to give Ava the same gift.