The baby?

The other day I referred to my 17 month old (third) child as the baby and my friend asked how long I was going to call her the baby.

'Good question - I guess until I have another one' I replied. A few months ago, I had a friend tell me that she is not really a baby anymore. I started really thinking about the reference the baby. I am 35 and I still hear my mom refer to me as the baby.

After much (unnecessary) thought,I realized when you have more than two children, the title the baby is an identifier. When you have one, there is no need for an identifying label and when you have two there is still no need to identify your children by rank...unless of course you have two children of the same gender. It's when you dip into the third, forth, etc., that you really have to start to identify your children with labels. The oldest, the middle, the second child, the baby...the baby!!!

I also think with the more kids you have, the more you want to hold them little forever because you know how fast it goes! Maybe I will stop calling her the baby when she breaks 20 pounds!!