Baby Deetz

Sometimes we subliminally get a picture in our head that just sticks with us, that picture becomes our compass until reality becomes known. Say, for instance, Baby Deetz. We don’t know for sure if they are a boy or a girl. I’ll let you in on a secret- We have been told (by reliable sources) that by us saying “we have no gender preference” that means most likely we will be matched with a boy, because the majority of adoptive parents request girls and for other various reasons concerning Russian culture that to be honest with you, we have no idea if they are accurate or not. But still- the second we paint that room baby blue- you know what will happen! I can see us rushing to the store the day before we travel to buy some bubblegum pink to cover it up….

We have no idea about how old they will be, we’ve said newborn to two years old is an acceptable age range. Reliable sources also tell us that the minimum age is 9 months in Russia, because the children must remain on an “In-Country Waiting List” for 9 months prior to being available to outside adoption. That being said, we know of a family that adopted a 4 month old from Russia. Even though I think she was closer to 6 months old when they brought her home, the orphanage/government kept saying “Ohh…she’s too young for you to take her!” yet, she was placed with them anyway! 6 months to 24 months is a huge gap in age and development, it’s really like apples and oranges…..

It’s interesting to me how sometimes with the unknown, consciously we see a blank canvas and start filling in the blanks as information is presented- a little here, a little there. When people ask me about specifics when it comes to the baby, I just say what I just wrote. Basically- we have no idea! In my minds eye though, I picture a darling blonde toddler boy~ He knows how to walk, he babbles in Russian, but is learning some English words- “mama” “dada” “book”. I look in my rear view mirror and there he is sitting in his car seat playing with a toy car! He has a mischievous personality and a grin to match…. Sometimes I picture a little toddler girl with dark ringlet curls and alabaster skin who loves Disney Princesses as much as I do. People sometimes stop us in the store and say “Ohh! She looks just like you!” I just smile and nod and say thank you. Sunday night though, I had a dream, let me tell you about it…..

I dreamt that I went to baby Deetz crib and there was a TINY newborn baby inside. I was so shocked in my dream that I gasp! This baby is so…..SMALL! What am I going to do with this? The toys I’ve bought are all too grown up, the books are too mature, and the clothes won’t fit for another two years! I’ve bought sippy cups and tiny silverware not bottles! I pick her up out of the crib (yes it was a her!) and walk into the kitchen. I fill a sippy cup with cheerios about half way, throw in like 10 scoops of formula (I read the label to make sure there isn’t too much iron in it, I don’t want to poison her) by this time the baby is screaming in this tiny high pitched wail, so I fill it up with water and start shaking it. I sit down in the chair and start to feed her out of this huge sippy cup. The cup is practically as big as the baby! The whole time I’m feeding her I’m hoping she doesn’t choke on a cheerio. When I woke up, I laid in bed and re-evaluated my image of baby Deetz. This could be a really small baby…..

Part of me wants to blame the crazy vivid dream on the Chinese food I ate too late for dinner. Part of me is thinking it may be God saying- “Only I know what child I have picked for you and you don’t, so stop buying blue things and telling yourself if it’s a girl you’ll just sell them on ebay or at the next consignment sale!” But logically, it’s telling me the dream is based on a recent conversation I had with Chad. I found these cool magnetic strips you hang on the wall that have these giant magnets to display artwork. I told Chad “oohhhh we could hang these like a border in Baby Deetz room and paint the bottom half of the wall with that chalkboard paint, wouldn’t that be cool?” To that he said “don’t you think they’ll eat the chalk?” BINGO. I am picturing a toddler that would love drawing and coloring in chalk all over the walls. Chad is picturing a baby like in my dream that would definitely make a snack out of chalk. I wonder who will be more accurate? Will we be equipped to encompass that broad of an age range? Yikes. Needless to say, we are holding off on the magnetic strips and I will not eat General Tso’s and egg rolls that close to bed time ever again.

P.S.- You can make your own stick family at http://www.freeflashtoys.com/