Part of your dilemma rests with your understanding of baptism...
if you beleive in the scripture as being accurate and authentic..then Baptism has NOTHING to do with washing away sins...(ie Jesus was baptized)
If you generally ignore scripture and follow the teachings of the orthodox church...children can get baptized and then purgatory can be avoided...or the soul will be saved until the "age of accountability"....None of this is in scripture (Papal declarations...councils)
Pastors from evangelical denominations should hold to their teachings: baptism does NOT assure salvation, church membership, or whatever.
IT (child baptism)DOES create a compact between the members and the family to help raise that child responsibly in a Christian environment.
(Presbyterian...Methodist...Anglican)
Adult baptism is the demonstration of a life dedicated to Jesus Christ and faith in His unmerited grace for salvation.(Baptist, Assembly of God, Church of God, Nazarene...)
We still see a growing trend to "Do your own thing and its all OK with God"
Wrong...Scripture never says"Try doing it any way you want and you'll do fine" ....Read how specific God was with instructions to Israel in the pentateuch! Any time the Israelites tried to do their own thing....somebody got swallowed in the ground, burned up, or defeated by an enemy....so why does this generation insist on "doing it my way is fine with God?"