Continuity mistake: When Doug goes to get Carrie's present from the closet her position on the bed changes between shots. (00:05:30)
Continuity mistake: The Heffernans have neighbors on both sides of the house as seen in previous episodes. However there is no house to the left of theirs when we see Lou at the very start. (00:00:40)
Continuity mistake: The Heffernans have a double garage as witnessed in any scene in the garage. However, in this episode at the start they only have a single garage. (00:00:30)
Continuity mistake: When we first see Lou, he is pushing some rubbish down into the bin, camera cuts and he now has a box in his hand. (00:00:05)
Continuity mistake: When Carrie gets her camera it changes position in her hands before she turns it around. Note the strap, it goes from left to right. (00:06:00)
Continuity mistake: After Carrie says she's taking Doug's camera to her office party, the box magically appears on her lap. (00:09:50)
Answer: To answer the question directly. Carrie and Doug do not have a biological child during the show's main run. In season 3 or 4 finale (cant remember which) Carrie has a miscarriage. Later on in the show they find out Carrie has 1 working ovary. Thus reducing the chance of them conceiving. By the final season, they couple agree to adopt from China and go to collect their child in the show's final episode. While on the flight back from China it's revealed that Carrie is once again pregnant. However the last scene of the show is a flash forward showing that Carrie goes full term with that child and they are struggling with both kids.
Ssiscool ★
Adding on to this answer, I read somewhere that producers were afraid of the show having a "before baby" feeling and then an "after baby" feeling. Some fans feel that main characters, or the show in general, decline in quality after a major change. For example, Jesse and Rebecca on "Full House" after they had twin sons, and Daphne on "Frasier" after she married Niles.