How do you feel about your third child?

[SauvignonZonk]

Did they complete your family or send it into chaos?!

Also I'm 36 (almost) 37 and dh is 42, honestly and no need to be pc would you raise an eyebrow at our ages?

I just see our house with 3 dc and I know for sure I'll be done then!

Dh not opposed but life is very easy at the minute.

Dc 1 and 3 if that's relevant!

Once upon a time we had a boy and a girl aged 2 and 4. My number three was very quickly followed by his twin number four!
And then we had a surprise number 5!
Just saying.

My no 3 is my ds... He is 14 taller than me

Cheeky wonderful clever sporty and always always got plans going on for something or the other,

he makes me smile.. I wouldnt be without him.. Never found him chaos as a baby but as a primary kid and now 2ndary he is chaos but in a great and wonderful way,, He is a HUGE extravert and adores people and communication.. and he has this smile that just melts my heart

He can twirl me round his fingers in a way his sisters cant he can also make me rage in a way his sisters can't

He is great and I wouldnt be without him for a moment.

(wouldnt be without my 3 dd's either but for different reasons to ds)

Amazing, gorgeous, charming but also naughty, cheeky, defiant........love him, wouldn't change a thing. Expense is the biggest issue - school fees, holidays....3 of everything adds up to quite a bit over the years!

I've only got one, but I'm a third and I'm perfectly charming!

I had no 3 at 37. He was a boy & the others (3 & 6 years older) were girls, he did get left out of their unit rather & was pretty antsy in general, but he was always very lovable, & we enjoyed having 3 generally.

DC4 came 5 years later & everybody adored him but it transpires, many years later, that he has ASD; but I realised too late to insist he get a diagnosis & he is bloody hard work now (failed uni, chronically unemployed, no interest in being helped)

But still...all 4 kids love & support each other, & the older ones are also a great support to us. Having younger kids when you're older keeps you so well in touch with - um - zeitgeisty stuff (can't think of a better way of putting it ). I'm 65 now & couldn't feel less like an OAP!

I adore mine!! He was an 'easy' child - funny, interested, confident, had a 'positive attitude' to his bed - unlike his 2 big brothers. His days were so busy so he needed his sleep! When he was born we had 3 under 5 for a few months. I won't pretend it wasn't hard work; it was enormous fun too. We waited 3 1/2 years before having ds4 though. After that i felt 'complete'. I was 35 ish when ds3 was born; dh was older - late 40s presumably as he's 14 older than me. ds2 has special needs and having a little brother so close in age really brought him on. They had their own language for a while and were great pals. Now he's 21 and he still is funny, interested, confident, likes his bed. He loves his mammy too. At times he's a lazy sod but he is great.

I had DD3 after a horrific miscarriage (I was 5 months along) Got pregnant too soon afterwards and suffered a separated pelvis and awful PND. I was also 35 years old and wondering wtf I was doing, but she's the best thing that ever happened to me. She struggled with OCD and tourettes and came out fighting. She's beautiful, confident and loving and I'm genuinely thankful that I had her. Sorry for gushing

I had my three at 28, 30 and 38 (dh two years older) and got no raised eyebrows in any direction. We've found that we've been both among the first and the last of our various groups of friends to have babies

Low Dudgeon, my ds4 has ASD too. He is bloody hard work but so lovely. i find my 4 all look out for each other. #1 and 3 are away, live separately but meet up regularly. They are supportive to the others and us too. ds1 and 4 have always had an especially close relationship - ds1 totally accepts ds4's eccentricities. I suppose we are a close family!!

DC3 the easiest baby and now a lovely nearly 1 year old. DD1 is 5 and DD2 is 3 so age gaps smallish. In fact I would like number 4 (am 39) no eyebrows raised at youe ages you are young!

My DS (now 4) was an extremely unexpected child. He managed to make it through 3 levels of contraception! DH didn't want another child, I did. We already had DD1 and DD2, who were 3 and 1 when I got pregnant. My pregnancy was a nightmare, he was a nightmare baby - didn't sleep AT ALL, screamed pretty much 24/7 for about 3 months, and was a bit of a shock as a toddler and pre-schooler as there's a marked gender difference between him and the girls.
We had to get a bigger car, we had to build an extension. My career had to be put on hold for another 3 or 4 years and obviously we had to pay for nursery fees for a lot longer. It also makes things a lot more awkward on holidays and things because of travelling/hotel rooms/swimming pools etc.
He is a little sod a lot of the time but he's also very loving. He drives us up the wall with his lack of listening skills and indoor voice too! I'm desperately hoping he's going to be my saving grace when the girls hit puberty DH isn't very tolerant of his behaviour if I'm honest and has changed a lot since he arrived - he shouts a lot, gets wound up very easily and generally has a much much shorter fuse now. It's quite sad to see but I'm hoping that DS's mechanical inquisitiveness and dexterity will mean that he and DH can do a lot of 'tinkering' when he's older as DH is also that way inclined. DH has also mentioned wanting to build a 'man cave' in the attic for them both, with a scalectrix set/train set etc.
So, in a nutshell, I do love my DS to bits but his arrival has had a huge impact on our family and I often wonder how things might have been had we stuck with just the two girls. I wouldn't change things even if I could but I wish having three hadn't had such a profound effect on my DH.

My dc3, dd completed our family for me. Dh would still like another sometimes but it is a no from me! She was an easy baby, fitted right in to the hustle and bustle of school runs etc. Life isn't always easy tbf, things are a little harder now she is older as they argue between themselves a fair amount but I wouldn't be with out her.

Completed our family, without doubt. Always wanted three DCs, and she joined DS (then nearly 4) and DD1 (2).

DD2 was a pretty easy baby/toddler, but she's now getting her revenge, and gearing up to be the most challenging teenager of the three. Bolshy as can be.

I adore him now but honestly first couple of years was awful. My older were just turned two and 4 1/2 when third was born. They missed out on lots as I was exhausted and felt pulled in all directions. Poor eldest dc took the brunt as my attention was mainly on coping with baby and a toddler.

It's petty good now we are past baby/toddler stage as they all play well, great company for each other. Logistically much easier. They are a handful. Holidays are much more expensive, we have to think about cars as three across the back seat isn't fun and wasn't doable with three car seats.

We were sure we were stopping at two, but when dd was 6 and ds was 2, the broodiness struck I couldn't shake it and was genuinely so angry when I saw a pregnant person - because it wasn't me So I knew I had to have a third - despite it being totally a crazy move as things were so easy with two! Anyway, along came my gorgeous dd She is absolutely amazing and the older two adore her as much as we do. She really did complete the family and I haven't felt even a twinkle of broodiness since thank goodness - my body agrees that we are complete. I am so happy that we had her, there's no doubts she has made all of our lives better so I will never regret it. There's no doubt life would be 'simpler' with two - however who wants simple???

Should add it did have a huge impact on marriage having 3 under 5. Marriage def wouldn't survive a 4th

We had three under 4. It's been chaos...obviously there are good and bad aspects. I couldn't be without much loved dc3, but with the benefit of hindsight we would have been better stopping at two.

Nation And tilder that sounds so lovely. Hard to explain but two just feels so rigid and expected and small. I feel like three kids running around really is a pack. You go from people asking hows both the kids...to hows all the kids...

DC 3 is due in September - others will be 6 and 3 by then. We ummed and ahhed for ages about a third but I knew we weren't 'done' - we definitely will be after this one! I'm 38 and pregnancy has been exhausting so far but I can't wait to complete our family and see my older ones with their baby brother. Looking forward to embracing the next stage of our lives with our three!

Dc3 turned out to be dc's 3 & 4 (twins) they really turned our lives upside down.
We had all sorts of problems with them that had a major impact on the entire family and much as I love them dearly and wouldn't be without them retrospectively our lives would have been "easier" if we had left it at just 2 dc's.
They are all adults now!

He definitely completed our family. Absolutely. He's a tiny tyrant and rules the house but we all adore him.

Our third has caused untold chaos and he has significant additional needs, obviously a bigger concern as you get older, but my heart literally bursts every time I see him. My older 2 I could take or leave just kidding they are heart bursting too .

Nothing wrong with your ages at all. My third is amazing. When I had 2 I was always looking for a third. Literally at times when gathering the children up I'd think there was one missing for a split second. Ok so sleep was stuffed for a few more years but he just fitted right in, no bother at all it was as though he had always been there. I think you get more problems as they get bigger in a way. Mine are 4, 7 and 9 now and so we get the split with the older one wanting to do something the little one can't or isn't interested in, arguments over the tv and that sort of thing but in general smallest boy gets his own way in all things because he is far too cute and his siblings just cave . They are a lovely little trio.