Did you have 3+ children in a row of the same sex?

[PickledElectricity]

I would just like some anecdata please because I am in turmoil.

I am pregnant with my second boy and I know it's stupid and irrational but I thought I was having a girl. I was convinced that I'd have one of each and it be lovely and all done. This illusion was shattered at my 20 week scan. There was no ambiguity!

My son is lovely, he's so gentle and good natured and sweet, I love him to bits. I am excited to meet this baby and see the brothers bond and play with each other.

But I also think it's magical that I come from an uninterrupted line of women since the beginning of time and find it sad that it could "end" with me.

I feel like I personally know quite a few people who had 3/4 children of the same sex before they got the other and then stopped. I don't want to join that club. I never wanted a huge family and think it looks stressful.

I have some time (but not too much given DP's age) to decide if I want a third. I think I could deal with 3 but 4 would push us all over the edge, not least because of the size of our house!

So anyway I'd just like to hear other people's experiences please.

My aunt was the same, desperate for a girl. Had 3 boys before she gave up. Almost went for the fourth but with that many kids she ended up having to give up her career (it was 30 years ago, I'm not sure this is so much a thing now).

She was rewarded with a grand daughter.

My daughter's school friend was the youngest of eight., the older ones were all boys. I don't know how many kids they'd have ended up with if she'd have been another boy.

My great-grandfather was one of 7, all boys. The odds of three boys in a row is12.5%, so not an unlikely possibility at all. 7 though... 😧

I've recently read that the more children of one sex you have the more likely you are to continue that pattern and more so with smaller age gaps. My son is not even 2 yet so this feels like it was inevitable (with hindsight).

7 though, good grief. My dad is one of 5 and my mum one of 3.

My grandparents had three boys, a girl, then two more boys. I don't think you can make a decision based on this as no anecdotal data in the world will make a difference to whether the next will be a boy or girl.

From actual data I think if you have 2 DC of the same sex you a slightly more likely to have a third of that sex also. I have 3 DDs and definitely wouldn’t recommend having a third in pursuit of a particular sex!

@PickledElectricity we are in the same boat and are going for number three next year. I want a girl but I also want a third baby and I think both things have to be true if you go again. I won’t have a fourth

I know 2 families with 4 girls. Each time you are pregnant you have a 50% chance of either sex, no matter what your previous DC was.

I have three boys, DH is one of four boys.

If you look at a large enough population you can see some trends, but the probability for each pregnancy is close enough to 50:50 that any possible decimal points (49.999:50.001) are completely irrelevant.

I wouldn't able to risk having another child if I knew I would be upset with another boy. Definitely wanting a third child and having a slight preference for one sex over the other is a different matter.

Does your DH have a sister? If so your chances are pretty good/equal to have a girl next.

If your DH has only brothers for example, it's quite likely your DH produces mostly sons.

I was also desperate for a girl after my gorgeous boy. I've been so extremely luckily and am pregnant with a girl. However I did so much research on this subject. My DH has a sister and a brother

I have 4 sons and my 5th is a daughter. It didn't matter either way but we were convinced she would be a boy!

Yes he has one sister and I have one brother.

Can I ask what your age gap was with your DC?

My DH’s friend has 6 girls.
I know quite a few families with 4 of all the same.

I only know of one person who had large family of all the same, and then the other. She had 4 boys and then a girl.

I have a DD, then had a large gap followed by 3 DS's with DH (not DD's father). His father is the eldest of 4 sons so I'm pretty confident if we had a 4th child together how it would have worked out.

Yes I think this is what I need to really think about, I guess. I had this vague idea that I wanted 2 close together (boy and girl obvs) then a midlife crisis baby 5-7 years later and I wouldn't care what it was.

Maybe things will become clearer after I have this baby.

I have 5 boys. Dh and I could never agree on a girl's name we both liked to it was always a bit of a relief each time we found out we were expecting another boy!

I'd be interested to know what the chances are of having 5 children the same sex to see if I am rare and special .

I firmly believe that there are very few things that you can only do with children of a certain sex. I've only encountered 3 things that I wanted to do with my child but couldn't because I had boys. 2 lovely dresses that I saw in the shops and ended up buying for my nieces for Christmas. And I never got to use the name Emily, which dh didn't like anyway. Everything else is down to personality and what they enjoy. I did think I might be able to scoff all the prawn cocktail crisps because ds5 announced that pink crisps are for girls. Unfortunately, all 4 of my other dc told him otherwise so I still have to share the prawn cocktail crisps.

Ours are boy, boy, girl. Our DD is desperate for a little Sister but I'd put money on our next one, if it happens, being another boy as there are loads more boys than girls in both our families.
One of our neighbours had 3 boys and ended up having a girl with their 4th, and my closest friend had 2 girls, then a boy, tried to get another boy to even it out and had another girl.

@elliejjtiny oh it's nothing to do with not being able to do things with a boy that you would a girl, it's more the poetry of the unbroken matrilineal chain. I have existed (in egg form) since my grandmother was pregnant with my mum. There's something about this triple lock idea that really resonates with me and I find beautiful.

When I did my DNA test they could map my ancestral journey across the globe thanks to that maternal link.

I knoooooow I sound like a hippy woo nonsense wanker but I can't help it. If only it was about something like dressing them up in dresses I'd probably just do it! I definitely put my son in some pink/floral babygrows when he was brand new (thanks to mixed Vinted bundle bargains).

It's funny how so many people think having one of each is ideal. I've got 3 the same sex and have a sister myself, and I think there are a lot of benefits to having a sibling the same sex 🙂

I know someone with SEVEN girls 😁

Now that you say that, I also used to to know a family of 7 sisters in Mexico .

I had two boys and then a girl. I know a few friends with similar - two boys and a girl or two girls and a boy.

Can I ask what the age gaps were?

Some men have a slight skew towards male or female sperm, some men are 50/50
So if your on your second boy probability wise your more likely to have boys I'd say. This is probability though so a girl could always come out in the mix however the two friends I have with three kids have all three of the same