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.

I have 4 DDs DH is 6'3" so not sure what his height has to do with it!!

I have 4 sons and at the age of 49 I am the last girl born on my maternal side. DH is one of 4, B G B B.

My dad is one of three - two boys then a girl. 13 years between my dad and his sister.

I'm the youngest and only girl of three siblings. Six years and four years between me and my brothers.

I've got two boys and I'm done!

When you shag in your cycle also affects your chances of a boy or girl hence why there's more boys born after a war. Returning soldiers are quite pleased to see their wives and lots of shagging goes on hence more boys. There are many factors that influence sex.

@RandomMess You're one data point doesn't mean the research isn't valid. Height is simply one factor. It's like saying my granny smoked 100 fags a day and lived to 120 so therefore smoking has no influence on lung cancer....one data point proves exactly nothing

This. I have a SIL who has 3 boys and is desperate for a girl. I have 1 child who is a boy and am pregnant and decided I was done regardless of gender. I really don’t get the gender disappointment thing

I only have one boy, but my dad is one of 9, 8 boys and one girl, the girl is somewhere in the middle (Catholic rather than actively trying for more children) , I also grew up with a girl who was one of 6 girls, my parents knew her parents and they were open about trying for a boy, she was the eldest, but I do wonder how that message affected the younger girls. Interestingly the dad in that family was really short.....

I have three boys, although big age gap between 1 and 2.

The chances of getting 3 (or even 4) in a row the same are 1 in 4 (or 1 in 8) - highly likely, much more likely than some of the genetic theories or the idea of having a womb which only "accepts" one sex. And once you already have one (or two or three) of a given sex, the odds are always still 50/50 for the next one (well, 49/51 I think slightly in favour of a girl? I can't remember now). Either way, it doesn't become more likely to have a girl the more boys you have - nature doesn't have a balancing mechanic like that.

I grew up as one of two sisters, and honestly, I loved this - although I'm a little sad I will never have a daughter, I think that the friendship between two boys or two girls is so special that it was basically what I was rooting for.

The cycle theory is Shettles' method and has been disproven, I thought.

There was some research that showed that after two of the same sex you were slightly more likely to have another of the same sex. So a couple with two boys already was statistically more likely to have a third boy than a couple on their first, who were closer to 50/50.

I can't for the life of me bloody find it now but it was 'proper' research and published papers, not Daily Mail type info 😂

We have three boys. Interesting to read the pp who said tall men are more likely to have boys...is that true or just an old wives tale? Anecdotally, dh is 6'3, we have 3 boys. We know 3 couples who have 3 or 4 boys and no girls and all the men actually are very tall too 🤔

@BertieBotts I've read it a few places but happy to proven wrong. It's called 'returning soldier effect'.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/CbQ18g6MH5cts0PJvdKhGQ/why-are-more-boys-born-in-certain-years

@MauveVelcro Have a look here for height influencing sex:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15935175/

My sister had 3 girls then twin boys. Looks bloody stressful to me! But they are wonderful now they are grown ☺️

Definitely!

I have 3 boys, lots of advantages re:passing down clothes

Haha yes I saved EVERYTHING from my first pregnancy (including the controversial pink/floral onesies) so I feel like I've got nothing to do this time around.

My first 3 are female, then I had a boy, then another girl.

Returning soldier effect seems to be an observed phenomenon, but it looks like nobody really knows what the cause is - there are two main theories of "cycle timing" but they both say the opposite thing to each other so who knows...

I had GGBGG

My late FIL was one of 15. 9 boys and 6 girls and they went in threes - BBBGGGBBBGGGBBB. DH’s granny says she was going for “the Ark and one spare” (she’s 102 and thinks she’s hilarious 😂)

Growing up I knew someone with 7 girls and a boy.

I have two boys, DH is one of two boys, and so was his dad. Mind you, he is the tallest in his family at 5'8", so who knows.

We will be trying for no.3 in 2025 and I actually hope it's a boy (though of course would love my child regardless of sex). My two are just awesome, and I feel like I know what I'm doing with boys now.

A concern I have about having a girl is nappies at nursery. I know they're changed on a schedule and I'm sure my son has been left in poop for a length of time because he's coming home with a sore bum or I'll pick him up in an obviously dirty nappy. One of my friend's little girl (goes to a different nursery) has recurring UTIs and I do wonder if this is the reason!

No nursery should be doing that, regardless of whether it's girls or boys! Dirty nappies should always be changed as soon as possible, not to a schedule

Three sons in a row here, very happy with that and much too old for any more now.

My one tiny regret is the same as @PickledElectricity, in that a long matrilineal line has ended with me. Although to be honest it's only the occasional, idle, rambling thought and not something that actually bothers me.

I went to school with members of two larger families. They were both G, B, G, G, G, G.

I know a lot of families who had all of one or the other. Quite a few with two but more with three boys or three girls. I guess they all decided the advantages of three outweighed any desire to have a fourth baby of the opposite sex. A few families had one of each.

My first was a daughter and since then I've gone on to have 3 boys in a row.