If you couldn't decide whether to have #3...

[BeNiceOrLeave]

...what did you do?

I know a third child is extra money, will delay career further, will contribute to population growth, will put pressure on the family, is bad for the environment, will not fit in the house or the car, will mean a pregnancy with 2 dcs... but... but.

I know I've always wanted 3. I'll always want 3.

I want 3.

What did you do? Was it the right decision?

I wanted 3. My DH took a bit of persuading! We now have 3 DCs, a 7-seater car, and DCs 1 & 2 share a bedroom (which they love btw).

Definitely the right decision for us.

In the UK (not worldwide), lots of kids is good for the economy to pay for the pensions of the growing retired population!

I have 3. We had to change car (but not to a 7-seater), I've put my career on hold (which drives me mad on some days), no pressure on the family, is bad for the environment but we do lots and lots of good things to counteract that, does fit in the house (DDs share a room and love it), pregnancy with 2 is easier than pregnancy with 1 (honestly!!)

Now the REAL question is how do I convince DH to have #4? :o

i think you should definately just go for it!
it really sounds like you have more than enough love for another
all the rest doesnt matter, theyre the smaller things in life, family matters!
WOO baby 3!

We have 3 - some days (particularly the pre-school years with all three at home) it is absolutely terrible - sorry but it is, the level of squabbling, the insistance that everything should be fair - exact amount of cereal in each bowl, exact same number of roast potatoes -the who gets to sit in the "best" seat in the car etc etc it can be really draining.

Also on the bad side, you will never but never know your second two children as well as you know the first - those oh so glorious days of sailing around with just one child to focus on do not come again - however you do get lots of time with child three if the older two are at school and I've always thought te 3-4 year just before they start school is truly great as nappies and buggies are history and you can really enjoy their company.

Being a middle child in our house is the best place to be - ours has all the advantages of an older sibling leading the way in both success and failure and a younger sibling to test out "leadership" skills on.

Cost truly is a big factor and what often grinds us down, the cost of extras - swimming lessons, school trips, tickets to events etc really rises mainly because as well as paying for an extra child you might find your paying for an extra adult as some things are just too crowded to be able to have one adult take three children.
We have had times where all three are in tears at the same time - only then do you realise how far your arms can stretch to hug a whole tribe !

Great posts people, thank you! Oh I'm going to give it a go. Obviously after discussing sensibly with DH

I gave birth to our third child in December and she's an absolute gem; so so easy compared to my older two girls. She's happy,smiley, rarely cries. I was dreading the reality of three children, but it's actually far easier than I thought. She's fitted right into family life very easily, the girls love her to bits (and look at me like I'm a moron when I sensitively ask if they are ok having a baby sister, because they're a fair bit older (9 and 12)).. she's the best thing to happen to our family of 4. I LOVE being a family of five.
The only downside is that I had to give up my part time job because the logistics and the finances of caring for three children make working painful and expensive. But the benefits far outweigh any negatives.

We decided to leave it up to God (I kid you not) I am now 9 weeks pg with no.3. I am nearly 43 years old so it made sense to us (at the time) I work full time and do not plan to stop - I do hope to cut my hours a bit though. My DCs are 5 and nearly 2.

Do it!