Thinking about a third.....

[jigger]

Just wanted to know whether anyone had any thoughts to share on having a third. DS has just turned 3 & DD is 10 months old. My husband and I have talked about it and both of us think we want 3 children. Body has just about returned to normal after #2 as well so about time to kill it off again!!

DS & DD are both absolutely lovely & I love them to bits, they can be quite hard work as you would expect. Part of me says "get on with it" since DD is settled now and I haven't any plans to return to work in the near future. The other part is not so sure, not in terms of managing but, in terms of our relationship with the 2 kiddies we already have as they are so lovely. Is it a case of "the more the merrier" or will having another take away from what we already have. Or should we wait & have a bigger gap???

Would love to hear from anyone who already has 3, or if you too are thinking about it.

again -re 3 being easier than 2 as someone else said - sibling dynamics - if there's more kids, it's less intense & fewer arguments 9well, so far, but ds3 can't talk yetr, so we'll see)
and being able to feed baby/change nappy , basically deal with demands of baby so much easier when the other 2 can play. I found it v. diff when ds2 was baby & ds 1 wanted/needed me & I just couldn't deal with them both at same time, this time I don't need to.

laundry - i just can't get the hang of it. i can keep up with the washing & drying no probs, it's getting the clean clothes folded, ironed & put away. I know loads will shout 'don't iron', but a lot of it I have to - eg dh's shirts - but worst is literally folding & puttimng it away, but tbh, it's hardly any worse with 3 than with 2, I've always been crap at itr, & while my laundry is disorganised to the extreme, we always have something clean to wear every day, just sometimes have to hunt for it!

Going eg to museum 1 parent with 3, or cafe is much more difficult, but I suppose that's more their age now (all under 5) & will not always be so.

Have to say that this is a wonderful website. You can ask a question & tap into a wealth of information and opinions. Thank you all. Whatsmore we are not even currently living in England at the moment. We're in Moscow instead & reading all of this makes you feel just as home here as anywhere else in the world. Will resume discussion with DH on subject this weekend!

Now I'm thinking about it AGAIN!

I had my third in September and my oldest is only 3.5. Could any of you with older ones tell me if it gets easier when the children are not so physically demanding? Also wondered how you cope with the stress of it when they all need you at once.

Motherinferior, now WILL you please make your mind up!

I found 3 harder than 2 (though not impossible as I now have 4). When you have 2, you have a hand for each, or you have one and dh has the other. When you have 3, suddenly there aren't enough hands or arms to cuddle everyone, and there is one more child needing individual attention than there are adults to give it. However, I wouldn't be without my 4. If 3 is the number you think you want, I would recommend getting on with it as you will only regret it if you do not.

dithering...

Am in the process of ttc no. 3. If I get pg in the next year dd1 will be 8 and dd2 will be 6 when the baby is born! Tbh no. 3 is a bit of an afterthought, for years I was happy with two. Dh wanted more but didn't put any pressure on me. Then this year I got really broody again, waited six months to see if broody feeling went, then thought that perhaps we'd better get on with it!

Might go for 4 in the end, though - I was one of three and hated it (big age gap between 2 and 3 too).

Mog, you sound just like me - had ds3 at end of Aug and ds1 is only 3.5

I too am hoping it will get 'easier' when they are all out of nappies, can feed themselves etc!

My dh is one of three, the youngest by six years, other brother nine years older, and he quite enjoyed it. Oddly enough, as an adult he's much closer to the brother he was less close to as a kid.

Poppyknot - I was 41 when I had my third.

Gobbledigook - has your wine consumption gone up

Do you know what, seriously - it has!!! I hardly ever used to drink at home but since ds3 was born I've been having the odd glass here and there!! Just tucking into a bottle now!