Another baby or stop? Any regrets on having another baby? Or not?

[Emflou]

I had my third baby a year ago and had always hoped we would be able to have three children. I thought I would feel completely done after three but there’s a little part of me that isn’t ready to get rid of all the baby stuff. (we have three boys… so I’m not sure if part of this is thinking we could maybe have one more try for a girl… though I absolutely love my boys and wouldn’t change them for the world).

Everything in our life makes more sense to stick with 3… our house, car, time, energy… etc. etc. I really want to be able to give enough attention to our children and help them as much as possible. They’re currently only 5,4 and 1.

Is there anyone who had that last extra baby and regretted it? Or did so and are so pleased they did? I think deep down I want to be convinced that 3 is more than enough and 4 is a ridiculous idea. Thank you

I think we should have stuck to three.
I love them all dearly but three was more than enough.
I'll leave it there 😄

I have 4, wanted 2, 3 was perfect. 4 tipped me over the edge.

Do you honestly want another baby though or do you want a baby girl? If you knew 100% it would be another boy, would you still feel this way? (No judgement at all by the way, it would be understandable for you to want to experience parenting both sexes and for that to be part of your subconscious thinking)

i think if I 100% knew it would be a girl I would definitely do it… probably not great to admit… if I knew it was definitely a boy I probably wouldn’t. But I know if I did have another boy I would absolutely love him more than anything.

I always wanted 2 but had a surprise third!
As much as I love the child I wish I only had two 🤷‍♀️

You could try swaying if you haven’t already, it isn’t foolproof at all but might up your chances of a girl. If the baby will be loved and adored regardless I can’t see the harm in having another try.

My fourth tipped me over the edge. Definitely doesn’t help I’m doing it as a lone parent. I’m just so frazzled and it’s really crowd control a lot of the time, they get minimal individual attention sadly.

I found three easy and thought four would be too (not sure why!) and though I adore my fourth baby he definitely was the straw that broke the camel’s back!

I've been in your position... I had always wanted 3 children and like you thought I'd naturally feel done after the 3rd; I didn't at all. I didn't broach the subject with my husband for months after our 3rd but opened up then saying I think I'd like one more to finish our family. He agreed, but I accepted it wouldn't be for a number of years until the youngest was in FT school. At the beginning of the summer this year our daughter had an awful accident where we almost lost her. Once we got her better and home again we had a heart to heart and agreed that it put life into perspective for us and life really is too short. There's never the "perfect" time and you just don't know what's round the corner. I will assume that similar hasn't happened to you, but sometimes you've just got to go for it. We definitely don't regret it. I'm happy to say I'm now 12w with baby #4 and he/she will be joining our little tribe who are currently 5, 3 and 18m in the summer months.

I feel the same. I have two sons and sway over a third all the time but I’m the same as you, if I knew it would be a girl I’d be 100% sure. I’d love another boy so much but I’m happy with two

I have 2 girls and 2 boys with DS2 being born earlier this year.

Totally understand where you are coming from 3 is easier with most things, you pointed out. We had to buy a new car earlier this year !

Dont regret having 4 for a minute even when the house is manic but it’s all about routine and organising. Then everything works out! Sometimes it’s super stressful when one or two of them are sick but that’s the same in most homes. .

I am for sure settled on my 4 now . I say go for it , you might regret not even trying! Xx

Thank you so much for your replies, really appreciate it. Still completely unsure what to do… but I think I’m swaying towards sticking to my three!

This is literally me right now! I have 3 boys and would love one more baby but I dont know if that would be a bad idea. My 3 boys are all amazing and I wouldn't want to ruin what we have. They're 4, 2 and 4 months. But for me.. I'm in a same sex relationship. My wife carried our first. Second baby is a family member we adopted and I carried our 3rd so I've only been pregnant once and I absolutely loved it. I would love to experience it again. I just love being pregnant and I love my children so much!! But I hate the fact how often I have to say "I'm busy" to them. Breaks my heart. There's always something that needs doing.
I think in my situation I would only do it when the youngest is atleast at nursery so I would have a little more time on my hands but I'm 34 so time is ticking on.
If I could afford a maid to run my house for me so I could spend all my time with my children I was totally have one more baby.

In all fairness op you said your youngest is 1 so of course you are still going to be having the baby blues running through you. I'd give it a good set amount of time Until you actually make a solid decision. Maybe wait till youngest is 4 then see how you feel? At least then they get a good 3 years of devoted attention