Help! Panicking over baby no.3

[TeamNoSleep]

Hello lovely people in my phone.
I am pregnant with baby number 3...one of life's wonderful little surprises after struggling for years to have a 2nd.
Not planned but we are of course happy - we adore our two children so why not have more ey?
We have a 4yr old dd (will be 5 when new baby arrives) and a ds who is just 7months, so will only be 15months between him and new baby.
Although we are over the initial shock, I am still really struggling to be positive about having three children, all I can think of is how much harder everything will be and how we will be outnumbered. I keep searching online and forums and all I can find is negatives about having three!! The world is built for families of 4 not 5, holidays will be wildly expensive, middle child syndrome etc etc etc.

So I am begging someone to please tell me some of the wonderful stories and hidden benefits of having three children to help me to relax and enjoy (what WILL be) my last pregnancy.

Ah good...lots of lovely stories the silence is concerning

I’m pregnant with my first baby so no advice as a mum. But until other people come along I can speak as the middle of 3 children – I LOVE it. We were never lonely. Always someone to play with and me and my sisters are still very close now. Three is a lovely number! Think of them all sitting round your table as adults – my parents delight in this now. Conversation, experiences, support – all just more plentiful and diverse. Not in a mean way, but I always felt a bit sorry for my friends with only one sibling! ☺️

I have 2 and we're going for a third next year. Nearly all our friends have 3 and the gaps range from 12 months between each(!!!) to 3 years between each. The dynamic seems to be lovely in most cases with #1 being the more measured, cautious child, #2 being the wild child and #3 being more chilled. This is our experience with my nephews and with several close friend's children. 3 means they have more people to play with, there's more going on (I like being busy) and more love around.

But there are more inter-sibling dynamics to manage and one more child than parents

I have 2 so can only speak of my experience as the youngest of 3.
It was honestly great. If one sibling was pissing me off, I could just go play with the other haha.
Being the little one meant I got away with murder though. 😂 (up until the age of 6-7)

All my friends who have 3 seem pretty content. The only noticeable difficulty with one of them is they needed a bigger car and are looking for a bigger house.

We have 3. I have a bigger age gap than you but the first year with a new baby will always be tough.
Be aware of all their needs. It’s very easy to think that the oldest doesn’t need you so much.
Don’t take sides in arguments. I try not to get involved (unless it becomes really serious) and tell them to sort it out between them.
Of course holidays will be more expensive with 5 of you rather than 4 but you can still cut costs. Going self catering is cheaper and book accommodation and flights separately.
I’ve found having 3 brings a lot of fun. The adults are outnumbered so there’s just that tip towards more fun and mayhem.

I'm currently pregnant with #4 so 3 can't be that bad!!

I have 3 DS and they are the love of my life! We have lots of fun together. They are a real team, do lots of mischief together but they always have each other's backs. Of course they fight plenty but that's a normal part of growing up. I find every child changes the dynamics a bit, that's part of the adjustment but honestly, you'll be fine!

We had three all grown up now excellent support for each other and growing up better dynamics as no one got head to head with another one. You are outnumbered embrace the chaos. Self catering in uk for holidays it’s all fine

Wow thank you so much everyone! I'm close to tears now...must be the hormones! From what I'm reading it's sounds like even though it's going to be super challenging for us parents - for the kids it's going to be amazing, and that makes me so happy!

Roll on number 3!!!!

I've got 2 and I'm done (I think!) but my friend just had her third and has had by far the best birth and postpartum experience with this one, and says this baby has brought so much joy by being the first one she has just relaxed and been in the moment with. With number 1 it was such a shock and with 2 she was navigating guilt/sibling jealousy etc. Honestly the way she goes on it makes me consider a third!

I’m a middle child of 3, and I really enjoyed having siblings growing up. My husband is also a middle child of 3, I have many friends who were middle children of 3 and I have never had anyone complain about it to me or express any dissatisfaction about their place in the birth order. I know middle child syndrome is a thing and that some people do feel that way, but it’s definitely not a forgone conclusion.

I'm currently pregnant with baby #5 there is a 7 year gap between my 1st n 2nd then had my next 3 within 5 years n i loved having 4 n now my oldest is 20 its felt like ive had 3 'kids' for a while now n it's been great, it's hard work but I think most of it is down to them being 3 girls they clash with each other, fight n argue constantly but they are the best of friends and are never lonely especially the 2 youngest coz there is just under 2 years between those 2. When this baby is born my youngest will be 8 so there's a big age gap again n I'm really considering having another after so they can be close in age like the others ( I know I'm crazy haha)

I have 3. I come from a very quiet family with shy parents and always wanted a bigger, noisier family. There is always something going on and the dynamics are so different depending on the combination of kids and I love seeing the different relationships they have. Don’t get me wrong - it is obviously hard work having more washing, more kids to get to bed etc. But they are also more independent in some ways e.g. the older one will make breakfast for them all, they can get the little one dressed etc and the little one is so capable as he watches his siblings and learns so much from them. You will love it! I