I am the oldest of 3 and my younger siblings are 5 and 7 years younger than me. We are all very close. (The same is true for a friend of mine who is 12 years older than her sister.)

I think your family dynamics will be a bigger factor than the age gap. If you're a close family with the 4 of you, then you'll still be a close family when there are 5 of you.

A good friend of mine is one of three. The oldest is 3 years older than the middle who is 4 years older than the youngest. So there is a 7 year age difference between the oldest and youngest and they are all really close. In fact the oldest and the youngest are actually the closest.

Like PP, I was the oldest of three. I was seven and a half and my sister was five when my brother was born. My sister and I had much more sibling rivalry growing up, but we were also much closer and as adults we are still very close. My brother and I have always gotten along fine, but we're just not that close, even as adults. The seven year age difference is just too much to feel as if we really grew up together. I was out of the house before he even started middle school.

Do not go for a girl. Go for a third child. While you say that you would love a third boy, the fact that you described your potential third child as a girl right off the bat says something about your mindset right now.

I'm being 100% sincere here (although I know you will get torn up in this thread). I have two single sex kids right now, and we are considering a third. both DH and I having difficulty deciding whether we really want three kids, or we really want that other sex. We need to figure that out before doing anything, and so do you.

PP here- sorry, I missed your last sentence. Got it.

I'd also add that although I loved being one of three, it definitely added a new stress dimension for my mom. I know that two will be the limit for me.

I was the oldest of three with that age spread! One sister was 2 years younger, the other 6.5 years (but 7 in terms of grade level). I always got along really well with my youngest sis, and still do.

But have a third child only if you're ok with having another boy. You may not have a girl you know.

I have 3yo and 5yo boys. I'm considering going for a third, a girl. The boys would most likely be 5 and 7 when the third is born if we decide to go for it.

Could you share your experience if you had a similar age gap for your kids?

And yes, while I am going for the girl, I would love my son wholeheartedly if we did have a third boy.