Don't be surprised if the girls are simply closer than either is with her brother. I have the same age spread as you, but my younger two are boys, youngest now six. They all love each other very much, but I just the same sex sibling connection at least in our experience can at times have my daughter feeling left out. They have so much rough and tumble play, bond over sports and gaming in a way that my daughter just doesn't connect with. We try to find other ways for us to all enjoy each other's company to nurture those sibling bonds - lots of family outings, Bingo and board game nights, family shuffleboard challenges, etc.

Anonymous wrote:One more thing- totally anecdotal, but everyone I know who had a boy and a girl felt much more exhausted with the boy during pregnancy (regardless of birth order)— again, no scientific backing, but you may want to be mentally prepared for that

Totally the opposite for me. I was wrecked while pregnant with my daughter. Much more energy with my boys, and with the youngest, I ran a half marathon and weight-lifted until 36 weeks. Just to add to the anecdata collection...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There won't be a lot of difference until age 16 months or so, when he'll be dazzled by trucks and construction sights and cars.

NP. This perfectly describes both of my girls at 16 months.

One more thing- totally anecdotal, but everyone I know who had a boy and a girl felt much more exhausted with the boy during pregnancy (regardless of birth order)— again, no scientific backing, but you may want to be mentally prepared for that

Mom of both here— a few very tactical things:
1) make a decision on circumcision; if you decide to do it, get some vaseline to have on hand while it heals.
2) as others have noted, be sure to point things down in the diaper- otherwise pee will just go straight up onto belly/onesie
3) I loved my keekaroo peanut for my boy — he peed during changes a LOT and it was so easy to wipe up— much better than changing covers or using a ton of disposable pads.
4) I loved potty training a boy! We taught him to pee standing up from the beginning; he rarely misses or makes a mess and it it SO much easier to use a gas station bathroom/porta potty/random other place you end up taking a potty training kid, because I just sort of held him up high enough and he did “flying pee” — no sitting on gross toilets or touching things!
5) having a sweet, sensitive little boy who loves unicorns and dolls makes me MUCH more aware of gender issues. There are such double standards about boys liking girl things vs vice versa. I worry about how he’ll handle that as he gets bigger/peer pressure becomes a bigger thing. Also, there are definitely some “girls run the world” messages out there on t-shirts etc that now make me cringe a bit after becoming a mom to a boy. I want both of my kids to be kind, generous, productive members of society, and I don’t want either to feel marginalized by their gender.

Good luck!

As a side note, with two other small kids, if you’re looking for a new infant seat, check out the Doona. We used ours for both kids and loved it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another mom of two girls, then a boy here. My boy is still a baby, so thus far the only difference is in the diaper region.

But I get where you are coming from OP, because I was apprehensive when I was pregnant with #3. I loved being a mom of 2 girls - I'm not super girly, but really wanted daughters and would have been happy to have another girl. Of course, DS is now part of our family, and we all adore him, but aside from loving him (my SON!), I am glad he's a boy. Having all girls makes it easy to be on "Team Girl" and having a boy is a good perspective that males aren't inherently evil. This also balances things out, and means DH won't be the only male among 5 people.

So, congrats, and it's OK that it takes some time to sink in that you're going to have both.

Umm ... good?

Ok actually as a mom of an only boy I really appreciate this. I have found moms of all girls can sometimes become disdainful or almost fearful of boys, forgetting that they’re just sweet little kids like they’re own. I can see how a boy after 2 girls would give some perspective on that. Anyway, congrats OP! Nothing to really do differently except think about circumsicion.

Anonymous wrote:Another mom of two girls, then a boy here. My boy is still a baby, so thus far the only difference is in the diaper region.

But I get where you are coming from OP, because I was apprehensive when I was pregnant with #3. I loved being a mom of 2 girls - I'm not super girly, but really wanted daughters and would have been happy to have another girl. Of course, DS is now part of our family, and we all adore him, but aside from loving him (my SON!), I am glad he's a boy. Having all girls makes it easy to be on "Team Girl" and having a boy is a good perspective that males aren't inherently evil. This also balances things out, and means DH won't be the only male among 5 people.

So, congrats, and it's OK that it takes some time to sink in that you're going to have both.

Umm ... good?

Another mom of two girls, then a boy here. My boy is still a baby, so thus far the only difference is in the diaper region.

But I get where you are coming from OP, because I was apprehensive when I was pregnant with #3. I loved being a mom of 2 girls - I'm not super girly, but really wanted daughters and would have been happy to have another girl. Of course, DS is now part of our family, and we all adore him, but aside from loving him (my SON!), I am glad he's a boy. Having all girls makes it easy to be on "Team Girl" and having a boy is a good perspective that males aren't inherently evil. This also balances things out, and means DH won't be the only male among 5 people.

So, congrats, and it's OK that it takes some time to sink in that you're going to have both.

My first child is a boy who: is quiet, does not like to act wild and does not like wild behavior in other kids, has no interest in sports, hates getting dirty, loves to read and draw, loves trucks, is very picky/wont eat a lot of food, loves to talk, hates to snuggle/give hugs, is very sweet and kind to his friends/his sister and his cousins
My second child is a girl who: is loud and rambunctious, is very wild and loves to rough house, loves sports, doesn’t mind getting dirty, will not sit still to read or draw, loves baby dolls and dress up clothes, loves to eat and will eat anything, doesn’t say much—way more active than talkative, loves to snuggle, is very independent and opinionated and doesn’t always play well with others

I don’t think either one of them fits the gender “norms” really. It’s more about personality than gender.

Oh and my son never peed in my face as an infant (though he did pee on the window across the room once!)