Hi there ,
I can relate to this dilemma as I've been in it myself. Before we had kids I wanted 4 children close together. I had my first baby and she had really bad oesophageal reflux. She screamed for hours on end, didn't sleep and had terrible tantrums. I thought then I only wanted one child....and even then most days I didn't even want that!!!! Anyway, about 5 years later we went back for child number 2 so have quite a gap between them. We had another DD and they both get on so well with each other. It was such a good decision to make, however number 2 was not much better than number one as a baby. She screamed alot had silent reflux, wouldn't sleep and wouldn't let me put her down. She was a shocker.

Then when number 2 was about 3 years old I had a number of older people saying to me how they regretted having more children when they could have. They said at the time they felt they couldn't have coped but when they became middle aged and older they wished they had just bitten the bullet and had more kids. This made my mind up for me. We tried for 4 months to conceive child number 3, another DD, and we are so stoked with her. Her older siblings absolutely adore her and as we have such big gaps the children all get on and there is no rivalry. Whether or not this will change as number 3 gets older I'm not sure. I now want 4 children as this last baby has been a dream child. My husband says a definate no. I've actually started a new thread about 3 vs 4 children. I would love people to visit it and comment on it.

As far as the gender of the children goes and the gaps you have between them, children are really adaptable and let's face it, this will be the only life they will ever know so they have to cope with it!!!

I really wish I had that "I'm finished now" feeling.....how do you get that. And I kind of agree with the whole even numbers thing. Unfortunately my husband doesn't.

Anyway, enough rambling.....it's so nice to know a lot of people go through these dilemmas and come out the other end having made a decision in their own way.

Catcha, MW.