I once read an article in BabyTalk magazine about a woman who loves being a mother to boys and wasn’t sure what she’d do with a girl (which she ended up having the third time around). After having two boys, she got all the annoying questions about trying for a girl next. I know exactly how she felt, though. I’ve been asked similar questions.

I am currently pregnant with my third child and people tell me I’m crazy not to find out the gender ahead of time. Some people seem to think that because I have two boys, I’m “due” for a girl. Even this morning, someone told me that she wished a girl for me. As long as the baby is healthy, it shouldn’t really matter. However, I’d be very pleased if I had another boy.

It’s funny, because when I was pregnant with my son E, I knew he would be a boy initially, but I kept trying to convince myself he would be a girl in the end because my friend had a daughter and I wanted a daughter, too. Then when he was born,  I couldn’t even imagine him being a girl — even though he likes wearing my hats and shoes sometimes! Two-and-a-half years later, I was pregnant again, and completely convinced that my son M would be a girl.  (So were most of my friends and family members!) I even resigned myself to the fact that I was having a girl and tried to keep a glimmer of hope inside for the possibility of another boy. When M came into the world, I was so thrilled that I cried. It’s just so much fun to have boys and I love mine with all my heart.

Some of the advantages to having another boy this time around would be that I’d get to use my older and younger sons’ clothes again, the toys are already boy-themed, I already know what raising boys is like, etc.  However, an advantage to having a girl would be that I wouldn’t be the only female in a testosterone-filled house and that I love the name I have picked out for a girl, while I’m still having trouble finding a boy’s name that works for both myself and my husband.

Overall, whether I have a boy or girl isn’t going to affect how much I love them. They’re my children and that’s all that matters.

Melissa A. and her husband  have 2 sons, E and M, aged 5 and 2 1/2 respectively. Her son E has hearing loss and wears a cochlear implant. Melissa works as an administrative assistant for a non-profit and also runs a bullying prevention group and a book-related fan group in addition to blogging for Empowering Parents. You can check out Melissa’s personal blog here.