Unique middle child situation

[SashaBreeze]

So if you look down at my siggy you will see we have 2 girls (semi close in age) and then 2 boys (close in age) then a toddler girl and now we are pregnant with twin boys.

My poor little gal, she is going to be sandwiched between two boys on both sides! She is super girly, both of my older girls are not very girly at all, as soon as she could walk she would go to the dressing mirror and coo at herself. She loves fluffy dresses and having her hair played with and put into bows.

So what is all of your takes on this? Will this end up being as hard on her as I am starting to worry it will be or do you think it wont be a big deal?

Any advice on helping her out with her girl girl needs while being firmly set between 2 sets of boys?
Oh and by the way I am soooo not girly either. So I need all the advice I can get in this area.

[kittywitty]

I don't think it will be a big deal. I was the only girl with 3 brothers and over 20 male cousins (maternal-that doesn't count fraternal). I was surrounded by boys. I was always a tomboy but liked some girly stuff and it was never a problem. Congrats on the newest additions coming!

[rubidoux]

I don't think it'll be a problem either. I was an only child, there were no boys OR girls in sight. lol And it worked out fine.

[Maluhia]

Eh she'll be great - just let her be herself and follow her lead.
I think some playsilks and dress up outfits could be something special and "hers" when there are new babies in the house....

[LynnS6]

In some ways, I suspect it'll be easier for her because she won't have to try to do something different to be different from the boys. She'll be different by being the only little girl!

I'd be more worried about her getting locked into the 'girly girl' role and not being willing to try out sports, getting dirty, and other things. As long as she's got lots of opportunity to do both, I wouldn't worry.

[nextcommercial]

I've been following this blog since her daugter was the youngest child.

http://www.notesfromthetrenches.com/

She is the ONLY girl among six brothers. SHe's about 75% girly, but holds her own quite well with the boys too.

It's interesting to see how they can keep each child's uniqueness separate, and they love her girliness. It doesn't seem to hard on her at all.

[4evermom]

Hey, I have two older brothers and two younger brothers, too (then a sister and another brother).

It'll be fine. Don't even worry about it, lol.

[StrawberryFields]

My ds is sitting at the table with my dd. He is wearing a pink princess dress and they are coloring Strawberry Shortcake pictures. So it is entirely possible that she could find a playmate in one of her brothers.

Kidding aside, I do understand what you mean. I have a 4.5 year old ds and 2 daughters They have 2 girl cousins and 3 girl friends who come over regularly. It is hard on my ds, especially as he gets older. These cousins, friends, his sister, were all his best friends as a toddler. Now the girls tend to cling to each other and they want to play baby dolls, kitchen, princesses... he cries a lot because he wants a friend too. Someone to play trucks and dinosaurs with him. It's hard. I feel bad for him and look forward to him starting school and forming some friendships with other boys.

There isn't much I can do other than encourage the girls to take turns picking an activity, and suggest a ton of outside playtime. Playing on the swings and in the sand seems to be the best way to keep anyone from feeling excluded.

[LionessMom]

it will be fine. she will be fine.

i like the advice about making sure she has some girly stuff that is just for her. but i bet she will like paying ball with her brothers too. i have 3 girls after ds and they like there kitchen and dress up but when we go to other peoples houses they love playing with cars and stuff too. when my DD1 gets bday money she picks out "boy" toys. she got a hand manny tool set and pplays with it instead of dolls, etc. just take her lead. and keep some of her sisters hand me down for her.

[SashaBreeze]

Thank you all. I LOVED hearing I was/am wrong on this one.

[hailey]

Middle Child Syndrome

I think you should worry more about the possibility of middle child syndrome. You can visit my blog on middle children.

[Super~Single~Mama]

She'll be fine. She has 2 older sisters, and she'll have 4 brothers - she'll be great! She'll be a member of a big family, thats all.

I have 2 brothers (1 6mos older, 1 2.5 years younger), and only 3 girl cousins - its the family joke that we only have boys in our family, and I turned out just fine! I'm a little girly sometimes, but mostly tomboy, and I have a high self esteem. Don't worry about her - just let he be herself!

[elmh23]

My daughter is 5.5 and has two younger brothers. Out of her nine cousins, only one is a girl who is three but developmentally delayed so doesn't yet play dress up and other girly things.

She LOVES playing with her brother and cousins! She convinces ds1 to play dress up and princess and other "girly" things. She can also hold her own doing the "boy" things. In fact, she's a much better hiker than any of her older cousins! She also gets her "girly" fix at school. Her pre-K class had 11 kids and 8 were girls so there was plenty of "girly" stuff going on all.day.long.