I have enjoyed each and every stage of my children's growth. There is so much to enjoy and cherish as they get older.
We need to sing the praises of the older child!
My kids are 7 and 10 and a total delight. There is no way I would want to go back to just keeping them as small babies or toddlers! Those stages are great, but kids grow, we can't stop it and to weep too much for the baby that they were is to miss out on sharing with them the new developments in their growing maturity each day!!
To watch a child try so hard to master the task of tying her own shoe laces, to watch them dashing off around the block with their friends on their scooters, to see them help eachother out when they have lost something precious in their messy bedroom, to see them learn to play violin in one semester, to watch them gradually come out of their shell and volunteer in class, to watch them penning letters to their grandparents and sharing a reationship independent of you, to watch them make their own breakfast, to wash their lithe, young bodies in the bath, to see them splashing eachother at the beach, all these things are a complete joy and my reason for living: and to be able to sit back for a moment with your husband and watch this proof of their growing independence as testimony of the endless hours you put into raising them, explaining things to them, teaching them things, is even more wonderful, is proof that you did something right in this world. And now you get to share all this with your husband and rediscover your relationship with him, time for you and him, get balance back into the family structure.
Remember: from the minute they are born, we are preparing our kids to leave us, to be independent of us. That is our job as parents.
Don't weep for the passing baby too much: there is still too much to look forward to! If I were you, I would not divert my attention away from the little ones I have for the sake of possibly having a girl, or possibly not. Cherish what you have and give your all to the three children you already brought on the planet. The baby stage is coming to an end, that's normal, it's life and it's normal to feel a little sad: mourn it a little, and then move on with grace to do your best for the three lovely children you already have. They still need so much from you, in fact more from you each day, way more than a baby needs!!!
Clare