Daughter Wants Sister,not Brother!!

My 3 year old granddaughter did the same thing...but the last couple months of her mom's pregnancy...she proudly patted her belly and said, MY baby's a girl, and HER baby is a boy. I don't know how that got started, but it seemed to diffuse the problem. Maybe you can introduce a new doll, dressed as a boy baby, and give him attention just like you do her girl babies (?) . . . by the way, my granddaughter DID get her sister :)
Once that baby arrives - I think she will LOVE it, either way!

I think you've gotten some great advice.

I would add, why not get her a baby doll (girl) for her when your baby is born. You can have your 'welcome home' party for your baby, but make it about your DD...what a great big sister she's going to be, and present her with the doll for HER to take care of. I would suggest a hard plastic doll that can be washed, get lotion and get preemie diapers for it. That way she can take care of HER baby girl and imitate you, while you take care of the baby boy.

Doing this went a LONG way in our house teaching our older DD to be "nice" to her baby and gave her something to do while I changed, nursed and rocked our baby. (My DD even lifted her shirt to nurse her baby too!)

At her age, the "art of distraction" goes a long way to refocus their energy. I think she'll be quite pleased with her baby brother very quickly after his arrival.

Also, make sure you have "big girl" arts and crafts, crayons, stickers or games for you to play with her while the baby sleeps. It's important to make sure she doesn't feel "replaced" by the baby or too jealous of all the attention he gets (afterall he needs more attention). I gave DD stuff to do during naptime that was special. It got put away after naptime because we "didn't want the baby to get into it". That kept these items "special" because she couldn't pull them out whenever she wanted.

Also, if Grandma and Grandpa can take her for a sleepover or dinner out (big girl activites) that will go a long way to making her feel special and give you a needed break.

Good luck and congrats!

She'll come around after the baby is born. My son was born when our daughter was 2 1/2yrs old. She wanted a girl too. We helped turn her around with little things... like helping pick out a name for the baby, getting to pick out some of the clothes and toys for him.
After he was born, I made sure she was involved with feeding him and holding him. She helped bring me diapers and wipes.. toys...

It will be fine - you'll see!! Don't stress about it!

Congratulations and God Bless -
C.

My daughter was 4 yrs old when we had another boy. She only wanted a girl and was very upset about the baby being a boy. After our ultrasound she sat my husband down and asked him if he could change the baby into a girl.
Then, after the baby was born she wanted to send the baby back, sell the baby, she even offered him to some friends of ours. She told me that we needed 2 mommies, one for her and one for the baby.
The good news is that after a couple of months, she finally learned to love her baby brother and eventually started to laugh at herself and how she wanted to return him.
I just gave birth to another baby brother. She's 7 now. She was disappointed, but she's crazy about this baby. She loves him so much. My daughter is the only girl, right in the middle of 4 brothers. We just let her know that she's really special to be the only girl. She's fine with it all now.
It's just an adjustment and your daughter will get over it. I recommend letting her help you care for the baby when he's born. That is what helped my daughter.
Congratulations!

My daughter also wanted a sister when her younger brother was born 3 yrs ago (she also has 2 older brothers). We just told her 'you get what you get and you don't throw a fit', of course she still gets upset sometimes about not having a sister but a lot of life is this way-you get what you get and are expected to make the best of it-might as well get used to it sooner rather than later.
Since there is nothing anyone can do about it, it isn't really open for debate...she IS getting a brother and not a sister, so she may as well accept it. Three year old DO have the ability to understand that 'this is the way it is and nobody can change it no matter how much anyone may want it changed'

Just say,"yes, a little baby girl sure would be fun, but it might be a boy."

When the baby is born, she'll get over it. (Though you might face sibling rivalry either way.)

I think that at 3 years old, your little one is old enough to understand that you get what you get with a baby - and the doctor can't change the gender. I'm looking back on when my three girls were 3 (one of them still is) and I know they could understand it. I'm sure once you sit her down and say "this is just the way it is" that she'll know what you mean, she might still throw a temper tantrum about it and then you might have to go onto an entire new level about not holding baby's gender against him.

It might help if your little girl understands the difference between a boy and a girl is just physical because then she might be able to open herself up to bonding with a brother more.

If you are christian you can explain that God decided she was going to have a baby brother and although you understand she wants a sister you can't change God's mind. Also my son wants (still does) a baby brother but everytime he starts talking about it I remind him how he would really have to share all his stuff, his room etc. and his natural selfishness comes out (to my advantage for once) and he is glad he has only 2 sisters (they have to share everything so he sees it is not always fun). I do not want you to teach your daughter selfishness or not to share with her brother but this may help change her mind a bit. She may appreciate that she never has to give her favorite dress to her brother when she is too big for it. My middle daughter (oldest girl) was not always happy to see her favorite clothes on her little sister after she can't fit anymore. But for the most part they share everything now (2 years apart but very close in size) so it doesn't really matter anymore anyway.
When the baby is born she will be glad to have a baby and although she will still want a sister will come to except having a baby brother first and love him no matter what. Babies are fun no matter if they are boys or girls. Find her some girl friends (or even other friends with baby girls- she will see there is not much difference) and she will be fine. She will also grow out of this with time too.
Hope this helps :)

My 4 year old daughter was quite disappointed when we told her she was getting a baby brother, because she was convinced it would be another sister. (Our middle child was 2 at this time.) She said she didn't want a baby brother, and wasn't going to play with him when he was born. I decided to drop it right there, and it all worked out just fine. We would talk to baby brother when he was still in utero, rub my tummy, and call him by name. By the time he arrived, both of his big sisters thought he was the bee's knees. They are normal siblings and go through their moments of fighting, but all 3 of them are very loving of each other, and even consider each other their best friends. (They are currently 7, 5, and 3.) So hang in there, try not to dwell on it, and let her come around to it.

My daughter did the EXACT same thing. She is totally fine now and loves her baby brother.

Wow, it sure sounds like your daughter has made up her mind! lol This sounds like a typical 3 yr. old, though, and there isn't much that you can do other than what you are doing now. You could try to explain to her that the doctor can't change whether or not you're having a baby boy or a baby girl, and (if you're religious) tell her that only God gets to decide that. If you're religious and decide to go that route, you could also tell her that God really wants her to have a little brother, and that He knows that even though she's disappointed now, she will be a great big sister. She may just really want a sister because she is familiar with girls, being one herself, and boys are different. I would just keep reassuring her that she will be a great big sister no matter what. You'll find that she will love the baby no matter what sex it is! Good luck, and congrats to you on your pregnancy!

My daughter wanted a girl, also, but that was after I had my son. It's because my next door neighbor with a girl my daughter's age was having a girl. What girl wouldn't want a sister? or boy want a brother? I'm sure she will come around. My daughter loves her brother (most of the time) and she still has her girl friends to play girl things with. Also, at 3, I've noticed they want a lot of things they can't have (one more cookie, candy for breakfast, stay up and watch TV with mommy and daddy, etc.). :-)

My advice to you is to stay really calm, matter-of-fact, and firm, with a loving voice. "Babies are so cute. All babies are wonderful. We are going to have so much fun with your little brother when he comes."

Repeat as necessary. I wouldn't make a big deal of it; ignoring her outbursts after a certain point would probably be a good idea. She shouldn't get a lot of attention for her reaction, and I don't think you should worry about it too much. She will be fine once he arrives.

Maybe you could read her "Julius, the Baby of the World"? Or other books about big sisters and babies.