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Financially and logistically, two is probably best. I'd love another, and maybe even one after that, but my daughter completes me. Subsequent children would be just lovely, but are not a necessity for our family's happiness, if that makes sense.

Financial, My three boys already can pack away more food than me I am a little scared of the teenage years and feeding them. Lilly isn't too far behind so feeding four teenagers is going to be tough.

Mental health! I am alone all week with the kids. I can't do more than 2!

@lawbee11: @Elderberrygin: Yeah, I thought having one (and enjoying her!) would make me want more, but surprisingly, the more fun she is, the more I just want to have one. Weird!

Our sanity and time. Ideally my husband would like 4 children which I have never even thought of but he is 40 and I'm 35 and we will be having our second in a few weeks. I think we'll have 3. We'll have 2 boys and maybe be lucky to add a little girl.

Im an only child. All my life I dreamed of a large home with chaos and noise. I wanted to have nine kids at one point Clearly I was brought down to reality as I got older. I am open to 4-5 kids, I want to adopt but dont know if it will happen but I want a large family. DH was adamant for a long time on only wanting 2, I wouldnt budge on at least 3. He got on board and we have planned our lives around the idea of 3, 4 bedroom house, bigger car to seat 3 carseats etc. I know 3 is a far cry from 9 or even 5 but Im ok with 3 so 3 it is. I think age wise and money wise this is about where we can manage and be happy still.

On a side note I also knew I wanted more than 2 because 2 of my cousins passed away young, one was 11 when a car struck her in her neighborhood and one was 21 and was sick with a rare disease. Both of their siblings (my other cousins) were left as only children all of a sudden at much later stages in their lives. I felt so bad for them to all of a sudden be alone and not have the sibling they knew all their lives gone like that. I dont want to imagine something happening to any of my children but these experiences also are the reason I just want to have more than 2 just in case.

We want 2 with the slight possibility of 3. I have been a nanny for a long time and the dynamic I have always enjoyed the most is with two kids, I am very grateful to have had the chance to "test drive" several options and I think it is probably what we will stick with. I also feel like a family of four is the most practical, four fits in almost all cars, things come in even numbers, hotels usually fit four people etc. Growing up in a bigger family it felt like we were constantly trying to find ways to accommodate our larger group.

@Mrs. Chocolate: Weird. I feel the same way with having two. Sucks so much for your cousins and families

Desire. I always wanted 2, and now that I have 2 I just don't feel like we're done. So after we PCS next summer we will start trying for #3. I imagine we will be done then.

@mrs chocolate, that's a factor for us. When I was 22, my 19 yo brother passed away. It's no guarantee my kids are friends, but I can't help but still want more than 2. I suppose like everything in our lives, our experiences color our future.

@Rocker2014: I can totally empathize. I was one of 7 (although 3 of them were step, but from an early age), and I got the least amount of attention (my siblings had...problems). It definitely impacted my decisions about family planning.

Right now we're between 1-2. I think I would (someday) like a second LO. D is increasingly open to it, but it's not his first choice. For us the driving forces are money and attention. We can give E a decent life, financially, and he can be the center of our world. Having a second could impact everything from how much we pay for college to how much attention we can give each (something I didn't have) to what sort of vacations we take to...etc etc. I know those aren't so important to everyone, but they are to us.

Age! We didn't meet until later in life, so I'm having my first at 36! We both grew up with siblings, and would love for our LO to have a brother or sister, but the timing might not work out. As it is, we're going to have to go into Irish twin territory to make the spacing work out.

But if we end up being one and done for whatever reason, I think we'll be fine with that. I'm still in such disbelief that we're actually pregnant, and feel like even one LO is just such an incredible gift, when we both had just about resigned ourselves to being single and childless forever!

Desire. We don't feel the burning need to have more than one.

Marital happiness. We're happy now, but I'm not sure we would be if we added more children and responsibility, and therefore had less time for one another.

Personal goals. There are things we want to do that wouldn't be as attainable if we had more children.

I'm more 2 and through, DH is more 2 with the option of a 3rd.

I'm most worried about space, financials, & putting my body through 3 c-sections which is why I would be thrilled with 2. DH wuold really like to try for a boy (if #2 is a boy I think we would be done, but if we have a 2nd girl he would like to go for #3, I would for sure by tying those tubes up after 3 no matter what!)

Finances. We're planning on two with an option for a third depending on how we feel financially. My parents couldn't afford the number of children they had and it was tough growing up. I don't want to do the same to my kids.

3. I come from a family of 3 kids and we're all great friends. 3 is the most I can have while still fitting in a standard sedan. I've never wanted an only child and my first is so cute it'd be a shame not to have more!

We always wanted two so they would have a sibling. We could have had three (I was a couple weeks from turning 32 before Olive was born). But we both agree three is too hard!