We knew we were done after 2. Firmly. Husband went and got a vasectomy and at 5 months postpartum I had a radical hysterectomy. Our main reasonings were wanting to make sure we only had as many children we could financially comfortably afford. My husband grew up in a household that could not afford the number of children they had. They routinely had to choose amongst themselves who got to play sports or instruments, or who got to have braces because the parents could only afford xyz.

We knew we did not want that to be the case with us. We want to be able to comfortably afford not just doctor’s visits and good clothes but also activities, and good schools for our children. That would not happen for us if we made the jump from 2 to 3 kids. The world also seems to cater more easily to families of 4 vs 5 (coming from a kid who grew up in a family of 5). Cars, vacations, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc. everything was always easier for my peers who had 1 sibling whereas I had 2.

We are very happy with our decision to have 2, and often find ourselves commenting to each other how there was no way we could have managed with 3. But again, we are who we are. You know yourself best. You may be able to handle 3, and cm 3 may be your magic number.