Urbanmom

Do you ever know? I have 3 kids, I love them, and I love a big family. Sometimes 3 seems pretty darn big to me, LOL! We think we are done, but I'm not 100% sure. I actually think I just miss being pregnant. Wanting to be pregnant isn't exactly a good reason to have a whole 'nother member of the family though, you know?

How did you know when you were done?

bun.in.the.oven

We're not done yet (haven't even had our first), but my mom said that she knew she was done when my youngest brother was born because there was no way she could take care of another baby and keep her eye on my brother, who was pretty wild.

I think if your hands feel full now, you should wait, and think about it again in a few years. If it's just because you miss being pregnant, then you should try to remember the sleepless nights, and think about what if your next child had special needs, that sort of thing. Then you can assess whether you really want another.

Cary

My wife said she was done from right after the first child. We went on to have two more. I'm pretty sure we are done now as the last one is going on 13 years old. For us we decided we were done when we looked at what we wanted as a family and balanced that against what we could afford.

2coolmom

We decided we were done after 2 kids. My husband and I sat down and had a pretty long and intense discussion about it and that's how we knew we were done. Honestly, I've got my hands full and am happy where we are in life right now.

Good Parent

There are many different ways to know when enough is enough.

First of all, there is the consideration of age. Secondly you have to consider financial restraints that you may have. Thirdly is if you truly feel that you are able to handle having more children or not. There are a number of other minor or major things to factor in, but here is a few to think about.

3littlecuties

I think it becomes harder and harder to go back to the infant stage the further away from it you get. It's pretty nice when they are independant and can put on their own shoes and feed themselves. If you are nostalgic for an infant, you can volunteer at a local hospital to hold the preemies, I've heard of programs like that.

PurpleFDU

I think the balance between having enough money to have more, if your body can handle it and if your can mentally deal with another child is pretty standard. Not that everyone stops when they should, and thats where we see many parents on Nanny911 with kids they never could really handle, lol.