Tell me everything great about having (only) 2 kids!

[NicaG]

We've been on the fence about having a third.  We were actually ttc #3 and I was pregnant,  but I had a miscarriage a few weeks ago.  I am slowly coming to feel that we need to be happy with our family as it is and stop thinking about a third. I'd love some reminders about why 2 kids makes a great family. Anyone want to join in?

[isabchi]

I'm not planning to have anymore kids. I think personally, No kids, one, two, three o more kids in a family it's up to many factors. Maternal age, fertility issues, cultural points of view,energy level, desire of how many kids, financial issues, housing, etc. I'm so gratefull fo having my DD (first child) in the first place, She is my baby miracle. My DS is the gift that life make to us. I have/had infertily issue, including many miscarriage, also our age(parents), energy level, financially, .. So we're more that happy. Also,my kids are very happy,healthy but from our parental way to raised requiere lots of dedication of our part as parents in mainly in the two years of life. We CLW, EC,..so we're ready tomove on to the next stage.

[Petie1104]

Good things about when we only had 2....

We could all fit into a compact car, so we didn't need to buy a more expensive, minivan

Most apartments and homes are 3 bedroom, you pay more when you need 4 or 5 bedrooms

Admission to activities is more affordable.

OOOOh one kid per hand, I didn't feel outnumbered.

Only two college tuitions to worry about

I know I could think of more, but that's it for now.

[hopefulfaith]

I have two.  :)  They're closely spaced: 15 months apart.  The first few years were really, really hard.  You don't have enough hands to always parent the way you want to -- somehow we got through, and now....my two have been playing together - really nicely - for the past hour and a half.  I've eaten lunch, my bread dough is rising, and I've almost got two loads of laundry done.  If you would have told me this would happen two or three years ago, I would have laughed --- but I really love having two, close children right now.  :)

[mammal_mama]

I'm so sorry about your loss!

My situation is kind of similar. I wanted more children, and actually got pregnant two more times after dd2 was born -- but, both times, shortly after confirming the pregnancies, I miscarried.

Then months and months passed without another pregnancy, and I started feeling like we were really complete with just our two girls, and that this was really the best family-size for us.

When I shared about my miscarriages on an email list, another mama said she had the same experience when she was about my age (I was almost 41 when I gave birth to dd2, and 43 and 44 when I had the miscarriages) and she learned that it was because she had stopped producing enough progesterone for the baby to implant properly. She succeeded in having one more baby by using progesterone cream for the first trimester.

I think it was then that I realized I really was happy to just focus in on my two girls, since I had absolutely no interest in trying to see what I could accomplish with progesterone cream.

As to benefits, dh and I are able to enjoy frequent one-on-one time with each child. We are a low-income family but still able to afford lots of extras. I also enjoy having time to do some reading just for me. I've also recently got involved with our neighborhood association. Dd1 likes to come with me to the meetings at the library since there are other kids her age who come there to hang out and play on the computers, while dd2 enjoys watching a movie and playing at home with Daddy. Things like this are so easy with only two, whereas if it were a question of taking a bunch of kids with me to a meeting or leaving a bunch of kids home with dh, it would likely seem so overwhelming that I'd just give up trying to do anything like that.