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We have 3 children, and I love it. I am not one of these people who plans to (or who will ever) have more than 3. I considered 4 for a while, but for me (no offense to anyone who has more than I do!!) I didn't feel it would work. There is a certain amount of time I want to spend w/my kids in a group and a certain amount of time I want to spend with them individually, and 3-4 kids is the most I could have while still giving the amount of individual attention I want to give. Understand, families work in many ways, and I am by no means saying how I want mine to run is right for everyone!
So I think that's one consideration. Another is child spacing. My kids are currently 5,4, and 2. The first 2 are bio. We have no family in the area, and we have moved a lot, so there have been times when we don't know anyone in the area. How much support you have makes a big difference. I think if I'd spaced my kids out more, I might have gone for a 4th, but with them all small, it goes back to my personal preference of wanting a certain amount of individual time in the day for each. I'm a stay at home mom, so it's not a question of fitting them in around outside work.
I'm rambling, sorry. The one other thing I wanted to say is that I agree that it is easier now you're an experienced parent. Everyone warned me that 3 is so much harder than 2, but I totally disagree. Have a 14 month old and a newborn, and living on 100 acres in Maine, knowing no one? THAT was hard. Having a 4 year old and an almost 3 year old and adding an 8 month old when living in AZ with lots of friends and great weather, not to mention parenting experience? Piece of cake (relatively!).
Each family is different so I can't say what's right for yours, but I think if you give some hard thought to how you see your family (time to each child, resources, how much you like to have everything picked up and neat, how you honestly feel about all the extra laundry and other tedious parts of the day, etc) it will start to become clear what the answer should be for you.
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