Laundry seems to increase exponentially when you add the second child. Not sure why that is. I have just a top loader and it's an average sized one. I do a lot of laundry too, but DH sends a bunch of stuff to the cleaners so it's pretty manageable. The housekeeper gals who come do the sheets, thank goodness.
the biggest one we could afford and would fit into our space... we went with the front load because it holds A LOT more (they don't have that center thing that takes up space). Mine holds 22 pairs of jeans... or 16 bath towels (not that we ever wash that, but I can put a king size comforter in it)
We just got a new front loader so it is pretty big. Once I separate my clothes out (whites, darks, etc.) I can usually fit it all in one load. I do about 4-5 loads a week including towels. Can be up to 6 if I do sheets. It is crazy how quickly it adds up. If I stay on top of it and try to do 1 load a night, then it's fairly easy. However, if I miss 3-4 days you can't see the floor in the laundry room
Re: moms of 2+
the biggest one we could afford and would fit into our space... we went with the front load because it holds A LOT more (they don't have that center thing that takes up space). Mine holds 22 pairs of jeans... or 16 bath towels (not that we ever wash that, but I can put a king size comforter in it)