Hello K.!
Congrats regarding #4. My husband and I got pregnant after his vasectomy. He had 4 children with is first wife, had a vasectomy 21 years ago. All of his children, of course, are grown. Last fall we found I was pregnant. The vasectomy was a shocker to us, too. We did not intend on having children together. Oh well, little baby Jackson was born healthy 2 weeks ago today. What a sweetie pie.
As for the tubal? First of all, I didn't see the point in having my husband's "area" messed with any further. I wouldn't want that again if it were me. I spoke with my dr about the tubal and she said that some women think periods get worse with tubals, but she says that typically speaking after a tubal your periods go back to "normal" flow periods. If you were on birth control pills for years you might think the tubal caused worse periods, when in truth your "real" periods were heavier and more painful anyhow. She also explained that the tubal has a 1 in 400 chance failure rate, just as the vasectomy. Furthermore, the mirena IUD is an new IUD that is out and has had RAVE reviews. She highly recommended it. It's not your "mother's IUD." It is good for 5 years, it has the same failure rate (1 in 400) as a tubal and/or a vasectomey. They say it is comfortable and does not get dislodged.
I'm going to go for the mirena IUD.
Good luck with your decision.