Is there such a thing as too many children? Michelle Duggar, the 42-year old mom of 18 kids, is expecting her 19th baby!

There is an empty cradle right next to my computer. Well, it's actually not empty. I've been using it as a catch-all for papers and boxes and outgrown baby clothes ever since Ivy was born. She will be one in a couple weeks.  And she has never even slept in this cradle.

Letting Go
But I can not part with it. I can't imagine selling it or giving it away. And I've never even used it.

When I got pregnant the first time, it was almost as simple as clicking my heels, making a wish and letting mother nature take over. I believed pregnancy was a rite of passage, something I was entitled to and would accomplish with pure ease and joy. The first time around, I was very lucky.

But when my daughter was nearing the three-year-old mark, my husband and I started to feel that itch to add to our brood. We figured we’d treat ourselves to a romantic candlelit dinner and a good old-fashioned romp in the hay-- and that once again the fertility gods would smile down on us and bless us with another child.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. That first, second and third romp in the hay led to nine months of trying, waiting, hoping and praying. I remember sitting in the bathroom each month, talking to myself and willing the pregnancy test to render a positive outcome.  It was beyond my comprehension that something as natural as getting pregnant was simply beyond my reach, especially since the first time was so easy. Why was my body failing me? What had I done wrong? I began racking my brain trying to come up with a reason behind my inability to conceive...was I drinking too much coffee? Not exercising enough or eating the wrong foods?

Enduring speculation and questions
The constant questions from friends and family just seemed to compound my feelings of inadequacy. In their defense, many had no idea that I was actively trying to get pregnant. They simply saw a couple with a toddler and thought the natural progression for us was to add another kid to the mix. However, when they casually inquired about it, it took every fiber of my being not to burst into tears or pointedly tell them, "Actually, I've been taking my basal body temperature and spending gobs of money on ovulation predictor kits but, unfortunately, nothing is working."

Taking charge of our fertility
We finally decided it was time to take the next step and visit a reproductive specialist to get to the bottom of my challenged ovaries. It was a hard pill to swallow, having to seek medical intervention and undergo a battery of tests to conceive. Getting pregnant was something that I thought should’ve been a natural expression of the love my husband and I shared. I hated that it was being reduced to a very clinical procedure. Once I had my fallopian tubes snaked and no obstructions were found, we proceeded with fertility medicine. When that didn’t work, we tried shots in the abdomen, which my husband lovingly administered...each time soothing and reassuring me that this was going to be our month. This time it was going to work.

Waiting, hoping and praying
I remember sitting in the doctor's office for daily blood tests that checked my hormone levels and the very unsexy intrauterine insemination that took place when my body was ready. Getting there at the crack of 6:30 a.m., I figured I'd be sitting in a waiting room with a few other hopeful women. Instead, the waiting room was packed with women just like me yearning for that moment when their dream of a child would become a reality. I sat there and smiled weakly at each of them, lost in my thoughts and silently praying.

We got lucky and finally conceived - without taking our infertility struggle to the next, very expensive step of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). But it was still a long, painful journey and working so hard to have my second child - my beautiful, dirty-blonde rambunctious now four-year-old son - gave me an entirely new appreciation for the process of pregnancy. I now know it is a privilege and a gift - and not a given, not by any means. And trying to conceive in a society where the pressure to have a child can feel like the weight of the world upon your shoulders can be both grueling on a woman’s psyche and on her marriage.

When you are trying to conceive, each day that goes by before you might actually receive a positive pregnancy test feels like an eternity. However, sometimes it takes weeks after conception to receive a positive pregnancy test, and a false negative can occur if you take the test too early. But if you know your body well and read its signs, you might be able to tell if you are pregnant before the little stick reveals the exciting news. If you've noticed any of the following, you might be expecting!