"Today, someone asked me if I planned on having any more children, and I paused before replying to…

"Today, someone asked me if I planned on having any more children, and I paused before replying to her.

'Well, maybe,' I said, pulling down my shirt over my still-lingering stomach, a subconscious habit from four pregnancies. 'But I really wish I was better at being pregnant!'

But before I could beat myself up too much, I thought a little bit more about what those nine months of pregnancy really entail — and I realized something: pregnancy is so much more than 'just' nine months.

Pregnancy is in the months of worrying and waiting and taking tests and holding your...