One of the questions asked of me the most as a mother of eight children has been, “You know how this happens, right?” Having so many children was not a plan. When my husband and I married we were both older, and as I was recently diagnosed with a second autoimmune disease, there was uncertainty about how my body would respond to pregnancy. We also weren’t sure if we’d be a fertile couple, even without my health complications. Infertility affects roughly 15 percent of couples and we might’ve been one of them. We were, however, open to children.