10 Nov Moms in the Making Testimonies

I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am for this post. These are all girls who are/were in my Moms in the Making group. Thankfully the majority of them aren’t anymore. Why is that a good thing? Because they are all moms! Each girl has a different story, but they all have the same theme – they show the faithfulness of God. It truly amazes me to think back to the very first meeting with these girls, in June of 2013, and to see the testimonies that have come out of it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get everyones story, but I hope and pray that these stories that have been written down encourage you today. The Lord performed a miracle in every one of these girls and He can do the same for you. So many of these girls were diagnosed by the doctors and told they wouldn’t get pregnant naturally, yet for many, that is how it happened. Thank you ladies for sharing your stories and your hearts with us!

The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy – Revelation 19:10.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony – Revelation 12:11

Sara – Natural Pregnancy after Miscarriage

When my husband and I got married, he was a recent seminary graduate looking for work, so we were concerned about waiting until we were more financially stable to have a baby. About a year into that process, we realized that our decision to be on birth control was motivated by a desire to control our future and a lack of faith in God’s ability to provide for us. What was at first so freeing, to trust the Lord with His timing, became a struggle realizing after 2 years that what was seemingly so easy for everyone else wasn’t happening for us. Then after a few months of chlomid and lots of charting, we were pregnant! At our first sonogram, the heartbeat we were so excited and expecting to see wasn’t there. I had a missed miscarriage and had to medicate to pass the baby 2 weeks later. I was crushed and confused as to what God was trying to teach us. I finally realized that what had started as me letting go of my control to not get pregnant had turned into me trying to take control again in order to get pregnant. Emotionally and spiritually exhausted, I finally surrendered that control to have some rest from it all- no charting, medication, no active “trying”- just to take time to rest, heal, and reconnect with the Lord. During this time I joined the MITM group, and what a gift it was! It was a sweet time of connection and growth with a wonderful group of ladies, and we spent the summer covering each other in prayer and supporting each other on what had been a very lonely road. Then at the end of the summer, the Lord brought us another very unexpected gift- a second (and healthy) pregnancy! Now our 7 month old precious boy is a daily reminder of God’s abundant love, faithfulness, and provision to us, and I am so thankful God can get all the glory for giving him to us in His timing.

Lindsey – Natural Pregnancy After PCOS Diagnosis

My husband and I had been married for 5 years when we decided to start trying to have a baby in January 2011. We thought we would get pregnant right away like everyone else, right?  Everything had gone according to “my” plan up until that point, so when I didn’t get pregnant I started questioning where God was in my life.

After a year and a half trying naturally, I had some blood work done that showed my levels were off and I had small cyst on my ovaries. I started doing acupuncture for about 7 months to help regulate my cycles, but I still wasn’t ovulating every month.  After that I did 1 month of clomid with an ovidrel shot followed by an IUI the next month.

I was in the middle of being on clomid when God led me to the “Moms in the making” group through my dear friend Caroline.  It was so refreshing for me to meet other girls going through the same thing. God used that time to teach me patience, trust and to 100% rely on Him.  I realized I was still trying to control the situation instead of relying on God’s plan.

We took a month off of trying any medication and God used that month to teach me that he is 100% in control.  I became pregnant that month with my daughter who is now 5 months old.

What is our perfect timing isn’t always the same as God’s perfect timing. Through prayer, scripture memory & the books we studied in MITM, I started seeing how GOOD he is and how much he LOVES us!

Kellie – Natural Pregnancy after PCOS Diagnosis

Our story to our baby began like so many others — my husband and I had been married for a couple of years, and we both knew we wanted more children (he had two from his first marriage). We started trying in March of 2013, right around our two year anniversary. I had no reason to believe I wouldn’t get pregnant right away – my mom and sister had no problems so I was anticipating being pregnant by May at the latest. (When will I learn that nothing is in my timing?) A few months went by, and I started to not feel like myself. I I felt tired, moody, and run down. I talked to my ob about it and she said she wanted to run bloodwork to see what was going on. Two days later, I got a call at work from one of the nurses at my doctors office, telling me they had gotten my bloodwork back and that I had PCOS. I asked her what that was, and she replied “a form of infertility.” I broke down in tears. I visited with my doctor the next week to talk about it, and learned that PCOS is extremely common and looks different to nearly every woman who has it. I was put on Metformin and started taking it on July 6, 2013. For the next several months, my husband and I pleaded with God every day to remove this syndrome from my body, grant us a child if that was His will, and to open our eyes to what we needed to learn during this time of waiting. Over the next several months, we went to a marriage seminar and realized there were places in our marriage that needed strengthening (always does). We started developing deeper friendships within our bible study group that we had just been on the surface with for too long. A few months later, Caroline reached out to me via Facebook after not having talked in years, with a link to her blog, In Due Time. God is awesome like that. He knew I needed women to talk to, because as much as my husband listened, he couldn’t really understand what I was feeling. I started going to the group Moms in the Making at Caroline’s home and made some wonderful friends. It was such a relief to hear these women be totally transparent in their struggles and just be able to share openly what we had been struggling with. These women prayed over me, and I felt it. In October of 2013, I became pregnant. We were overjoyed. I had an easy, beautiful pregnancy in which I was able to see God’s hand throughout each passing month. A healthy baby girl was growing inside of me and I knew God had blessed us – there was no other way to explain it. Towards the middle of my pregnancy I began to pray about my delivery. I knew I wanted to have a natural birth but was unsure how to go about it. Around that time, a friend of my husbands who had recently became a doula reached out to me. Through her, we became plugged into a network of natural birth advocates and built our “birth team.” On July 6th, 2014 (one year to the day that we were diagnosed with PCOS), I delivered our baby naturally, and it was the most beautiful, profound moment of my life. To see God’s goodness, astounding grace, and love for his children throughout difficult seasons in overwhelming. There is nothing too big for the God we serve.

 Katie – Two Natural Pregnancies after Secondary Infertility and Multiple Miscarriages

4 years ago, I was brand new to Dallas and a brand new mother to my daughter, Savannah Kate.  Two years ago, I had a miscarriage that was followed by a year of infertility, that was followed by a second miscarriage.  It was the darkest time that I had ever experienced.  Previously, I thought moving to Dallas not knowing a soul was hard, but this was 10,000 times harder.  My faith was truly tested to the core and I was in a very bad place for some time.  My friends covered me in prayer, brought me meals and I specifically remember my mentor mom coming over one time basically just to cry with me.  There were times where it was even hard for me to come here and see all the growing pregnant bellies and new baby announcements.  I just couldn’t make sense of what I was going through and I thought I must be the only one in this room with this problem.

During this time, I found out about an infertility group that a girl from our church was starting.  I joined one month after my second miscarriage.  There were several girls in the group all with very different stories.  I was the only one with secondary infertility because I had already had one successful pregnancy.  An amazing transformation took place in me during that study and I realized that I not only had to trust in The Lord, but more importantly I had to BELIEVE in His promises.  I knew He could give me a baby, but I didn’t BELIEVE He was really going to.  At least not without lots of fertility drugs and doctors.  I often felt like Peter trying to walk on the water.  I was stepping out, believing that I could do this, only to look down and be instantly filled with fear and sink.  Fear, such as the fear of having another miscarriage or maybe I’ll never have another child.  I learned to confess out loud what His promises for me were and I learned how to use the power of the Holy Spirit to release the fear I had inside.  When the fear would creep back in, I would read scriptures like 2nd Timothy 1:7 “For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self control”  and others that I had saved in my notes on my phone.  And you know what?  The Holy Spirit showed up every time, He never failed and always took away that fear and anxiety.  Another one that I would read daily was James 1:5-7, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without fault. and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” WOW!  That was tough for me to read.  I didn’t want that kind of faith.  Isaiah 53:5 tells us that “By his wounds we are healed”.  I also learned to pray bold prayers.  And not to be afraid to ask for what seems impossible to us.  After some time, I was ready to believe and I was ready to walk all the way across the lake this time.  I believed that He had healed me and that I would not seek any further fertility treatments.  I quickly learned not to be surprised when miracles happen after you choose to believe in His power.  I found out that I was pregnant naturally less than a month later and Hilton was born on March 18th of this year.  Each day of that pregnancy was filled with daily surrender to The Lord, up until the moment he was born.  Something I had never done before and I felt that I finally understood what it meant to be desperately dependent on the Lord.

Ephesians 3:20 says “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”. Like I said before, don’t be surprised when impossible things happen when you chose to believe….  because miracle (and very big surprise!) baby #3 is on the way!  These miracle babies will be only 13 months apart!  The best part is that I found out that I was pregnant in August and this baby will be born in April.  August and April are the two names we gave our babies that we lost.

Please don’t ever think that God doesn’t care about the details, because he does!  He knows what is important to us. No, this third baby wasn’t a part of my plan.  We were beyond thrilled just to have had Hilton join us and I wouldn’t have even thought of another baby right now.  But that’s what makes this story show the glory of God.  I believe that He wanted me to have another pregnancy that I could truly enjoy.  I’ve chosen not to take the daily blood thinner shots this time and to completely put my trust in the Lord.  I only go to the doctor every 4 weeks, just like a normal pregnancy, like it was with Savannah Kate.  I never thought I would be able to have a normal pregnancy again, and only God could have made that happen.

I’ve also chosen not find out the sex of the baby this time.  This will be very challenging for me, but I want to FULLY trust the Lord with this baby for every detail.  Can’t wait for the surprise!

Holly – Adoption after Early Menopause Diagnosis

Infertility changed my life 10 years ago. I was dealing with menopause and losing all hope of having a family. After much prayer, we began our adoption journey in 2009. After 2 1⁄2 years, our prayers were answered when our daughter was born. We have an amazing birth mom and could not ask for anything more. We decided that we wanted to begin this journey again. We were with a birth mom and awaiting the birth of our son when the unimaginable phone call came. Our birth mom and baby passed away 2 1⁄2 weeks before the due date. I was crushed but God has used this journey to bring me closer to him. My life is different; this is a life that I have never dreamed of or imagined. I have learned over the past 10 years that God’s plan is better than anything that I could dream. God has given me a life I have embraced and a life that is full of hope. As I have thought and worked through the last 10 years, I think about how much I have lost. God reminded me of Matthew 16:25 that says “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” It’s true, I have lost a lot but I have gained ten times the amount I lost. We are still waiting on baby #2 but God is the same today as He was yesterday. I am rooted in my faith and clinging on to the cross!

 Haley – Natural Pregnancy after Severe Endometriosis Diagnosis

 Whenever I think back on all the ways God has provided for Jordan and I over the past year, I cannot help but smile in pure awe. It gives me chills to see how everything fits within the puzzle which is ultimately His master plan.

I was always the girl who had a plan for her plan. I thought if I did A, B and C then surely God would then bless us with a baby. During our struggles, friends would always say, “Everything happens in God’s perfect timing.” And, I would smile and nod my head in complete, optimistic agreement. But, deep down I knew I truly did not believe that. I was operating under the belief that I wasn’t pregnant, because I was lacking in some way and needed to do better. When I would accomplish my plan and still see no result, I would cry and lash out in anger at God. I can see now how God was stripping me down through these experiences to really confront my weaknesses in my belief and faith in Him.

I am so thankful now to have had the joy of walking my journey with my Healer. He has healed me in more ways than one. After nearly three years of being a prisoner of the severe pain that comes from endometriosis, I am free. I can remember the days that Jordan and I could not attend events, because I would need to stay at home and use the heating pad to try and get some sort of relief. I used the heating pad so much that my tummy had burn marks all over it.

I remember all our visits to different dr.’s and think back on their recommendations—“Have you considered a hysterectomy,” or “In order to get pregnant, you will require medical intervention.” I would leave each time with a new “plan” and still feel trapped. Now, I’m set free.

Last summer, Jordan and I took a huge leap of faith, because we felt God was calling us to relocate and sell our home. Mind you, this was the home we had been working diligently on for 3 years to renovate as the perfect place to raise our future family. We put a sign in our yard and said, “Okay God, we trust you. Help us sell our home.” We had a full price offer within two weeks of putting that sign up. And, get this- we sold it in the midst of several unfinished projects (we had no interior doors installed!).

Once we were free from the burden of our home, we began focusing more on our relationship with each other, our health and our God. We made time for Him in our lives.

The blessings just began to unravel.

I went from a report card of having an “undetectable amount of eggs” to having “the eggs of what they look for in an egg-donor.” God continued to show us how He was working miracles in our lives and how He is our ultimate Healer.

In August this year we learned we were pregnant. God blessed us with a miracle that we will treasure every day. Now, as I watch my tummy grow with our son I’m reminded of how far God has brought us. All the things that the world and my circumstances said were impossible, are now made possible through our Father.

One day I’ll teach our son, Otis Fynn, about Matthew 19:26 and how the Bible tells us “With God all things are possible.” I cannot wait for that day.

Haley – Pregnant with Triplets after IVF

The title, “Audiam vocal eius, ” is Latin for “I listen to His voice.” Psalm 119:105 is a well-known verse, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Nothing better describes the role of God’s word, His voice, during my 3 ½ year journey from infertility to a healthy pregnancy of multiples!

After Zach and I married, we both knew we wanted children and saw no reason to wait, but God had other plans as He often does.  After almost a year of trying, we went to a fertility doctor to start the testing process and the best ways to approach our issues.   The first thing suggested to us was timed ovulation with a trigger shot for me to ovulate.  After that did not work, we moved on to IUIs.  After 2 of those did not work, we took a break.  During this time, the Lord was so merciful to us.  We were surrounded with friends who understood, who kindly sympathized, and prayed with us.  I joined Moms In the Making.  It was there that I discovered what the Bible says about fertility, how God loves to bless His children, and that He wants us to ‘be fruitful and multiply’.  During this time, I had several visions of my children.  Two visions specifically. There were always three children the same age, 2 girls and 1 boy, playing in my kitchen and in the other one they were playing outside.  I had a good friend tell me she had a dream and felt strongly I was going to have triplets.  I was not sure exactly what to think at this point, I just knew that God was going to give us children in His time.  I got the courage to return to the doctor, and try IUIs again.  After those failed, we began to consider IVF.  To this point, we had felt wary of this procedure.  IVF is much more intense than IUIs, more time, more money, more shots, and also, more ethical decision-making.  Every couple that decides to try IVF must make these decisions for themselves. Thankfully, we went to a doctor that was able and willing to freeze eggs (or oocytes) our goal was to transfer all embryos to my uterus, as opposed to freezing embryos.  Again, after our research and prayer, this was the plan we came up with and every couple is different.  Because we wanted to transfer all embryos, we took the chance of less success by inseminating very few eggs.  Praise God, we had a successful retrieval.  Our doctor stated that because I am 31 years old, protocol is to transfer no more than 2 embryos.  However, if we had 3, she would be reluctant but willing to transfer 3 if it came down to that.  (Note: she seriously doubted we would get 3 with the few eggs we were willing to inseminate!) I did not mention all the signs I was getting about 3!

In April 2014, we had 2 embryos to transfer, and I was hopeful, but then heartbroken when we found out this was not it.  We were not pregnant.  We took a month off.  During that time, I had a friend come visit me from Colorado.  While she stayed at our house, she had a dream we had triplets.  She told us how her 3-year-old daughter prayed every night for “Haley’s two baby girls.”

There is a pond near our home that we go walking our dog, and there was a momma duck with 3 ducklings.

In May, we returned to the doctor’s office.  We thawed 4 eggs to then inseminate. And, low and behold, we had 3 embryos!  On the day of transfer, I could feel the almost ringing of spiritual activity.  (I don’t know how else to describe it!) Our doctor came in the room, and gave us what I would call quite the lecture.  She said we had a 10% chance of having triplets, and then listed all the medical risks involved with having multiples.  She wanted us to freeze one.  I have to admit, I started to doubt our decision for a moment.  But I could not ignore the months full of wondrous signs and words given to us.   “3, 3, 3, 3, 3” kept running through my head!  Zach stood strong behind me.  All three were going in, and God was in charge.

In the transfer room there are two screens.  One was of my uterus; one was the lab dish with the embryos with “HILTON” written on it.  Because we were breaking protocol, I think our doctor wanted everyone in the office to be present.  It was a crowd! Even at just a few cells, our babies put on a show!  The three tiny circles formed in a triangular position all together, with 2 on the bottom and 1 on top between the “L” and “T.”  Everyone looked at the screen and I could see their mouths drop.  One doctor said, “I have never seen that before!” She looked at me, “It’s like they are making a cheerleader pyramid for you!”

That was a huge moment for me.  I knew we were doing the right thing, no matter what happened, those were my babies!

Things happened quickly after that!

On June 23^rd, 2014, we got the news that we were pregnant!!!! My beta numbers were extremely high.

On July 14^th, we had our first sonogram.

Now, the last thing I would ever want is for someone to read this and think that I somehow used Scripture and magically made some sort of spell and predictions to get my babies.  Not at all!  My story is in many ways no different from any other Christian.  My story really begins with repentance.  My life embedded in Christ, is where my life really began.  Repentance that leads to true sorrow for my sin leads straight into true healing because “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I have Jesus’ righteousness clothed around me, so that when I approach the Father with all my fears, desires, and questions, He sees the Son.  I am an heir in Christ! I am currently 21 weeks pregnant.  Everyone is healthy, and progressing well!

Surrendering to God’s will for my life has brought me to this point, and will carry me through motherhood!  May you read this and give all the glory to God our Father!  We thank Him for medical science, we thank Him for the doctors and lab workers, we thank Him for the faithful prayers of others on our behalf, and we thank Him for these new little lives!  The Lord  God has truly done this for me!  Blessed be His Name!