12 Miscarriages

Leslie didn’t think she would ever become a mom. After suffering 12 miscarriages, she was so convinced she wouldn’t have a child that she bought a puppy and decided she would just be a dog mom.

Then she got sick. Really sick. “I thought I just had a bad cold or something, but then I decided to get a pregnancy test.” She took seven tests – for seven positive results – before she called her doctor. When her doctor confirmed that she was pregnant, she couldn’t believe it. “I kept asking if he was sure because I was so certain I couldn’t really be pregnant.”

Leslie requested a mentor from One by One because “I wanted to feel that closeness to God and camaraderie with someone who has been there before me, who knew what was coming, and who could help me answer questions I didn’t know the answer to. I didn’t have my mom or dad in my corner – I didn’t have my grandparents in my corner – because they had all passed on.”

Polly says, “Leslie needed the support of a grandma, and it’s been a special relationship to be able to walk along with her and grow with her and her son.”

Leslie’s pregnancy and delivery were anything but routine. “I was hospitalized eight times while I was pregnant with him. Then he was born at eight months because he got an infection. I almost died three times on the table during delivery. So I almost died 11 times carrying this child. I never knew how far we’d make it; I just prayed we would make it. And every time I needed a voice of reason or someone to help calm the storm, my mentor was there. She’s always there, and I love her for it.”

Leslie is thankful for Polly’s advice. “My mentor reminds me daily that God hears you all the time whether you want Him to hear you or not. He will answer you whether you want His answer or not. He’s going to tell you what you need whether or not you want to believe what He’s telling you, and He’s going to show you where you can’t deny it.”

Now Leslie has advice for other new moms. “Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Don’t feel like you have to do this alone because you put yourself in this situation and feel you’ve got to get out of it alone. The truth is you can never really be ready to have a kid. You can think you’re ready. You can prepare. But you’re never really ready until you get there. There are so many pitfalls that happen before, during, and after that you just don’t see coming. They’re like potholes. They just pop up on you. But with One by One you have someone to help you get out of the pothole, to make sure you’re ok, to dust you off, to life you up in faith and raise you up in prayer.