The Sacrifices We Make

Parents make sacrifices from the time of conception through their child's life to ensure they are safe, thriving and content.

I always knew this but never fully understood it until Miss Elsa was conceived. I was thinking of these sacrifices earlier this week as I was trying to get ointment in her eye to help take care of her eye goop issue. She was fussing, skillfully turning her head from side to side to dodge the glob of ointment I was trying to smear in her eye. She certainly wasn't enjoying herself and I wasn't necessarily having fun, either. But I kept pursuing her eye because I knew that it ultimately would be the best for her in the long-term.

While some of my sacrifices have been small (no sushi or deli meat during pregnancy, cutting back on caffeine, eliminating my favorite belly sleeping position, digging out boogers from her nose), others have been more significant. Like quitting my job so I can care for her full-time, cutting sweets out of my diet to be a more positive role model, and, for a short time, feeding her every two hours to increase her food in-take.

Some of these sacrifices weren't necessarily required. They were choices that Carl and I made to help ensure we were doing all we could to keep Elsa healthy and developing. And I know that some people may not agree with all of my choices. I kept that in mind when I recently read a post in "The Art of Making a Baby". The woman who writes this blog had made the choice to essentially go into a self-imposed isolation while pregnant. Aside from prenatal check-ups, she is determined to limit her contact with other individuals (aside from her husband) during the 9+ months of pregnancy. This will keep her home-bound and away from friends and family.

This blog came to my attention through my online mommy group, where everyone had an opinion about this woman's sacrifice! However, I didn't write about this today to pass judgment on her choices. No matter how right or mislead she may be (I'll leave that up to you to decide), you can't dispute the fact that she is determined to do all she can to do what she believes is best for her future child. This shows the level of commitment and sacrifice us parents are willing to go through to do what we believe is best for our children.

It's pretty amazing what we will give up or take on to keep our little ones safe!