Sacrifice and Self-Care

"We cannot do great things--only small things with great love."
--Mother Theresa

There are so many opportunities during pregnancy and parenthood to do small things with great love. It is the beginning of a less selfish time in one's life...and often the simplest pleasures bring tremendous joy to your spirit and those around you. Pregnancy is a time to love yourself and the baby inside of you in little ways each day--taking walks if you feel good, eating healthy, allowing your partner to give you backrubs, taking baths, and napping when possible. When you become pregnant, especially after having a miscarriage, every choice you make each day about food, sleep, and exercise considers the baby inside of you. You are making many small sacrifices each day while trying to carry this baby to term.

Many women have to make even bigger sacrifices throughout the course of their pregnancy--and they especially need to ask for support and take good care of themselves. Some women need bed rest, some have to take medications or do injections, some need progesterone suppositories, some need infusions of good antibodies, some do acupuncture, and some are constantly monitored by doctors. You may be a woman who had to do fertility treatments to become pregnant, which may have included a whole multitude of sacrifices and stressors. There are days when you may feel like a lab rat and just want to cry. If this is your situation, try to remind yourself that you chose this route to have this child...and that there are women who may even have more medical intervention to achieve a healthy pregnancy. The desire to have children is so strong that it often outweighs the risks and inconveniences that women have to go through. Despite the daily challenges, we can all feel thankful that we live in an age where there are medical interventions that can be of assistance. Honestly, all of these challenges and inconveniences will melt away when you hold this baby in your arms.

During pregnancy is a great time to begin taking better care of yourself and getting your needs met. It is an important motherhood lesson to learn--when better to begin good self-care than now? What activities make you feel better? Time alone, taking a walk, writing in a journal, exercising, cooking, or going to lunch with a friend? Nurture your own life while creating life.

What sacrifices are you making for this pregnancy? Do you need to ask for more support? What are the little ways that you can love yourself and your baby right now? What activites can you work into your routine that allow you to nurture your body, mind, and spirit? How well do you take care of yourself now--how do you think this may change when the baby arrives?

On my hard days, when I am filled with anxiety and stress, help me to remember all that I am doing each day to support this life growing inside of me. I am doing everything possible to take care of myself and my baby. This week, let me have the strength and perseverance when I feel like a "lab rat"--and help me to remember the end is in sight. Guide me into activities that provide sustenance for my body, mind, and spirit. Help me to give myself what I need right now.