Yes, I know the title sounds a little brutal but this is real life. I grew up with a dairy farmer dad who had started a little farm at our house. One year we decided to change it up a little bit from steers and get lambs. We had lots of cute little lambs and I instantly fell in love with them. I even picked out my own lamb that was all white and I named her “Angel.” I loved her and I would pick her up and carry her all the time.
One day I remember going outside to visit my sweet little lamb and as I walked to the barn I looked on the ground and I could see little tails that had fallen off of the lambs all over everywhere. I was so sad. I felt horrible for these lambs and I was so mad that my dad had done this. I knew he was putting rubber bands on their tails but I had no idea that it would do that.
Why did he take their tails off??
They didn’t deserve this.
There must be another way…
The truth is that taking the tail off of a lamb saves so much headache. It helps with diseases and lots of other things. It’s so much healthier for them. There are lots of beneficial reasons to taking the tail off the lambs.
Why am I talking about this you ask?? Well, the reason is because as a mother, we have times where we have to “Take the tail off our lambs.” It is so heartbreaking for our hearts. In fact, we have lots and lots of times where we have to “dock” our own kid’s tails, as they would call it. It’s so painful and they have no idea that we feel terrible that they have to go through it.
I wish so badly we could take it away and not have to face any hard times or trials in our life.
When my oldest little girl was born she was called a “HIE” baby which here is the exact definition
“Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE, is the brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation to the brain, also commonly known as intrapartum asphyxia. The newborn’s body can compensate for brief periods of depleted oxygen, but if the asphyxia lasts too long, brain tissue is destroyed.”
Since she had problems with her brain during childbirth they were worried about her brain swelling and causing damage to the brain. They decided to put her under a “Cooling Cap Treatment”. What this basically means is to put her body into hyperthermia so that way it would protect her brain from swelling. This was such a hard thing for me because #1 she was my fist baby and I had no idea what to expect. #2 This meant that I couldn’t hold her for three days because that is how long the treatment was. #3 I thought my whole life was crashing down on me and I wouldn’t ever get through this. I didn’t want her to have to go through this at such a young age. Her first start of life to be this. I can’t imagine how hard it is for those friends I made while I was there that had lived there for months and months with their baby. I wish I could just give you the answer to why this happens. I wish so badly that I wouldn’t have to hurt our lambs for their own good.
I understand that trials aren’t always as bold as this. Sometimes we have to watch our cute babies go through little colds or sad fevers. I also understand that sometimes we have to watch loved ones go through mental unseen pains. I want to shake my young high school self so bad and tell her she is beautiful and to stop struggling with confidence. Even my little girls tell me they aren’t pretty when they wake up with crazy hair and fuzzy pajamas. They think that they are only “pretty” when they are in their princesses dresses. I think they are far more beautiful when they first wake up.
You are brave and you can get through this. Then one day your baby will by mommies and daddies and they will know why you put them through all these horrible things, and why they even had to do some of these things alone and on their own.
As painful as this is to remember, you are doing an amazing job! You can get through whatever trial you are facing that you are weeping so much inside while you watch your child go through these pains of sickness, health, self-confidence, and heartache. Love them. Pray for them. Hold them.
Just remember that these little lambs got through this moment in their lives quickly. Our little lamb babies deserve to have the best life and it will pass, or it may be something they will have to deal with their entire life. I love this quote by Thomas S. Monson and it says “We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
xoxo Pretties.
