Challenges of Parenthood: Worrying

I was never a worrier until Steve and I started talking about having a baby – and then the worrying started. Are we ready to be parents? When should we have a baby? Will we be able to get pregnant?

Once we were pregnant, the REAL worrying began… Worrying over serious matters like miscarriage, blood tests and their results, the baby's progress, and eventually labor and delivery. Worrying about the baby's movements, what I was eating and getting enough calories, being careful not to fall or bump my belly too hard. Worrying over silly things that only pregnancy can make you worry over, like: what if the pregnancy test was wrong and we're not really pregnant? Does this dust ruffle REALLY match that crib sheet? Or do those curtains look right with that baby quilt? The list goes on and on.

I often thought when I was pregnant that I couldn't WAIT to give birth, just so I could stop worrying over everything. Oh, how comical. Little did I know that with that first little cry of our son being born came more worries than ever.

When Wesley was first born I thoughts that Steve and I had become expert worriers. Some of the things we worry about are actually worth worrying over, and others aren't – but that doesn't stop us. Worrying over whether to give Tylenol or not, whether to take him to the pediatrician or not, whether to get elective shots or not… Is he eating enough? Is he eating too much? Is he sleeping enough? Is he sleeping too much? Should we keep swaddling him, or stop? Why is he crying? Should we move him to his crib yet? Why is his poop that color? Is he too hot, or maybe too cold?

For awhile I thought that we might go certifiably insane with worry, and that other people would think we were crazy for worrying over such things. But now I realize why when I say to my mom "Stop worrying about me!" she says "I will ALWAYS worry about you." It's because Steve and I are not expert worriers, we are parents. And as long as we are parents, we will always worry.

- Deanna