Becoming a new parent is something which nothing can really prepare you for despite what the parenting books may say.  No matter how hard you try to anticipate all of the challenges and ready for anything that comes your way, there will be moments when you find yourself in for surprises.

Parenting is one of those things that you can never do perfectly regardless of the amount of preparation on your part. Here are some of the things that you can expect to come up during your first few years as a new parent.

Health Scares

Part of adjusting to being a new parent is looking out for the well-being of your little one. Because of this newfound massive responsibility for keeping them out of harm’s way, you may find yourself worrying about things that aren’t worth worrying about.

Every little rash or bump on the head convinces you that it’s time to go to emergency services. However, as you start to ease into your role as a parent, you will eventually worry less without imagining the worst case scenario every time.  If you have a second or third child, eventually you’ll find that you’ll be even more relaxed about health scares.

Less of a Social Life

When you become a parent, your primary focus becomes on your child rather than social life.  Although it can be frustrating to adjust to seeing your friends less initially, you’ll start to become used to it.  Your real friends will make time for you even if it means coming to your house with you and your little one.

Over time you’ll start to make more friends who also have kids themselves, and you’ll find activities together which are kid-friendly.

Lack of Sleep

In case you haven’t heard yet, babies don’t sleep for long stretches in the beginning. Unlike adults who sleep for long stretches, babies don’t come into the world ready to sleep longer than 2-4 hours at a time.

It’s essential for their development to wake up at least every 4 hours to eat.  Since they’re so small and weak in the beginning, they need all of the food that they can get to keep their strength up.

Never Ending Laundry

When your little one is first born, they’ll probably have a lot of blowouts.  No, we aren’t talking about tires, but explosive poopy diapers.

You’ll find yourself doing laundry much more than before, and it will only get worse as they get older. As kids become mobile and grabbing things, they'll start accumulating more and more stains on their clothes which will leave your laundry hamper full on a regular basis regardless of how on top of it you are.