Becoming a parent for the first time stirs up all sorts of emotions -- from the excitement of growing a family to the understandable worrying about actually raising kids.
Parents are destined to always worry about something -- so, in order to ease fellow parents' minds, members of the HuffPost Parents Facebook community shared what they were initially concerned about before they had their first child, then later realized they didn't need to be.
1. Labor
"It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be though." -- Kathleen Sheldon Doss
2. Being "mom material"
"Of course I am!" -- Denise Syrbe
3. Not having enough experience
"I had never cared for an infant, EVER. Not even babysitting. I refused to let the hospital discharge us until someone showed me how to bathe and swaddle my son." -- Kim Marie Casey
4. Not having enough love
"Not loving the baby as much as I loved my dogs." -- Alison Medawar
5. Actually being able to take care of a baby
"Caring for her at home -- I felt someone trusted me to take home this little life and know what to do. I was scared to death! And 14 years later I'm still scared to death at times. But I do the best I can and love her. It's what a mother does." -- Carol Facklam
6. Doing everything perfectly -- Victoria Conly
7. Messing up
"I am extremely clumsy and was afraid I would drop [my son]. Of course I did [drop him], it was a short fall and on our bed. He was fine and just looked at me like I was weird. He was perfectly fine and he was a little over a month." -- Charity Moore
8. What other people think
"I was worried that everyone else was right when they all said that there was no way I could raise twins as a single parent. They all said that 1 baby was a lot of work, even with 2 parents so there was no way I could do 2 babies all on my own. They couldn't imagine how it could even be possible... I guess what I found out was that none of those people were me and I had nothing to worry about!" -- Traci Roberti
9. Keeping the baby safe... and alive
"I know that sounds dramatic but the responsibility was overwhelming." -- Ricky Beth Olivia Huffman
10. Not knowing what the baby needs
"Piece of cake. You know as soon as they come out; you know everything about what they want and need!" -- Lauren Olson Harrington
11. Fevers and diaper rashes
"Didn't take long to become a pro at handling both!" -- Jessica Pauling
12. Forgetting the baby somewhere
"I worried that I would forget my baby in the car or the store. Once he was born I laughed at this idea as my bond with him was so strong that I was always aware of him." -- Kim Allsup
13. Sleeping through the baby's cries
"I was terrified I would not wake up when she cried. I can still sleep through the dogs barking but even almost 4 years later one tiny sound from her room and I am on high alert." -- Katherine Kaydoe Bauza
14. Keeping germs away
"My child putting everything in his mouth. I would always sanitize everything before he had it. Now I'm like 'oh you found a worm and ate it? Well I don't have to feed you lunch now.'" -- Brytanne Buffy McWilliams
15. If the baby will love you back
"Even though I had to have the baby in daycare every day, my kids all know I am mom and love me dearly!" -- Julie Hassler Wattenberg
16. Hurting the baby while dressing him
"I felt weird about dressing my son I thought he'd be super fragile and I'd accidentally bend his arm and hurt him. But it never happened. Plus he was not tiny or fragile!" -- Michelle Batcock
17. Everything
"But everything has seemed to work out." -- Megan Enders
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