parenting...a cruel joke?

I sometimes wonder what I've gotten myself into. Having a child has to be the worse torture known to mankind. When you're pregnant you worry.... you worry about miscarrying... you worry about eating hot-dogs... you worry that you're drinking too much coffee... you worry that the stitch in your side could be a sign of something wrong.... you worry when the ultrasound technician has a strange look on her face. You literally torture yourself with thoughts and would do anything possible to see your little fetus thrive. Then, that fetus grows and becomes a new born baby. Now your worries have simply intensified beyond explanation. Your new born makes you think ahead to her first fall, her first scrape, her first (god forbid) visit to the hospital.... What in the world have I gotten myself into? You put her to sleep at night and check on her a thousand times to see her chest rise and fall. Everyday you wonder if she's reached the proper milestones a baby of her age should. You gasp when the nurse tells you your baby's head might be a little on the larger side. You go into complete hysterics when she writes you a requisition for an ultrasound to look into the large head. I have come to the realisation that parenting is the most torturous thing ever... Why didn't any book prepare me for this? My child is only 6 months old and I feel as though I've aged by 20 years from all the worry. As with most things I've learned post-baby, I blame this on the secret world of parenting...something like a private club... a world you cannot know of or become a part of until you're a parent yourself. I know I'm doomed. I know what lies ahead of me, are more years of pure torture, as my little baby girl grows, learns and discovers. *Sigh!*