Having a baby often results in a reordering of priorities, including your relationships. Babies are time-intensive, and many women find that they have less time for friends, relatives, and even their partner after a baby enters their lives. As a new mom, your baby takes priority, particularly when you are adjusting to the newness of the situation. And when you're not with your baby, you may feel quite tired and prefer a few hours of sleep to spending time with a friend.

Friends

As important as your friends are, they can end up taking a back seat to parenthood. Many women find that their friendships shift after having children. Friends who have children simply understand and relate better than childless friends. There is less time to hang out with friends and do adult activities. This does not mean that women who have children lose all their childless friends; however, you may find that it takes a little more effort to maintain your friendships after your little one arrives.

Relatives

Family members often become closer after the birth of a child. Everyone wants to see the new baby, and the baby's grandparents, aunts, and uncles often clamor for the right to baby-sit and visit. Seeing that much of your family might be quite a change, but often a baby brings you closer to your female relatives, who now can relate to you on a completely new level.

Your Partner

Becoming parents is a whole new stage of your committed relationship and is a wonderful new way to rediscover each other. However, as glorious as it might be to see your partner become a parent, the stress and sleep deprivation of new parenthood can magnify existing problems in your relationship. Suddenly a toilet seat left up can become the end of the world. And the hormones associated with pregnancy and the postpartum period can certainly make things quite difficult.

Parenting together requires a new kind of cooperation, understanding, and skill. You'll likely see new and amazing things in your partner as you simultaneously become outraged at his or her inability to fasten snaps on baby clothes. Deciding to become parents together is something that can never be undone. For the rest of your lives, you will be that child's parents together no matter what. It is an awesome undertaking and a giant commitment to each other and to your child.