Becoming New Parents
Baby proof your relationship
The transition into parenthood is often said to be one of the most positive and exciting life events two people can experience together.
A baby can bring much personal joy and positive changes to your marriage. Having a baby is also well recognized for its challenges, including those that can lead to a severe decline in marital satisfaction.
We all know to expect the usual issues such as sleep deprivation, the loss of a clean house, financial issues, sex and intimacy are no longer happening let alone on the horizon. Couples who already have children fully understand that having a baby is a stress test on the marriage like no other.
When a couple has their first child, everything good in a marriage becomes even better, like enjoying an increased level of connection as you share the enthusiasm and new experiences you have with your little one.
Sadly the opposite is also true in that everything bad in the marriage actually gets worse. If a couple is already a bit distant with each other prior to the baby’s arrival, they are at greater risk of experiencing the child as a wedge between them.
Maria, age 37, together 10 years,
now with two children aged 5 & 3
Prepare for baby
Because the arrival of a baby can intensify every minor unresolved issue between a couple, we suggest supportive counselling to help prepare for parenthood. It can minimize any hardship that new parents typically experience and support the couple to enjoy their relationship and parenting a new baby.
Issues and differences that the couple didn’t know existed between them will eventually come out. Through marriage counselling, couples will gain a sense of strengthening their relationship and be better equipped to manage the challenges of being a new parent.
Some of the topics discussed include:
- ❯ Staying connected
- ❯ Preserving intimacy and romance in the marriage
- ❯ Defining new roles
- ❯ Identifying expectations and assumptions of the new roles
- ❯ Discussing how your were parented and what you would do the same or different to your parents
- ❯ How to create a loving family life together
- ❯ The importance of mothers and the importance of fathers
- ❯ Becoming a great parenting team.