DadsAdventure

Tough Transformation

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Your first child is one of the greatest challenges you and your wife will face. Financially, emotionally, physically and sexually, no aspect of your relationship is exempt from this trial by fire.

Many couples approach parenthood in the mistaken belief that having a baby will repair their relationships. Although some do get better, most do not, and couples get caught in a cycle of disappointment, misunderstanding, frustration and conflict.

A variety of studies have found that about half of couples with a new baby experienced a moderate to severe decline in marital satisfaction. They reported declining feelings of love and decreasing communication, combined with increasing conflict and ambivalence.

Thirty percent of couples reported no significant change in their marriages, and about twenty percent reported that their marriages actually improved. This is where you will want to end up, of course.

The first month there are a lot of changes going on with everybody. I was learning how to be a dad and help out. My wife was learning how to be a mother.

And both of us were trying to figure out the different cues our baby was sending us . . . My wife was also going through hormonal changes.
- Veteran Father