While becoming parents is one of the best things in the world, it is unrealistic to think that it won’t affect or change the relationship between you and your partner.
Becoming parents together is something that can really strengthen your bond as partners, but it is also something that greatly changes the dynamics of the relationship you have already had, and it can bring a lot of new pressures and stresses into the equation.
Luckily, you don’t need to panic.
There are lots of things that you can do to make sure that you are nurturing and looking after your relationship with your partner during this tricky transition.
Just because it is difficult doesn’t mean that it can’t be successful. It just takes a little extra care and attention, that’s all.
Here are my top 3 pieces of advice for couples moving from the couple stage to the parents stage in their life. Hopefully, these will help you continue to nurture and tend to your relationship in this brand new era of your life and help you to keep things on track for a little longer.
If you have tips and tricks that might help other couples out in this area, don’t hesitate to drop us a comment below and let us know.
Keep your relationship a priority
When you become a parent it is very easy to feel like your child is all you think and care about. Of course, your child is one of your very top priorities and it is natural to feel this way. However, you also need to remember that your relationship with your partner is a top priority to and your partner needs to feel that this is, in fact, still the case.
Keep checking in with your partner and making time for affection and quality time. Even when you are extremely tired and sleep-deprived, making sure that you take the time to cuddle your partner before bed is just one thing you can do to make sure that they still feel seen and loved.
Everyone needs to feel like a priority to their partner. If they don’t, this is where things can easily start to go wrong.
Schedule weekly date nights
Actually planning and scheduling in time to be together is one of the best ways to make sure that you do it.
A date night doesn’t have to be getting dressed fancily and going out to a restaurant. It could be anything that suits you and your partner.
You could have a movie night, go for a long walk, go to the cinema, go visit some old friends.
Whatever it is doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you are planning time to spend time with your partner alone.
Use up your babysitting offers to make this happen and make sure you pick someone that you trust so that you can fully relax when you are away from your child because this is important for date night. While you are with your partner alone, try your absolute best to keep your attention just on them, and not your child.
If you do this consistently, you have the best chance of keeping your relationship healthy and alive.
Consider relationship counselling
Some people think that relationship counselling is something that you only go to when your relationship is really in trouble, but this isn’t the case at all.
If you are finding the transition into parenthood challenging, it can be a great thing for both of you to attend some relationship counselling.
It is a safe space for you both to express your feelings, understand each other, and move forward with some new tools to help you in your relationship.
We all need a little relationship maintenance sometimes and that is ok.
The only thing that differentiates whether we will stay together or not as a couple is if we are both willing to put in this maintenance and work.
If you want your relationship to work as parents, it just requires a little more fine-tuning and effort.
If you get that down, you will be ok in the end.
