Q. I just stumbled across your site while almost weeping with desperation. Our baby girl is 9 weeks old and my husband and I fight nonstop. We are both so into our baby and are madly in love with her. And my husband does a lot … cooking, tidying up our home, picking up groceries etc....
Q. My mother in law is causing me a lot of stress. My husband and I have two children.We have a very loving relationship, a happy marraige and a very happy home. When I returned home after having my second baby, my mother-in-law took over the house. She told my husband to say good bye to me and go stay with his father because he would be no use to me.
Question: I need advice! I’m 30 years old and my husband is 35 we just had our first child 3 months ago. Neither of us had any other children so it is a first for both of us. He is a person that experienced a hard childhood with his father and does not want to be...
Did-Enough Dads - These are the Dads who do just enough to get by. Domestic Shortcuts (skipping baths and teeth brushing) are Standard Operating Procedure, and they make liberal use of Convenience Cards (TV, McDonald’s, 1-800-Grandma).
Google “happiness and having children” and you’ll find a lot of depressing studies that seem to conclude that we have a national epidemic of miserable parents on our hands. The three of us have to admit that, in some respects, a good response to our own “what happened to my body/career/marriage since I had kids?” questions would have been a fairly swift kick in the ass.
When my first kid was about three months old I reached my breaking point. I was downright exhausted and needed my husband, Ross, to pick up some slack. (Let me preface this by saying that Ross is a great guy. This happened during the early days of parenting when 'he just didn't get it.') One time, I remember telling him that all I cared about was stepping on some sort of exercise apparatus, improving my overall hygiene, and getting a few hours of shuteye. At the end of the day, he was no where in sight. Where's Waldo? I called him on his cell and of course he said he was on his way shortly. And what did I hear in the background? I could swear it sounded suspiciously like a combination of Golden Tee and a keg being tapped.
Last month, as I was eating dinner at a new restaurant in Austin called Eleven Plates, I noticed Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly Buffington-Quaid, talking to one of the servers at the bar. I don't usually stare at celebrities, but in this instance, I couldn't take my eyes off them. Dennis looked unhappy, withdrawn, almost defeated. Kimberly looked like she was trying to make an effort, but still seemed sad underneath it all. As they slowly walked out the door, I couldn't help but wonder, why did they look so miserable? Did they have a bad meal? Were they unhappy with their service? But it was so much more than that. Then it hit me. With two young children, four-year-old twins, at home, they are no doubt going through the toughest stage in a marriage. Maybe they're having marital problems? Fast-forward a few weeks, and here we are reading the headline: Dennis Quaid's Wife Files for Divorce. According to court papers, Buffington-Quaid says she is filing for divorce because things have "become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities." Are they, yet, another Babyproofing casualty?
“Trying to figure out what will get my wife in the mood for sex is like playing Whack-A-Mole.” —Dan, married 9 years, 2 kids
It’s hard to have perspective about this stage of our lives. We can’t see too far beyond the next milestone: “Things will be so much easier when he’s potty trained/in preschool/making his own lunch/driving a car.” But we can get some perspective from couples who have been down this road already. Even though marriage and parenting have changed dramatically in a generation or two, the fundamental experience of adjusting to parenthood remains basically the same. The parenting veterans once found it as shocking as we do now. They felt their way along in the dark just like we’re all attempting to do.
Hillary Duff’s Marriage Advice for New Moms
Tori Spelling: Baby No. 4 On The Way
Is Jessica and Eric’s Relationship Ready for Baby?
Dennis Quaid Divorce: Another Couple That Didn’t Babyproof?
Bethenny Frankel Learns that Parenthood Changes Everything
How Jay Z and Beyonce Can Baby Proof Their Marriage
Gwyneth Paltrow, “The Good Wife,” or a Good Partner?
Why Brad and Angelina’s Kids Want More
Heidi Klum and Seal divorce. What went wrong?
Body After Baby: Let’s Get Real | Babyproofing Your Marriage is available at any major bookstore, or online: |