Bianca Oswalda month agoMy husband (31) and I (31) have been married for five years, and I recently stopped birth control to see what happens. We’re both excited about the possibility of starting a family, but I’m also feeling a bit anxious about how to prepare our marriage for kids. I don’t want to lose the connection we have, like I’ve seen happen with some couples. I’ve heard about relationships struggling after kids—where one partner loses their identity or they divorce because of parenting stress—and I really want to avoid that. We do have our little annoyances, but overall we have a solid relationship and pretty good communication. We’ve had long discussions about potential challenges with pregnancy, parenting, and our goals for the future. We’ve talked about our non-negotiables, how involved each set of in-laws should be, and what we would do in different situations. That being said, one concern I have is that my husband tends to be a bit of a “man-child” when it comes to cleaning up after himself. I’ve tried to be understanding, but I’m worried that it will become more difficult when we have a baby. I’ve encouraged individual therapy and tried ADHD medication, but nothing has really worked, and I often find myself ignoring it. My concern is that the added responsibility of a child could make this issue harder to manage. I want to make sure that we’re truly ready and that we maintain our relationship, no matter what comes with parenthood. Does anyone know if there’s a way to “prepare” for having kids that addresses these concerns, or something like pre-marital counseling specifically for the changes parenthood brings?11.0K
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Bianca OswaldBianca Oswald