How Parenting Can Strengthen Your Marriage

Today’s guest post is by my friend Amberly of A Prioritized Marriage. I love her heart to see marriages thrive and grow in every way and her blog is full of great resources on everything from parenting and intimacy to managing finances and communications.  Make sure to pop over and check out her blog! 

Whether you’re having your first kid or your sixth, the addition of a new baby to the family is an event that can bring stress to your marriage. I will be the first to tell you that parenthood is one of the most challenging stages to adjust to in your marriage. It will stretch you as a couple and as an individual and at times, it will feel like you’ve given all that you can possibly give.

Even though parenthood can be hard, it is also one of the most exciting and rewarding adventures that you will ever embark on in your marriage. Becoming parents will challenge your relationship more than you ever thought possible. Working together in this new stage of life will also strengthen your relationship and make you a better team in every other area of your marriage.

Love will take on a whole new meaning.

I have never felt more loved by my husband than I did throughout my pregnancy, during labor and delivery and in the days/weeks of my recovery. A few months ago, I read this article and I found myself agreeing with it 100%. When I was sick during my pregnancy and after I gave birth, I learned to depend on Joe for the things that I couldn’t do myself. I’d never had to rely on my husband in that way and his service added a new dimension to the love that I have for him.

Time alone as a couple won’t be taken for granted.

Before you become parents, time alone together is something that you get used to, even if your schedules don’t allow for a lot of it. When it was just the two of us, we got used to having time together every single day, even if it was just for an hour before bed every night. Now we always have our cute little sidekick around, and he needs a lot of our attention. We may plan to spend time together at the end of every day, but sometimes those plans get set aside if the baby isn’t feeling good and can’t sleep or if we’ve all had a long day and really just need to go to bed. Spending time together as a family is always a lot of fun, but we really cherish the moments that involve just the two of us.

Your time together will be more intentional.

Because time together is so rare, you’ll find yourself being more intentional with it. There will still be nights when you sit down with a bowl of popcorn and binge watch your favorite show on Netflix together, but now more than ever, you need to put effort into making your marriage a priority. Whether you have an hour at the end of the day together, are out for your weekly date night  or enjoying your first weekend away without the baby, make the most of your time together. The more intentional you are when you are together, the more your relationship will grow.

You will see your spouse in a new light.

I’d seen my husband interact with kids before, but watching him with our son on a daily basis has been a different experience. Watching the two of them play together and seeing how excited our little one gets when he sees daddy puts a perma-grin on my face. They have their own games, inside jokes and cute little rituals. When Bensen is old enough to follow his daddy around the house and the yard, I’m sure it will be even more fun to watch. I love seeing little bits of Joe’s personality shine through in our little man and I know that he’ll grow up to be an amazing man by following in his daddy’s footsteps.

Adjusting to your new stage in life together can be a challenge, but challenges are meant to make us stronger. Find ways to make your spouse a priority every single day and communicate often about the obstacles that you are facing as a couple. If you work together, the hard times will benefit your marriage as much, if not more, than the good times do. Don’t put your relationship on the back burner because a little one comes along, continue to work on it so that it will continue to get better!

Make sure to check out Amberly’s blog or follow her to get updates on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest,  or Periscope.