Can You Have a Satisfying Sex Life After Having Kids?

When you read the question in the title of this blog, many wives will say, “no, I’m too tired” and many husbands will say, “no, she’s too tired and pre-occupied.” And that can be sad but true. But does that mean that you won’t have sex as husband and wife until the children are grown and out of the house?
Lets hope not. Your marriage may not survive that long.

“In a marriage, sex is the spice that rescues our relationships from becoming mundane pursuits of chores. Adult life is filled with responsibilities. We have mortgages to pay, yard work to maintain, laundry to clean, cars to service, and so on. But none of us got married so we could load up on chores. We got married out of hope. We got married because we believed there was some kind of magic between us. We got married because we believed we could have great sex together.
“A satisfying sex life can add dignity to all the other pursuits of life. It is the thing to look forward to after a dull or miserable day at work. Sex is the moment of connection that creates a deep bond, even when sprinkled weeks or months apart. Sexual union adds an underlying deposit of strength that can help hold couples together when life threatens them apart.
“…God gave you this gift to be enjoyed, savored, and strengthened. When you enhance your overall marital well-being, the rest of your life is more effective in accomplishing God’s purpose for you.” (Bill and Pam Farrel, from their book, “Red Hot Monogamy”)

Most of us would probably agree that having a satisfying sex life and romantic life together as husband and wife is important to the health of  marriages. And yet how is it possible to achieve that after you have children and you’re so tired and preoccupied (and sometimes even the desire is gone)? Let’s face it:

“As soon as the baby arrives, nearly every aspect of your relationship changes —including your love life.” (David and Claudia Arp)

It may be that before you have children:

“You swear it will never happen: you will not become one of those couples who lets the fires of romance burn out as soon as children come on the scene. You know the ones —with puke stains on their t-shirts and bags under their eyes, they seem to have little in common other than an obsession with telling everyone about their wonderful child. Then one day you wake up with the Barney theme song running through your mind. You realize that your conversations with each other now revolve around sleep (as in who has had less), poop (as in who has cleaned up more), and the new host of Blue’s Clues. Maybe keeping the romance alive is going to be tougher than you thought.
“Take heart! Though it may seem impossible, your love life can survive the Diaper Phase…”

To read more, please click into the Family Life Today- Canada web site article to read:

• SURVIVING THE DIAPER PHASE

Another related article to help you when your baby is new is written by Arlene Pellicane. She writes:

“How can you rekindle your desire for intimacy, even with a new baby? Put it on the backburner, but don’t forget about it. Having a baby does take a great amount of time, work and energy. Sex may have to go on the backburner when your baby has a need. But just like you wouldn’t leave food sitting on the backburner for weeks, don’t forget about sex completely. When the time isn’t right for you, tell your spouse you’d really like to make love another time, how about on the weekend? Set a real time and keep your commitment. Food left on the backburner will eventually go bad and the same is true about closeness in marriage if you neglect lovemaking too long.”

To learn more, please click onto the freedomeveryday.org link below to read:

• SEX AND THE NEW MOM: How to Get in the Mood When You’re Not

It’s important to survive the Diaper Phase and every phase because as parents and authors David and Claudia Arp say,

“Your kids will wait while you build your marriage, but your marriage won’t wait for your kids to grow up. …Becoming parents should not make us celibate, so how can couples have kids and still maintain a sex life?”

This is so very true. We’ve seen more marriages fail than we can count because the couple have put their children first for so many years they didn’t have enough left in their relationship to keep their marriages going after the kids left. Please don’t let this happen to you.
Here are some helpful tips the Arps give in their Marriage Partnership Magazine article, “Sex After Kids”:

Since children present obstacles to finding time alone together, look for creative ways to get together. Use the challenges, delays and separations to fuel your romance. Because it’s more difficult to make time for sex, you also appreciate it more when your plans for love succeed.
Remember that sex is God’s idea. He is the one who put the passion and desire in your heart for each other, and he wants you to celebrate your sensuality by loving each other with abandon. In a recent survey, we asked parents around the country to share tips for how to remain lovers while parenting their children. Here are their best suggestions:

• Hire a sitter to take the kids to the park on Saturday morning for a couple of hours.

• Have a weekly date night. This standing date isn’t necessarily for sex, but it adds romance to your marriage.

• On Sunday afternoons, save a favorite video for the children to watch while mom and dad “take a short rest.” Then lock your bedroom door.

• Let the kids spend the night at a friend’s house.

• Take a 24-hour getaway every couple of months. During these brief rendezvous, you can enjoy the spontaneity that just doesn’t happen at home with kids around.

• Put the kids to bed early and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home.

Now, some of this advice works when you have small children around. But what about teenagers? It’s true what Sheri Miller wrote,

“Everyone warned us that small children would impact our sex life. They forgot to mention teenagers.”

How do you overcome that obstacle? Sheila Wray Gregoire wrote a related article, which gives a few tips that you might find helpful when the kids are growing up and very aware of the fact that sex just may be going on between the two of you:

• HOW TO KEEP A HEALTHY SEX LIFE WITH TEENS IN THE HOUSE

Upon reading the above articles, not only can you make the time and find the opportunity to have sex even after the kids are born, you should. And an added bonus is that you can become a better mom if you make it your priority.  Mother and author, Karen Linamen gives the following insight:

“I believe there is no conflict of interest between motherhood and loverhood. In fact, the bond that is created by sexual intimacy between you and your husband does far more than enhance your relationship alone —it also enriches the lives of your children. That’s right! The best mothers are not those women who devote every waking moment to their children. The best mothers are, indeed, those women who take the time —make the time —to cultivate, protect, and express the lover within.”

To read her reasons why, please click onto the Pillowtalk article to read:

• MOTHERHOOD AND LOVERHOOD