New baby

This year will see a number of exciting developments on thecoupleconnection.net to help both new parents and parents to be in strengthening their relationship.

Research shows that whilst becoming parents can put enormous strain on your relationship – it is also a time when couples feel really motivated to make things better. So over the next few months you will find new articles, films, quizzes and courses specifically to help you manage the changes that having a new baby brings.

Regular users of the Talk it Out section will have seen that the forum now includes dedicated areas making it easier to talk to others who may be in a similar situation.

The Becoming a Parent area is a space for first time parents but also for those couples who are already parents but have just had a new baby.

Becoming parents together for the first time takes your relationship on to a whole new level; you are no longer ‘just a couple’ but a ‘family’. This is exciting but also the responsibility can be quite daunting – one thing is for certain, life as you know it has changed forever.

You may find yourself spending hours just staring with wonder at your baby – transfixed by every move and noise they make – overwhelmed by the fact that together you and your partner have created a new little person

Each ‘first’ is a moment to cherish, and that you will probably want to share: their first smile, first word, and first wobbly steps - the first night slept through! Learning to be parents together can be a bonding experience like no other.

But with these special shared moments also come the (often unexpected) stresses and strains on your relationship. For most couples lack of sleep can be the biggest strain. There is no tiredness that is quite like it – the utter exhaustion can make you feel physically ill, too tired to speak and emotionally oversensitive.

Consequently the smallest things can seem like huge problems and you might find your relationship swinging between perfect happiness and extreme frustration.

Along with a new baby comes a wealth of different experiences to share and learn from. Today families are increasingly diverse so we want to hear from everyone - young parents, older parents, and unplanned pregnancies, couples who have gone through years of IVF, adoptive parents, and those whose new baby is the youngest of a growing brood.

According to a survey carried out by the National Childbirth Trust in 2008 20% of couples without children thought life with a newborn would be terrifying and 28% thought it would be worrying. However, 44% thought it would be happy and 45% thought it be would be exciting.

Whatever your situation or your attitude – one thing is common ... babies change relationships. So why not use the Becoming a Parent section of the forum to ask questions of other new parents, share your worries, your joys and learn from the experiences of others.  Over the next few months we hope that lots of new parents will use both the existing content on thecoupleconnection.net and sign up for our first course – if you would like to be notified about the course for new parents in the autumn please contact admin@thecoupleconnection.net