UAE Parents Say: How to make marriage work after kids
Covid-19 is putting a strain on even the strongest couples - UAE parents share their tips
Tune back into each other
Nazaakat Suleman, mum to Nuwairah, eight months
“It can be really tough when you haven’t got family, or house-help. Before we got our nanny, we used to make sure we had some “just us two” time every couple of weeks. It’d be really simple things like going to a spin class together, going for a coffee, having a nice dinner. This helps us tune back into each other as the husband and the wife, rather than the father and the mother.”
Honesty is the best policy
Bedriya Al Saeed, mum of two daughters, aged four years and four months
"Conflict is natural, but resolving conflict is better done when you’re honest about your feelings rather than pointing your finger, or playing the blame game. Share your feelings with your partner. Neither one of you can possibly guess what the other is feeling.Secondly, don’t be mad at your partner for not doing things your way. For example, he doesn’t put on the diaper as tight as I do. I remind myself that I’m happy to have a husband that’s comfortable with changing diapers. You and your spouse are both getting a hang of this parenting thing."
Sharing is caring
Christina Cromlish, mum of Zaid, six months
"Having a baby completely changes what is “everyday life” in a household. A clean house suddenly never is. Quiet evenings at home filled with rest, Netflix or exploring different things to do around town are suddenly replaced by rushing for bath time and rocking baby to sleep in the evenings. The lack of sleep probably doesn’t help either.
"My advice for keeping your relationship strong is to parent together and share the workload that comes along with a new baby as much as possible, making it easier on each other. It really helps with understanding where you’re both coming from and the bonus is that baby will be just as bonded to Baba as they are to Mama"
Find the silver lining
Samah Eksheir, mum of Annabella, age two
"We have been supporting each other and looking after each other as parents in taking care of our baby. She was in intensive care for a long time when she was first born. It made us closer to each other. Sometimes difficulties can actually bring people closer together."
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Sarah Slight, mum of two boys, age five and three
"My tip for keeping your relationship strong after having a baby is to make sure you continue to communicate with each other. Once you have come out of the fog of the first month or so, try to find opportunities for you and your husband to spend time together alone. If you have someone who can babysit once a week, or a couple of times a month, organise date nights and enjoy each other’s company."
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