#82: From Chaos to Clarity: A Guide to Surviving Parenthood as a Couple

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It can be tough to maintain a strong relationship with your partner when you become parents.

Between the sleepless nights, constant demands from your kids, and never-ending housework, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and alone.

Catherine O'Brien is an expert on this subject. She is an LMFT and author of the book Happy With Baby, Essential Relationship Advice When Partners Become Parents. Catherine is committed to supporting couples when they bring kids into their lives.

If you're a parent, there's a good chance you've experienced at least a little bit of chaos in your life. And if you're like most parents, you want to do everything possible to avoid letting that chaos consume your relationship with your partner. This week in the Love Shack, we're interviewing Catherine O'Brien, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of HappyWithBaby.com. We're talking about how to manage the challenges of parenthood while still maintaining a strong connection with your partner. If you're looking for ways to survive parenthood as a couple, this episode is for you!

We'll also share some easy strategies that you can use right away to start reconnecting as a couple again. So you can, finally, stop wondering things like:

• Will I be enough to go around and meet the demands of the people I love?
  
  
• Is it normal to feel alone, even when I am laying right next to my partner?
  
  
• Is fighting about the kids normal? if so, for how long?
  
  
• Is it possible to be partners in love AND partners as parents?

Catherine O'Brien knows what it's like to be overwhelmed, out of energy, and out of ideas as a new parent. She created Happy With Baby in order for new and expecting parents to discover the advice she wishes she could have had when managing expectations of parenthood and relationships.

Catherine is passionate about helping new parents to communicate and thrive through this transition, equipping them to be effective caregivers and with a happy marriage. She acts as a California state co-coordinator for Postpartum Support International and helped to establish A Mother's Heart in Sacramento, where mothers with perinatal and anxiety disorders go to receive support. Additionally, she participates in the Sacramento Maternal Mental Health Collaborative.

In this episode, we're covering several key topics about how to survive parenthood as a couple, including:

• What role do outside forces play in new parents finding their way?
  
  
• What can moms do to manage overwhelm?
  
  
• Do things get easier for parents after the first hectic years?
  
  
• What are some daily self-care things parents should be doing?
  
  
• What are the things parents need to be talking about to increase communication and decrease stress?

Listen in live Thursday at 1 pm PST/4 pm EST -- and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Important Links:

1. Get your copy of my brand new book Feeling Like Your Marriage Is Dead? http://lifetimeoflove.me/
   
   
2. Want to learn how to stop a fight in 20-seconds or less? Get the cheat sheet here. https://stacibartley.com/stopfight
   
   
3. Miss our past episodes? Check them all out here: https://stacibartley.com/podcast
   
   
4. Relationship Check-up - tired of re-hashing your issues with your partner without making progress? Schedule your check-up today! https://stacibartley.com/checkup/