The Merrimack Mommy Chronicles: "Between the Sheets"

For those of us who are blessed to be parents, we understand that parenting comes with some tremendous perks, which are accompanied by some tremendous inconveniences.  Your whole entire schedule changes, and for some parents, it can be really difficult trying to find a balance between finding moments of intimacy with one another, or spending time doing things you enjoy doing: especially in the early years. 

Well, my husband and I were really trying to adjust to finding times of intimate moments after we had our first baby.  I was breastfeeding for the first time, and to be quite honest, you don’t even think about being intimate – it’s the furthest from your mind!  You’re tired, sleepy, hungry, irritable, and you don’t feel pretty by any stretch of the term, and here comes your beloved husband, wanting to spend intimate time with you. 

Well, I don’t know about you, but it took my husband and I quite some time to get back into a rhythm of intimacy.  For months we would tip-toe around, waiting for my daughter to go to sleep.  It became a “game” of sorts in our house, that the moment she would go down for a nap, my husband and I would scramble up, each get in separate showers, and ready ourselves for one another.  It was quite the event. 

Well, this particular time, my husband didn’t quite feel like waiting for our daughter, now 11 months, to go to sleep.  “She’s a baby.  She’s only a year old.  She has no idea what’s going on”, he said so assuredly.  “Let’s just put her in her playpen at the end of our bed, and put some toys in there, and she will be fine.  She will have no idea what’s going on.”  “Okay,” I say hesitantly. 

So, here we go!  We attempt to seize the moment.  We put her in her playpen, with toys everywhere.  She’s sitting playing so nicely, and I feel less hesitant, and more confident that we can truly enjoy one another.  We begin our intimate adventure, when all of a sudden, I scream: “Ahhhh!!!”  My husband jumps up and screams back at me:  “What?  What is it?”  I point to my daughter who has moved from playing with her toys, to standing straight up watching us. 

Word to the wise:  Never, ever, ever, ever, ever (get my drift?) seize an intimate moment, while your children are awake; no matter how “distracted” you think they are.  You will always get caught between the sheets! But nevertheless, you will naturally get a great laugh! 

P.S. Get your Motherhood the Musical tickets today by visiting www.merrimackhall.com or calling (256) 534-6455 and tell them Kristen sent you from the Merrimack Mommy Chronicles.

~Kristen