Do babies ruin marriages?

My husband and I had our pettiest fight ever last night. It was about who got in bed last and who should have to get up to turn out the light.

I know — I’m not proud of this.

My husband and I never fought before having our daughter two years ago. I had my career and he had his, so we enjoyed the time we had together and never really had any reason to argue.

Since having a child, however, we seem to have an abundance of things to argue about — everything from whether to spank to whose turn it is to change a dirty diaper. I never thought I’d be one of those couples that fights over changing diapers, but when you’ve changed what seems like a million in the past two years, it suddenly matters whose turn it is — and I’ll fight to the death to prove it’s not mine.

Now I know some of you are reading this and thinking I’m the most juvenile, petty person on the planet. Perhaps you’re right.

I do truly love my husband and there is no one I’d rather have as my child’s father. It’s just that since we became parents, we’ve had a rough time navigating our new roles as mommy and daddy in terms of what that means for our relationship as husband and wife.

Apparently, we’re not alone. A new study by the University of Denver tracked couples for eight years and found that 90 percent of them had a decrease of martial bliss after having their first child.

The study showed that couples who do not have children also show diminished marital satisfaction over time, but having a baby accelerates that deterioration. And the biggest nosedive for marital bliss? You guessed it — right after the birth of a child.

So, what do we do? Did your marriage go through a rough patch after your first child was born? Any advice on how to hold onto your marriage while also creating a family?

(P.S. In case you were wondering, I was the one who got up and turned out the light. Man, I’m such a good person.)