Sex after children

[Johnsfour]

I know nothing is "normal" in anyones relationship.....

My wife/partner is off sex. Two children quite close together. First one 2 and six months. Second, just one. In calender 2012 we have made love twice......in the year before, ( after first, then pregnant with second), possibly 5 times ( including the conception of number 2).

Both natural births, both pretty quick, no major complications. Now, no libido, no interest, excuses ( tired, just do not feel like it) and specific reasons; "everything just feels different down there".

Not an easy question to ask friends: "how quickly did you get back to occasional sex, yet along regular sex ?". I have been as understanding and patient as I think I can be. The current position, is no sex, no sex envisaged for the indefinite future.

I should add, before marriage three years ago, we made love keenly almost every evening we spent together. Regular, enjoyable ( for both of us) and initiated by both of us.

It has become a taboo subject between us, and I am not keen on getting pushed away ........

what to do ? Advice ? How quickly do other couples get back to occasional sex ?

Charbon -

Isn't the question why would you want sex with someone who didn't want it, Loris?

No, that's not the question we're discussing (as raised by OMC). That's a different question.

Me and my DH go through phases. We go ages with none and then have loads in a week. Probably. Week of every month we are at it like rabbits and then the rest of the time I don't want any. We only have one two year old though, and he's a good sleeper so I get rest at night (mostly). I would definitely say that resentment makes me want to push him away sometimes though. If he doesn't do his share round the house (he hardly ever does if I'm honest) and if I've been mauled by out two year old all day I just want to sit at opposite ends of the sofa from him.

Loris you are the one asking OMC to explain why someone who feels they don't want sex shouldn't acquiesce to pressure to have it - the answer is because it is their body and they get to decide what to do with it.

It is clear to me that you don't understand consent.

For example woman doesn't want sex, man does, woman acquiesces to sex because of the pressure of the man still wanting/expecting sex despite her not wanting to, if man attempts to ascertain consent the woman's feelings, if she is freely able to speak about them, would become apparent, if she isn't then there must be coercion. Fact is most men don't ask, don't feel they need to ask and actually lots, like you - don't seem to care. Which is why charbon asked that question.

Totally ridiculous that you wouldn't answer that question AND said my answering the question you asked was irrelevant.

The point of loris' question was to explain why having sex when you don't want to to "make your partner happy" WAS coercion. A partner that respected and loved you and didn't feel entitled to your body would not want to have sex on with you when you didn't want to, they would care about how you felt.

Charbon's question even.

There's a category difference between feeling desire for sex, wanting to make your partner feel good, letting someone make love to you and not stopping someone.

Consent isn't mysterious...

If you don't want to have sex, don't have it.
If you don't want sex your self, but don't mind if your partner wants you and let them make love to you... that's up to you.

We don't want people pressured into sex... and it happens both ways, FWIW...

Offred -

Loris you are the one asking OMC to explain why someone who feels they don't want sex shouldn't acquiesce to pressure to have it

Who said anything about pressure?

OMC said noone should have sex when they don't want it. He said nothing whatsoever about the reason for having it being pressure.

It is clear to me that you don't understand consent.For example woman doesn't want sex, man does, woman acquiesces to sex because of the pressure of the man still wanting/expecting sex despite her not wanting to, if man attempts to ascertain consent the woman's feelings, if she is freely able to speak about them, would become apparent, if she isn't then there must be coercion.

It depends what you mean by her being not "freely able to speak about them". You seem to assume that if she doesn't freely speak about them, it must be entirely because of something the man is doing to stop her. The dynamics of communication are of course often, in reality, much more complex than that.

But more to the point, your example is only one of many in which people may have sex without wanting it. You keep trying to bring it back to coercion, which was not in the original statement and has nothing to do with my question about it.

Fact is most men don't ask, don't feel they need to ask and actually lots, like you - don't seem to care. Which is why charbon asked that question.

And now you're making vile assumptions about me based on this strange parallel conversation that you've invented, just because I don't automatically accept your completely illogical point of view every time you try to change the subject. Nice.

Totally ridiculous that you wouldn't answer that question AND said my answering the question you asked was irrelevant.

I have no problem with answering Charbon's question. I'm not entirely sure whether she meant it as a general question ("you" as in "one") or whether she was soliciting my personal feelings about it. But I never said I wasn't happy to answer it. What I said was that it wasn't the question we were discussing. Because it wasn't.

With all due respect you seem absolutely hell bent on changing this conversation to one about something else. I'm happy to clarify my position or answer questions about anything else, so there's no need to go about assuming what you think it must be. But I also stand by my right to ask a simple question about a statement OMC made and invite him to answer it, or anyone else interested to chime in. If you're not interested in THAT question, then you are free to ignore it rather than insisting on derailing.

Monkey face grace. I don't think you are for having a sex drive 4 days after birth. I do think you are very unusual. please read the comments on this thread about shagging in the post natal ward.

Who stated the coercion was only ever coming from the partner? You pick bits out of context in my posts and you assume and misinterpret until they mean what you would like them to.