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Byline: Lauren Picker
Amber Krystallis isn't getting out much these days. She spends every waking moment at someone else's beck and call, performing a dizzying blur of tasks that never seem to satisfy her commander, much less elicit a thank you. "He's fussy most of the time," allows the Bronxville, N. Y., fashion-industry assistant who often toils away in the middle of the night, logging only about four or five hours of sleep. Preparing to unveil a designer's latest collection? Hardly. Krystallis is on maternity leave, caring for her infant son, Jackson, and realizing that new parenthood is a kind of endless episode of "Survivor"--without the sweeping views.
Whoever came up with the Peace Corps motto "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love" probably wasn't a parent. Most expectant couples are braced for sleep deprivation and dirty diapers. But the reality is much, much harder in ways that even the most informed new parents may find surprising. Research shows that marriage takes a hit when baby makes three. Gen-X parents in particular are reeling. According to a 2003 analysis of 90 studies involving 31,000 married people, the drop in marital satisfaction after the first baby's birth is a staggering 42 percent larger among the current generation of parents than their predecessors. "The finding...
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