Leigh: "My Secret to a Happy Marriage"

When Taro and I first met (at a cocktail party), we got into a deep conversation right off the bat. We immediately connected over our free-spirited and artistic upbringings and compared notes about the rather unconventional ways that we envisioned raising children. Amazingly, we were both proponents of home birth (Taro was actually born at home) and unschooling (I never attended conventional school prior to college), and we even agreed that, for us, breastfeeding and co-sleeping were important aspects of raising healthy children.

We're madly in love, have tons of fun together and experience a strong mutual physical attraction. But our shared beliefs about family continue to be an integral part of our marriage. Now that we have our own children, I'm so grateful to have found a mate with whom the journey of parenthood is a joy, not a source of strife.

How will you choose to birth, discipline, feed, educate and care for your children? Making these connections early on will help lay a strong foundation for your relationship. If you share similar ideals about childrearing, that commonality will continue to bond you powerfully through the years.

-- Leigh, Marvelous Kiddo, who just welcomed her second son!

(Photo by Liz Rubincam)