"If I am honest I really do miss the freedom we used to have. I remember just deciding on a Friday night to go away for the weekend, picking up a bag slinging some clothes together and setting off. I try not to think about it too much as it depresses me. Don't get me wrong I adore my kids but some time off for good behaviour would be great. I wish we had active grandparents, that would make a big difference to us."

"I miss not having more time with my wife. We talk a lot, which is great, but so much of the time she is knackered and goes to bed much earlier than me, our time together is really limited. We try to go out but the whole babysitter thing is a nightmare. I am more suspicious of new babysitters than my wife, so consequently we don't get out much at all."

"The things I miss:

• Having More Disposable Income
  • Only 1 Salary
  • Babies Costing Such a Lot
• Spontaneity
  • Going Away for Weekends
  • Going to the Pub
  • Going Overseas on Holiday
  • Having Sex on the Hearth Rug
  • Having Sex at All!
• Having a Tidy Anything!
  • House
  • Car
  • Suit
• My Wife
• Chatting
• Dining Together
• Going to the Cinema, Theatre, Concert etc
• Did I Mention Sex?

Things I love about being a dad:

• Just About Everything
• This Outweighs the Above Almost all the Time (almost)

In Family life/social life - are they mutually exclusive?, author and mother Kate Konopicky, shares her own experiences of trying to socialise with a baby in tow!