Consumer Critique: K-Y

I got probably one of my favorite opportunities to try out products - because it really gave me an excuse to make sure we got some couple time. Mom Central and K-Y had a blog tour opportunity to raise awareness of maintaining healthy relationships. Right now, you can visit K-Y Couples Facebook page to learn about healthy relationships and to enter the contest to be named "America's Top Couple."

It's hard for my husband and myself to find a chance to be, well, a couple. We have a toddler and an infant. The infant shares our room right now, until she moves out of the cradle and my toddler is ready to move out of the toddler-sized bed and into the "big girl" bed - so that impacts things. Plus, I work from home, a full time job, plus blogging, with about 15-18 hours of baby-sitter a week (which means that there are 20+ hours that I need to work on evenings and weekends when my husband is home). So we're lucky to get family time, let alone couple time.

However, here are some things that we do that really help:
- Be affectionate without being completely intimate. We hug, cuddle, and hold hands when we can. We also kiss in front of our kids. These are "safe" forms of affection that keep physical touch important.
- Make time. I limit my weekend work to 3 hours/day (including the hour or so I'm up before everyone else) so that the rest is family or "us" time.
- Be creative. Although you don't need a lot of toys to be intimate, it does help give you something to look forward to - and wanting the variety of experiences makes it more of a draw.
- Take turns. This is important because my husband likes different things than I do. We need to be quick due to time and the chance of being interrupted, but if we always do things his way I won't enjoy it. So we take turns taking the lead.

K-Y makes a lot of great products to make intimacy easier. I got to try the Intense Arousal Gel and the Yours & Mine. Both made intimacy easier and faster by providing lubrication, and both enhanced the sensations we had during our couple time. I would definitely recommend them or other K-Y products I've tried. They are relatively inexpensive and provide ways to add a little variety to what you experience. I'm also a big fan of the K-Y Touch Massage products, but I'm a sucker for a good backrub! We have found that at least the regular lubricants are less messy and more effective than most generic brands, so sometimes it is worth getting a name brand.

“I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of K-Y Brand and received samples of the Yours + Mine and Intense products. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”