They exchange looks, a sense of longing between them.
He gives a knowing smile, and she returns it as they get closer.
Holding hands, they share a deep kiss. Finally, inevitably, it happens ... the baby screams.
Sound familiar? New parents often have a hard time returning to a healthy sexual relationship, but according to the new book "Love in the Time of Colic: The Parents' Guide to Getting It On Again" there's no reason to despair.
"Love in the Time of Colic" is written by Dr. Ian Kerner, a sex therapist, and Heidi Raykeil, a sex columnist.
Kerner has been the go-to guy for the media's sex therapy questions with the success of his books, including "She Comes First" and "Be Honest ... You're Not That Into Him Either." He's a frequent morning show guest, having recently appeared on "Good Morning, America," "The Early Show" and "The Today Show" (on which he's a regular guest).
Raykeil, the Seattle-based author of the book "Confessions of a Naughty Mommy," approached Kerner about the book after getting to know his wife, Lisa Rubisch, through the mother's blog Web site Literary Mama.
"She reached out to me with this idea, to write a practical advice book for parents who are looking to get their sexual groove back," Kerner, 46, said in a recent interview from his home in New York City. "We wrote the entire book without ever having met in person, and hardly ever talking on the phone. We just got in a collaborative groove."
Writing the chapters through e-mail over about 18 months, the two brought different perspectives to the subject - Kerner bringing the man's view and a clinical perspective and Raykeil giving the woman's perspective.
"It was a wonderful collection of ideas," Kerner said. "We had a lovely spirit of debate going, which is always fun."
The subject was something with which he was very familiar.
"For me, this was something that I was really living through personally, as the father of two young boys," he said. "I was running into all the common pitfalls. Far from being the relationship expert, I wasn't an expert at my own relationship."
The book is split into chapters detailing these "common pitfalls," with one of the authors giving opinions from their gender view, then the other answering in kind. With a back-and-forth format common throughout the book, it almost reads like the transcript of some great sexual debate.
So what are these stumbling blocks to sex for parents?
"I think one of the major dangers is to allow yourself to get into a prolonged sex slump," Kerner explained. "When you first have a baby, it's pretty much no sex for a couple of months, so you're already in a rut. It's dangerous to let that first rut (grow) into a prolonged slump."
Kerner said other dangers include "the infiltration of family and friends" and the influence of outside forces on your relationship. Such things need to be tuned out, he said.
"During this period we're very focused on giving our children everything," Kerner said. "One of the best things we can give to our children is to be a happy and connected couple."
The switch from couple to parents is one that can trip up many relationships, according to Robert Heasley, who teaches the sociology of sexuality and men and masculinity at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
"Hormone changes can reduce a sex drive," he said. "So the male hasn't had a baby and he's still going through the same physiological feelings, being sexual and having sexual feelings.
"It's a situation where you have two different physiological worlds."
The psychological switch to parenthood is a big hurdle, said Heasley, who is also president of the American Men's Studies Association, an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical School and does clinical work with couples on relationship issues in Philadelphia.
"We're shifting from partners - husband and wife - and taking on a new role, of parent," Heasley said. "What we don't think about is, 'Oh, I'm going to be a parent, in addition to a husband or wife' but 'I'm going to be a husband or wife in a new way."
But there are a lot of reasons a sexual relationship can go sour, Kerner explained.
"I think a lot of couples for the first time after a kid (it's) really their first time to be in a routine," he said. "There is the need to have a routine and be predictable (for the baby) and the desire to be sexual and have some unpredictability (in the relationship)."
But the most common symptom is one that's all too familiar to new parents.
"I think the thing I hear most is that they're too tired to have sex," Kerner said. "Statistics show that close to 60 percent of parents show a decline in sexual interaction. I would say both fatigue and a kind of overriding negative sentiment contribute to sexual (problems)."
The birth of a new baby also adds new stress to a relationship - another possible cause of sexual problems, according to Bruce Hersey, a clinical social worker with a practice in Altoona who is certified as a sex therapist.
"It might be very stressful," Hersey said. "It might be affecting the mother more than the father. That's pretty common for couples to go through."
Though he hasn't dealt specifically with new parents in his practice, he said there are many issues that could cause sexual problems with a new baby in the house.
"There could be psychological issues too that are affecting the mother or the father with the birth of a child," Hersey said. "Just the fact of having a baby - say if it's unexpected, if somebody feels guilty or unhappy with having the baby and its effect on their life, they may associate that with pregnancy and sex, and it could affect sex that way."
So what can new parents do to break out of a sexual rut?
"Start showing some physical intimacy outside of the bedroom," Kerner said. "Everything from hand holding to hugging and kissing are important to building anticipation inside the bedroom."
At least from a male point of view, he said, helping the new mother can be a big step forward.
"I think many, many moms especially complain about the work and chores around the house," he said. "One of the things the guy can do is become more involved in the chores.
"And a lot of new moms don't always feel particularly sexy... guys can do a lot more to make their partners feel sexy and attractive."
The process of working out sexual issues isn't one that can be rushed, Heasley said.
"Take it slowly," he said. "Know that, though you're in the same marriage, you're having two separate experiences. And seek to articulate what you need in the realtionship. Listen well, but then negotiate from there."
That "negotiation" needs to be pretty in depth.
"You need to be more verbal than you've ever been," he said. "Everything needs to be talked through - probably in ways couples have never talked about sexuality before."
Hersey says taking a step back and thinking about the problem can help.
"If stress is a factor, it would be about recognizing what the stress is and seeing if there were ways to (relieve) stress," he explained.
But Kerner says the biggest help is just getting back into the routine of sex.
"As simple as it sounds, just having sex, doing it, putting their bodies to it (helps)," he said. "Sex begets sex and a sex rut begets a sex rut.
"Sometimes putting your body through the motions really reawakens you."
Mirror Staff Writer Keith Frederick is at 946-7466.
