As others have said it's a different kind of love. Having said that I think it was always important to us to make time for each other right from the start and that still stands. When our children were very young we had them in a regular routine, bath story, bedtime and that was it, the evening was ours. I knew plenty of other people who allowed their children to rule their lives at that age, constant bed hopping, always sleeping in their parents' beds, we didn't have that unless they were ill. My husband had two children already, late teens, when we got together so his knowledge of parenting was already in place, I was a complete novice and hadn't really spent time around young children. Parenting has different stages, some more difficult than others, teen years with one of ours would be a period I wouldn't choose to repeat. Inevitably, children do occupy your time and thoughts whatever age they are and like most, I never stop worrying about them. When they are young it is easy to lose sight of the need for adult time, because being a parent can be all consuming.
I often have lunch with a friend who never does anything "together" with her husband, holidays, meals out, cinema, absolutely nothing, not because of a lack of money either. Right from the start they always made their only child their raison d'etre, so if they go out for a birthday meal, she comes too, similarly they will go away for a few days together it will never be the two of them. She's in her late 20s now, so I'm thinking from her point of view tagging along with one parent or another isn't good for her. I'm also struck by how many times my friend will text her during our lunch out meet ups, given she will be picking her up at their local station later after her daughter's daily commute to work, having driven her to the station in the morning. It's like she's still at school 
