Abstract: Researchers agree that parenthood has a range of implications for the marital relationship, resulting in some couples adapting well to parenthood whereas other couples experience substantial distress after the birth of a child. Although there is clear evidence that couples' marital satisfaction changes after the birth of a child, the focus of this investigation is on the patterns of change in couples' marital satisfaction from infancy to early childhood. Specifically, 193 mothers' and 173 fathers' patterns of marital satisfaction over six assessment points (6 months to 54 months postpartum) were tracked using Proc Traj. Utilizing the person-center analytic approach allows this investigator to describe individuals' marital satisfaction patterns after the addition of a child to the family. In addition, child (i.e., temperament, sex of child), and family demographic factors (i.e., number of children, sex composition of children, marital duration, age of parents, and maternal employment) were considered to understand if these variables significantly predicted the trajectories of mothers' and fathers' marital satisfaction. The results indicated that the joint probabilities of the mothers' and fathers' marital satisfaction group were significant. Furthermore, children's dispositional trajectories and patterns of mothers' marital satisfaction were related. These findings suggest the importance of utilizing a more integrative approach to studying the trends in marital satisfaction and child development.