BECOMING a parent is a bit like taking on a full-time job, with its endless responsibilities, sleepless nights, and the constant juggling of priorities. Amidst the whirlwind of nappies, school runs, and bedtime routines, it’s all too easy for the romance and connection between you and your partner to slip onto the back burner. In fact, a survey by childcare app Bubble has revealed that 9 in 10 parents feel less romantic with their partner since having children. But mum-of-two Zoe Hardman, 42, and her retired rugby player husband Paul Doran Jones, 39, believe it’s all about finding the right time. Speaking on the Made by Mammas podcast alongside her co-host Georgia Dayton, Zoe spoke about keeping the intimacy going with your partner whilst co-sleeping with your children, and also working in the day. Zoe and Georgia both advised on how to try and find the time, explaining that “connection and intimacy starts outside of the bedroom.” Georgia said: “Intimacy is so much more than sex.” Speaking from personal experience, Zoe explained that she will sometimes plan for sex to happen that evening. She said: “So I will give myself a bit of a pep talk and say, ‘Yeah it’s going to happen tonight, and it’s going to be amazing.’ “And then it gets to five o’clock and you think ‘oh s**t I am so tired.’ “But it’s almost like…once you get going and you get into it, it can actually bring you so much joy. “I think you have got to get over that, ‘s**t, this is going to happen.’” To which Georgia replied: “It’s like exercise, you don’t fancy it but afterwards you feel better.” Zoe then advised on what to do for parents who are worried about their children catching them in the act. She said: "Put something in front of your door for a second." Zoe, who shares Luna, eight, and Kit, seven, with Paul, as well as having a step-daughter Isla, continued: “We got caught in the shower by Luna the other day. "She walked in just after we had a shower, and she was like ‘Oooh you two in the shower together,’ and I was like, ‘yeah me and daddy are just having a wash.’ “We were in the Isle of White together and everyone else was downstairs and I was like, well this is a great opportunity. It was so funny. “And I just said, ‘yeah mummy and daddy are just having a shower together, it’s really nice, we are just having a cuddle.’ “And then she ran straight downstairs and said, ‘listen up everyone, mummy and daddy are having a shower together and I just saw daddy’s a**. “I was like, ‘thanks, you little grass. You don’t tell everyone that.’ “She was like, ‘what I thought you were just having a wash’ and I was like, ‘oh ok fine.’” But Zoe wanted to emphasise that couples can “always find the time.” Zoe previously revealed how she would schedule in sex with her partner in order to keep the spark alive. Not only would she have “sexy Sundays” but has to manage her partner's expectations on what is an “acceptable amount.” She said: “But I do think that in a way, if you know when it’s coming and you, then you can maybe get a bit more excited about it. “[You can] Make sure you’ve had wax, and you can make sure you’ve had a shower.”