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Pregnant and needing a break from step kids

Belinda33's picture

Hi everyone, this is the only place where people understand what it’s like for the step parent. But I’m interested in hearing honest thoughts. Maybe I’m in the wrong with my expectations. I just found out I’m pregnant with my first. He has 2 kids already aged 4 and 7 who visit us every wknd. We both work full time and have no down time, or time off together. Maybe when you become a parent your downtime is all fulfilled when you spend time with your kids??? (Maybe that’s how I will feel after I have this baby) but at the moment I’m tired of being exhausted at the end of the working week, to then be child rearing all weekend. By the end I look forward to work on a Monday being a break. Often he also decides to work on the weekend so I’m left alone with the kids. Sometimes it’s enjoyable and I have a good relationship with the kids. I’m already exhausted though and worried about then having a new born to worry about. When my baby is old enough to be looked after by grandparents I intend to still have time off every now and then with friends. Ive asked him if we can look at changing the schedule to one full weekend, and then adding a night during the week, to then get a Sunday a fortnight off. That will give me something to look forward to now and for the next 9 months, but also a light at the end of the tunnel after the baby is born to get help and spend time alone together as a couple. He said he doesn’t need time off or time together. Am I unreasonable for asking him to consider trying a different schedule that will allow a small amount of flexibility? I feel like our relationship is already being stretched to the limit as it it is. Having no days off in sight is making me miserable. 

Winterglow's picture

He is being a selfish git. He should not be unloading his parenting responsibilities onto you - these are HIS kids, not yours. 

Doesn't need time off or time together? My arse! So he expects you to just deal with being his nanny without even being considered important enough to deserve couple time? What planet does he think he's living on?

It's time you put your foot down - if he isn't present then his kids won't be in your home. Visitation is for HIM to see HIS kids, not to leave them with someone else. So, either he stops the "working at the weekend" crap or he hire a babysitter because you are no longer going to be taken advantage of. 

I suggest you decide to take a weekend away - go to see your parents, your sister, a friend... whoever you'd like to see and leave him to take care of his own kids ... as if he were a real parent. If he balks at the prospect (and he will) point out that if he doesn't step up his game and treat you as a wife and not a skivvy that you will be making that situation permanent. 

Belinda33's picture

He likes to pull the you knew I had kids when you met me speal. As if the rest of society doesn’t already say that enough! Kids isn’t the issue. Balance and equal say in a relationship is. Thanks for your support. 

Winterglow's picture

OK, so you knew he had kids - so what? Why does he think that HIS kids should be YOUR duty. Something sexist about it being a woman's job? Tell him to stuff it.These children already have two perfectly good parents to take care of  their needs. He did not miraculously become a non-parent when you came on the scene.

Lollybobs's picture

So you say he sometimes chooses to work weekends. How did he manage childcare for those weekends before he met you?

Belinda33's picture

The ex wasn’t allowing him to see them. (And he had a different job back then) Then we started dating. Then after a long stint of not being allowed to see them after she left him, she agreed to let them come over and asked him to choose when he wanted them. He of course (out of guilt and stress) said “whenever I’m not at work I’ll have them, so every weekend” at this point we weren’t that serious and I thought surely he would realise he needs to take a break. That never happened. I also thought she might want them on a weekend from time to time. That also never happened. I’m going to start looking at leaving the house and getting an air bnb every fortnight to have my own break before going back to work on a Monday. 

fedupinwa's picture

I agree, you need some downtime and have every right to not participate in such a grueling schedule.  I would lose my mind if SO and I never had couple time or if there was no CO in place.  Leave him to his kids, he will likely agree to change schedules when he has to parent himself.

tog redux's picture

OP, if their agreement is that he will "take them when he isn't working", then why are they over there when he IS working?

They can stay at BM's, and he can pick them up when he gets off work.  Also, he can then take care of them himself once they get home. 

Kiwi_koala's picture

Congratulations on the pregnancy OP! I think it's absolutely ridiculous that you are expected to be the caregiver for these kids and that they're even at the house when their father isn't there. I'm getting sick of reading this from posters. I'm going to take it a step further and say that I think these women should be paid because they're unpaid baby-sitters lol. People who aren't paid to watch children get an equal say in how they're raised if they're regularly taking care of a kid as far I'm concerned.

Secondly, pregnancy is  demanding on a woman's body and a very sacred/special time. Shame on your husband for adding more to your plate. 

CLove's picture

1. I would highly suggest deleting that whole abortion comment (and/or) thread. pro-choice or pro-life, it isnt about you supposedly not being able to parent correctly, therefore no child for you! This is about you and what is acceptable to you, for now and in the future.

2. He doesnt need time off or alone time with you. In my understanding, you have Mon-Fri where it is currently "just the two of you", so Im not sure what you mean in that you need alone time with him? You need a break from kiddos during the weekend? Thats an easy fix - make some weekend plans! When your child arrives, you two will need to discuss getting alone times...but for now it appears that you have alone time with him m-f after work, unless he works evenings too???

3. He palms his kids off on you during HIS time on the weekends. Not good. For special circumstances I can understand and it would be ok with me, but frequently? hmmmm. no.

This is the same dude that tells you that you cannot have a say about anything to do with kiddos yet he wants you to watch them for him. Not good. You need to communicate with him that if you are to have RESPONSIBILITY for kids then you are to have some authority as well. I know. Easy for me to type this, hard to do.

4. There is no custody order - I read some of your backstory. And child support is still off-record? To keep the peace with BM. Well he needs to be more about keeping peace with YOU than HER. Period. You understand, without anything on record, he could be paying more than he needs to and its considered a "gift". Plus, she isnt working so, thats why she wants it all off record. Shes a lazy butt. Our BM, Toxic Troll, she is on disability I just heard, and she recieves child support as well as spousal support (only for a few more months, yay!) plus shes has side gigs for cash under the table. But doesnt work on the records.

Its such a scam!

Congratulations on your new little one!

advice.only2's picture

OP you can report unwanted comments on your post so that it doesn't get hijacked by side arguments.

Personally your DH needs to step up and be the parent he was before he even met you. It's one thing for him to ask you if you would mind watching the kids while he works. It's another thing he's telling you to do it.

Sit down and have an open and honest discussion with him, put your boundaries in place and enforce them. He should not view you as a replacement parent to himself.

tog redux's picture

You can't delete forum posts. But I flagged Panther's rude comment, so hopefully Dawn will delete that whole part. 

gimmeabreak's picture

Oh mama. I feel you. I'm 5 months pregnant with my first and my husband has 2 stepsons, 12 and 14. They are with us 50% of the time. I've been struggling a lot managing my emotions around being a bio and step mom and NEED my husbands support in that. Time alone to focus on your relationship is a necessity, and so is your husbands support when you advocate for what you need. He needs to make it clear to you that his kids don't come before the one you share, and that your needs as his wife and a mother are important. Doesn't sound like he's doing that. I'd be very clear about what it is you need and why you need it. I'm sorry you're going through this, sounds very frustrating. If you ever need to vent about pregnant step mom life, dm me! 

Belinda33's picture

Haha thank you for letting me know I’m not crazy! What you said about making it clear his kids don’t come before ours - funny you say that. I’m actually worried that he will keep trying to make them feel like they are most important because he is already worried they will feel left out because the baby gets to live with us. I have said I expect them all to be shown attention, and that our baby is not to be out on the back burner just because his other kids show up. I think it’s important that the kids all feel loved, but that they also know they need to share dad with Bub, and with partner! Mine goes out of his way to let them know they are the MOST important to him. (When he isn’t working of course!) Drives me crazy. We all deserve to be equally important! Congratulation on your pregnancy too Smile

NoWireCoatHangarsEVER's picture

and I had stepkids.  In my experience, parenting four kids at once who are yours is way easier than parenting one stepkid who isn't yours.  You have the ability to instill good behavior and good manners in your own children.  You have ability to set a routine (which I highly recommend) with your own newborn and children where they go down for naps and sleep at certain times.  Parenting stepkids is way harder especially when you don't have any say in how they've turned out and their parents tie your hands.  You are constantly watching what you say and what you do as it will be reported back to BM and used against and you feel like you are on treading water in the ocean all weekend swimming under sharks.  Of course that is exhausting.  So in my expert opinion and I think I qualify as I'm a mother of a 5 year old, 10, 12, and 14 year old and I work a full time job with 12 hour shifts is just because your stepkids drain you and leave you exhausted, that doesn't necessarily mean being a mother will.  Of course sometimes it's going to leave you tired.  Especially in the beginning.  But you have the power when you are the mother (it's different if your child has special needs) and you don't when you are the step parent.   

Belinda33's picture

Haha I think you are well qualified too. Being on both sides would make you very well rounded on this website! I read a book that said the exhaustion you feel from stepkids is different to your own because you feel “filled up and nourished” when they are your own. I wish the bio fathers knew this, mine can’t seem to understand why I’m not thrilled sometimes haha. 

Rags's picture

Why does your DH agree to have his prior relationship kids every weekend.  Time to invoke the spousal Veto on that crap and stipulate a EOWE visitation schedule for the Skids.  You, your marriage and your new baby need at least EOWE for you, DH and the baby to be a family without the invasion of Skids.

DH does not need to discuss this with his X.  The most powerful element of being an NCP is the ability to refuse visitation.   All he has to do is inform the X that he will be shifting to EOWE visitation.

Good luck and congrats on the new baby.

Belinda33's picture

I think so too, but I think he might be thinking the opposite though. Why should me and the baby get more time than his other kids - he thinks it’s unfair on the skids. I have argued that we can’t put our life on hold and then cram it all in when they come over every wknd, but also that they need time with their mother too on their non school days. I also said that with my own I will eventually be prepared to have a babysitter for date nights, whereas he is not willing to with the skids. (They’re too needy because he has created that) I guess I wait and see what plays out. Atleast he knows where I stand now :-/ 

Belinda33's picture

Thanks everyone for posting. You will never guess, but he called me today and said he is going to consider changing the schedule in particular when the baby comes. He had agreed to have them for an extra night this week for BM (but of course is not actually going to be home now so I have to be available yet again on my night off) he wanted the opportunity to wake up and spend more time with them, but of course then now he is going to have to work the next day now so will need them looked after. I said im busy. I think he is jumping at any chance to have them more out of guilt and without thinking through what it looks like. He is going to make more of an effort to spend time together and not be excluded from every weekend event with our friends. He is open to the odd babysitting now. This is ground breaking for him. Get this BM even texted to say thank you for changing my plans around. Its looking up a little for now. Will see if things change soon.

lintini's picture

Okay so you told him you were busy but you're still going to watch them?  No.... just no.  He just told you what you wanted to hear.

I have one SS , and he's almost 18 now but still in high school.  DH and I had our first bio 3 years ago.  We have lots of the same issues actually minus the babysitting. Gives BM $ for whatever,  no CS order, does ALLLLLLLLLLL of the driving,  major, major Daddy guilt, etc.

So once our first bio arrived,  when SS was here and needed to be taxi'd around (and still does) I was left on the back burner with our bio because it was errands or practices or games and it's just not fun breastfeeding around a bunch of high school boys in the bleachers.  Or he'd take him golfing....etc .... it was just always things not that great for a baby...

Then as our baby started crawling,  walking,  harder to hold onto in bleacher gymnasium situations, same thing.  I'm stuck at home all day during his work week and then his days off revolve around skid and I'm stuck home or on my own with baby still, with no break either. 

Resentment set in big time.  Well once she was about 2 and really talking, she wanted to go with daddy and big cool older bro. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. And potty training started and he'd go to skids games and have to deal with that on his own!  Priceless. 

I had another baby when our first bio was 2 so I still didn't have a true "break" but by golly it was amazing that he couldn't just sneak off anymore with just skid time.  Sorry DH you have more than just 1 kid! 

I hope this helps you in someway because I feel like your DH might do this to you too because they are just feeling soooooo guilty about their divorce.  You didn't mention a mother inlaw or father inlaw..... that relationship is always fun too when they try to make up for skids being children of divorce.  My mother inlaw is something special....

Congratulations on your pregnancy and please stop watching your skids. They aren't your responsibility.  Things also might change once BM finds out your preggo.  She might go crazy.  Good luck.  *cringe*

Belinda33's picture

Wow. this does sound similar my situation. What you talk about here is what I fear - him running off with his kids the moment he finishes work and leaving me alone to deal with the baby alone.
At the moment when he comes home from work he fills every second with them and never makes them question that they are his number 1. It's everything from sitting on one end of the couch with one child on each side holding hands (while I awkwardly sit on the other end) to letting them stay up all night watching kids movies until 10pm. Then laying in their beds with them because "daddddddddy can you lay with me tooooooo" he finally ends up coming to bed at 11pm exhausted so falls asleep immediatly. Then Sundays he is watching cartoons in their bedroom all morning until 11am whilst helicoptering the rest of the day. If they even attempt to play alone for 10 minutes he is calling out to them to come and cuddle. If we go to lunch or dinner, he sits right in the middle them on one side of the table with me on the other. If we go for a walk he takes their hands either side and walks ahead lost in some kind of dad bubble. I have spoken to him about being driven by guilt and that while I dont at all expect him to neglect them, I also don't feel its fair for me to be pushed aside every which way just so that they can feel like dad is ALL theirs. SOMETIMES they need to be shown that dad loves me too. God, how are they going to cope when I put baby on dads lap so I can go and have a shower given they are so preconditioned as the "special" ones? One thing I do know is that he has a HUGE HUGE soft spot for babies, so I'm hoping that things wont turn out a bad as I think. You never know with a guilty dad though, it usually just overtakes any form of rationality....
After reading your above it further cemets my feeling that changes need to be put in place now before the baby comes. I'm going to ask him to come to couples counselling and maybe some solo sessions for him to work through his guilt (and his need to be constantly working or parenting without a breather) 
Regarding babysitting this weekend, he has arranged his dad to have them tomorrow as I have cracked the shits over being on duty tonight. He is now coming home from work early so I will only have them for an hour or so until he gets home. 
I have read some horror stories about in-laws. Im think I'm lucky that he doesn't have many. They like me and absolutely hate BM. His dad is quite good and just gets it, always telling him he needs to appreciate any woman who is prepared to take on a man with kids, telling him he needs to take me out and wine and dine me because thats what women want. Haha. I talk to his dad when Im mad at him and he always encourages me to push back on his son who he says is incredibly stubborn. He tells me I need to play hardball. Which is what everyone here is also saying so I need to not be so nice. 
BM guilting him is a worry I have. When the baby news is annouced she will probably start calling him to guilt him about forgetting about them, mind you she has already had other kids with someone else. It's alwaaaaays double standards though isn't it! 

Winterglow's picture

Youi've said that he wants to have as much time with them as possible only he isn't having time with them you are. One day he is going to regret that ... especially when they throw it in his face that he was never there, that they were saddled with you, that ... etc etc etc Maybe point that out to him? That being with you does not equate to being with him.

Belinda33's picture

Agree. Even the little one who was a baby when we met is constantly asking for me now when I'm not there. He picks me flowers and draws me pictures. Its very sweet as I know a lot of SMs dont get anything back. I do believe in having a good relationship with the kids, but I just dont want to be doing all of the heavy lifting anmore and being taken advantage of with absolutely no thanks, and no downtime for myself or as a couple. 

Dizzyjell's picture

To want time off on the weekend when you work all week. Everyonr needs to decompress. Fact is, you cant with stepkids there on the weekend. He should find childcare fornthen on the weekends he works. What did he do before you were involved? When you have the baby, it will be so much worse because you will want time alone with just your kid on the weekend on your only days off and you will have to split it with his kids. It's what my steplife has been and I hate it. Also, in my case our bio comes after sd. Sd always gets tended too and dad revolves life around her. So I feel like a single mom. 

 

Step_dad's picture

I am sorry to hear that, that sucks! thats not even funny to be honest. Have you spoken to him about that? 
 

I am on the flip side, partner has 4 kids including our 1 bio kid. I work a lot and have random days off but on days off I spend most of it with my bio daughter and if there is time left after that and my relaxing down time I spend it with skids. i don't ignore them it's more I put my daughter first and would regardless of how old she was or whether she was first, second or last born.

Step_dad's picture

You're right in asking for a schedule change. Can you imagine newborn plus 2 step kids on weekends when you're off from work? And he's out working and you're having to look after all four of you while he's out.

 

sorry no. If someone had their kids over just once and was out working and I had to look after them i would speak to them about it. That doesn't even make sense. He has his kids every weekend but mostly works... you two have no time as it is and now weekends are spent babysitting when he's gone? No thank you! 
 

what has he said to the schedule change?

IreneDowd's picture

When I met my future husband, I also thought that raising his son would not be difficult. But children at his age (he is 4 years old) are too active and dependent on us. At first, we spent a lot of time finding nanny, since I have my own business, and my husband is constantly on business trips. Now my son goes to this daycare https://kidcityusa.com/locations/florida/crystal-river/, it somehow saves us time, but I feel that he lacks parental attention. I don’t want to blame my husband, but I’m not ready to raise a child on my own. I just can’t decide to discuss this with him.

failuretolaunch's picture

No to looking after the HIS children at weekends, If he needs to work then he can arrange a different time or he can get a babysitter. We all go into this trying to be reasonable and I think it is reasonable for him to look after his own kids.

As for the change of schedule. COMPLETELY reasonable given your circumstances. You are not asking for much and he should accomodate you. Like my partner, it seems that you don't really matter. I've asked mine to send hers to the SD for half the month because I just can't cope, but they come first and she couldn't possibly do that.

Go on strike. If he can't do that for you, then you don't do things for him. As childish as it sounds, sometimes it is the only way to make a point. Looking after his kids on the weekend is the first thing you stop doing.