New Member.. first vent... NEED advice and support... Long but please read
First I will give some background on myself and my relationship.
Im 21 yrs old.
Im not "technically" a step mom. However, I have been with my bf for 3 1/2 yrs now. We met when we were 13/14 yrs old in high school in Florida. We had a "thing" back then. he was my first in everything.... But we stayed best friends. I moved back to CT a few yrs later, he moved to Ohio in 2006. Once he moved there we ended up getting together (LONG story lol). I moved out to Ohio a month after we got together then we moved back to CT 6 months later. We have a 2 1/2 yr old daughter together and are expecting our 2nd daughter this April. (1st one was a surprise, 2nd was planned.) We are not married yet because of finances and we want it to be very special with our daughters involved in the wedding.
Now to the other part of this:
He has a soon to be 4 yr old daughter with his ex. He was physically involved in her life for the first 4 months. (his ex stayed in Florida with his daughter when he moved to Ohio, then they split and he got together with me.) It has been impossible for him to be involved in his daughters life physically because of the distance. The cost of plane tickets and hotel stays are outrageous. He hasnt talked on the phone with his daughter either because she was too young at first, then he got scared. Scared because he didnt want to confuse or hurt her more. He felt like by talking to her on the phone she would be more hurt because she cant actually see him. We have stayed in contact with his ex through emails though and we have sent birthday and Christmas presents to his daughter.
Background on his ex: She tried her hardest to split us up in the beginning. She would constantly call saying it was about his daughter but she wouldnt say a word about her. Just about the relationship the two of them had together. She would send nasty emails to me also. She is with guy after guy. And she does have her daughter call them "daddy". Which my bf feels like that just confuses her even more. She was barely involved in her own daughters life for the first few years. She would move to different states with her friends while her daughter stayed with her grandparents. However she just got her own place and her daughter now lives with her 24/7 (as far as we know.)
Well, my bf has been contemplating whether or not to start calling his daughter. Which I dont have a problem with him talking to her because she is completely innocent in this whole thing. Then last night his ex sends him an email :
" why did you leave the way you did im trying to be the best mother i can to tessa i just got us our own place and everytime she ask about you and if she can see you and talk to you because she cant she hates me for it everytime thanks alot for making her hate the one and only person who has been there for her i want you to sign off of her im looking into it this week your a shitty ass dad to her and you dont give two shits about her if you did you would do more then wat you do for her. shes misserable and i dont know what to do i could use some advice or something please your suppose to be her father."
He hasnt responded to her yet, but he says he will be calling his daughter today. Here are my feelings on this whole thing:
1. I am scared. Ive never met his daughter in person or heard her on the phone. And we have made our own family together. Now after 3 1/2 yrs he is going to bring her into our family....
2. I feel jealous for Our daughter. Even though she doesnt understand whats going on, I feel jealous for her. I hope someone understands that.
3. I myself feel jealous because this is his "first" child. I know that is wrong, but its just how I feel. And I came into this relationship knowing he had a daughter but he made it this way (where she wasnt involved until now.)
4. Im stressing out, already went into preterm labor once a few weeks ago, and when I read her email and he said he was going to call, I started stressing like crazy and started having contractions. I calmed down enough though to have them stop. (Im 33 weeks pregnant)
5. His ex caused ALOT of problems in my first pregnancy. She pretty much ruined it. All I can remember of being pregnant with our 2 1/2 yr old is all the things she did, emails she sent, messages she left on our phone, etc.... Now this.
6. Confused on what I should say or do. Whats my role? I dont want him to have two separate families. If she were to be involved in our lives I would like it to be one whole family. Not : Phillip and Tessa (his daughter)... then.... Phillip, Marlene(me) Lily(our Daughter) and Alessandra (our baby)
Theres probably ALOT more and I could have typed all this out better but Im so confused right now. Thanks for reading. And to make it clear, I dont hate his other daughter, I just dont know her. And I dont know how to make this transition while we are making another one in just a month (having our 2nd child.).
Also : I have an almost 4 yr old half sister. My mom got pregnant by someone that ended up leaving and never meeting my little sister. However in her situation we all feel its best for her not to have her father around. He lives in another state, and if he ever was to be involved, it wouldnt be a constant thing. It would be phone calls and a visit once in a blue moon.
If he is someone you want to
If he is someone you want to be with for the rest of your life and he really wants his daughter to be a part of your family, I believe that you have to find a way to make that happen. I cannot imagine the type of resentment I would have towards my partner if he discouraged me from having a relationship that I wanted with my child.
I dont think I would take any action until after your baby is born. StepAside is right when she says that you cannot put your pregnancy at risk. After the baby is born and you are in good health I would talk to your BF and find out what he really wants. It sounds to me like his ex is a lunatic. She is trying to manipulate him because thats what crazy people do. I find it VERY hard to believe that a child who isnt even 4 years old is "miserable" over a man she hasnt seen since she was a few months old. Especially when she already has someone to call Daddy, according to BM. It sounds to me like she is putting things into the poor childs head or just flat out making it up to get back at your BF.
Thank you, the biggest
Thank you,
the biggest problem with seeing her is the finances. He pays $100 a week in child support which leaves us with $332 for our bills, groceries, etc.... There is no way to afford plane tickets, or gas for the car plus a hotel/motel room. We have looked into the costs several times before. Plus his ex never has offered to meet half way or bring her to see him. If it was possible, we would do that. but still it would only be a once in a blue moon visit. Which I feel bad for his daughter about that.
I would never discourage him from having a relationship with her. I always want him involved in our children's life even if we werent together. However we would handle it the right way from the beginning. I was the one to encourage him to start contacting his ex when we first got together to talk about his daughter. I myself email his ex and keep in contact with her also for his child. (trust me I really hate talking with her after everything she has done. But I try to be civil.
His ex has said that she shows her pictures of him and tells her stories about him. However, he got a video message on his birthday of her singing happy birthday to him. And she said "Happy Birthday Daddy Phillip". Thats what she calls him I guess. His ex has her call whoever she is with "daddy ______". Wouldnt that confuse a child?
I am just so scared on how this is going to affect everyone involved. Him, his daughter, our daughters, myself.... Its a huge transition.
Im going to support him in whatever he decides. I dont want to argue with him about it because thats not right for his daughter.
Anymore advice, support would help. I dont know where I stand in this, what I should do or say. Im just SOOOO confused. Its a big transition. especially with us having another baby which is a big transition in itself. Does anyone agree with me on that?
StepAside is SO RIGHT! Her
StepAside is SO RIGHT! Her last post was put perfectly!!! Support him but do not encourage him! Great advice!
I have to agree with the
I have to agree with the others on all points. You just really need to support your BF's decision on what part to play in his DD's life. I tend to agree that sporatic long distance contact isn't much of a father and if what is best for the child is that he backs away and limits contact and he can deal with that then it might be best for everyone. It sounds like the BM will enjoy causing conflict as long as there is contact. And that conflict does affect the child.
The mother wants him to give up rights? how does he feel about that? Is it possible he might be willing to do that if he knows you would support him and not be judgemental of that decision?
If he can't live with formally giving his child up then maybe he needs to define what he wants from his relationship with the child. They obviously don't have a bond at this point. Maybe doing his share to support the child and just being available when she is older and is ready to seek out a relationship is really best.