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Ddjones's picture
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Hey guys! I'm completely new to this blog and dating a man with a child in general so i would love your help in setting boundaries and sorting my feelings properly. 
 

i met my SO in April 2020 and things really moved fast. We moved in together within 3 months of meeting and i met his 8 year old son around that time. The first time i met his son, he stayed over for a week straight which honestly was a lot for me because i do not have any children. He has his son every other weekend and i quickly realized that i needed a gradual introduction to this aspect of the relationship because i was feeling incredibly overwhelmed during each weekend visit. 
 

my SO is truly an amazing man and his son is very nice. No problems there. But i do feel like we moved in too soon and i was not prepared to be around a child so frequently and in more intimate spaces. 
 

Here is where things get a little more complicated. When we first got together his ex wife friended me on Facebook and would make small talk with me. I thought that was odd, but i didn't think too much of it at the time. When i first met his don, i told my SO to give his ex wife my number. He asked "why" and i explained to him that i thought it would be prudent to give his ex access to me since her child is at my house. He said ok, but never gave her my number. I also suggested that he should arrange a meet up between me and his ex just to encourage harmony. I asked him in august 2020 and to this day we still have not met.  My SO left on a deployment for 6 months and my parents suggested that i continue to build a relationship with his son while he was gone. I asked my SO and he said the ex wife and him were both ok with me taking their son to my nephews birthday party in November (i asked about this in June). November comes, and i send his ex a Facebook message (we correspond on Facebook) to check her temperature about having her son around kids in light of the pandemic. She never responds. Instead, my SO calls me to tell me that she doesn't feel comfortable with her son being alone with me. I understand her position, but her son has been coming over to my house for a year and she knows I'm with him by myself at times. That's just weird. Get off my facebook! lol But i move on. now since she doesn't feel comfortable, i don't feel comfortable with having the son at the house for extended periods of time. Am i wrong? 
 

here is a little more background. 1). They divorced around 2 years ago. She wanted the divorce, he didn't. 2). He said he would make things work with his ex for the sake of the child. Now he's assured me that he wants to be with me, but that didn't rub me the right way, that coupled with the fact that he moved in with his ex girlfriend within 3 months as well and me thinking we moved too fast in the first place is causing me to want to establish some boundaries within our relationship so i don't feel "uncomfortable" as well. Essentially I'm trying to disengage before engaging again. We are not married and I'm not ready to build a relationship with son or have to deal with ex in any capacity. It's too soon. How can i effectively disengage?

 Help me to navigate this situation please 

Rags's picture

The best way to disengage is to leave this dumbass, his X and their spawn.  There is nothing in this that make any sense for you to stay with this serially move to fast idiot with a failed family.

Save yourself.

Rags's picture

A lost cause is a lost cause.   Unfortunately  too many in blended family marriages can be slapped in the face by a list cause for decades and never gain clarity.

Take care of you.

Arsanc's picture

So a few things I would say and please don't take this as gospel truth or as me knowing all.  No one does as we all have different life experiences and perspectives.

A big red flag for me is that is that BM friended you on FB.  While we would like to believe people have good intentions, I view as it was a way for BM to see who is around her son and be snoopy.  Maybe out of curiousity sake to see who her ex is now with and how you stack up to her.  If she doesn't feel comfortable with you having SS then why does she have any interest in "being friends" on FB?  Doesn't add up....

I also think that you don't have an obligation to develop or foster a relationship in dads absence.  You have only been together for over over a year and if he gets SS every other weekend, you've really not had a lot of interaction together.  I know we all want to live happily ever after but its a very complex situation.  It could be a very rewarding at some point if you are able to develop the relationship with SS.  However, being a SD myself, I can honestly say it is HIGHLY unlikely you will rise to the level of love that BM and dad will ever have.  And when I say that, I don't do so to belittle SS or any other skid for that matter.  Think of it this way, sometimes as stepparents we want our skids to love us like their own parents.  However, we are not their parents and will most likely never have that level of love.  I have skids but my feeling towards my biological kids and skids are very different.  So why would it be any different with how skids feel about stepparents.  I think disengaging is wise.  You two are still very new in this relationship.  I'll be honest....I truly believe you don't know a person until AT LEAST 2 years into a relationship.  Year 1 is the honeymoon and everyone is on their best behavior.  Year 2, folks start letting their gaurd down and you see side that you would not have come out before.  Now when I say this, I don't mean its a bad thing but you really get to the person for who they are.

From what you describe about his ex, be very cautious about her motives ad why she stays in touch on FB.  If in the same situation, I would block her.  Especially if you reach out to BM to get SS but she doesn't respond but, instead, she "tattles" to her ex on you and has him deliver the message.

Again, just my two cents that are based on my own life experiences so may, or may not apply to your situation.  Take care of yourself for now and don't rush anything. Smile

Ddjones's picture

Thank you so much. I agree with everything you said, and i do think it was weird to befriend me on Facebook and even send me dms but when i asked a question about her general disposition about her son being around other kids (not even a question about me taking him to a party) she sends her response via BF. So i unfriended her and put her on do not disturb because we don't have any business interacting. I also communicated to my BF that his son has to be with him at all times, and I'm not babysitting him at all at this stage in our relationship. Boundaries can blur when you live with someone, but I'm glad to be able to carve them out without feeling like I'm being unfair or unreasonable. Thank goodness for this community. Thank you for your insight ♥️