Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Am I in the wrong here? Trying to put children first!

105 replies

Vespa3142 · 07/03/2025 09:22

A bit of background… Partner and I have been together 6/7 years, but known each other for 14. After the first year he moved to my home town (around an hour from his) and we bought our first house. Since then we have had 3DC.

Partner has a very social job and works late (in a social setting) usually at least once per week, as well as at least a couple of nights away overnight stays per month, leaving me with the children, the youngest 3MO. We have no external childcare support from family much to help out either. Partner also has social hobbies, one meaning he travels to another country on average once per month, although in January this year when DD was 1 MO he went away three times. In his defence, he doesn’t have many friends locally and this is his way of socialising with friends, mine whom I see more often and do things with the children etc.

This week DS, (4YO) has been unwell. Partner told me he was going out socially last night, I asked him not to as he is away majority of next week and was also away one night last week (with friends). He said he’d come home after work as usual. At 5pm he tells me no he isn’t coming home he is going out, he’d been drinking since lunch time and got tunnel vision, obviously forgetting he’d said he’d come home, I told him DS is getting worse and poorly.

By 6pm DS temperature has risen to 41.3 and I call 111 to which I’m told to take him to hospital within two hours. I call upon my mum who came to watch the baby so I could take him. Partners phone straight to VM, no messages delivering at all so he has no signal in the pub. I keep him updated with messages that remain undelivered. At this point I’m really quite angry.

Eventually at 9pm he calls, clearly incredibly drunk and not making much sense. We all get home at a similar time, at which point we argue and he is effing and blinding saying it’s the end of the relationship, I’m always on a witch hunt etc etc.

My issue is that ultimately he is wasn’t there when we needed him and I feel like we are always second best to his own plans. He has no empathy or understand how it feels to be relied upon alone by the children. His issue is that he doesn’t get to do enough and feels like I always have a problem with his plans. This whole situation has been somehow made out that I am now in the wrong for being mad at him - every time something happens he manipulates the situation and turns it into my fault.

Am I being totally unreasonable here? I don’t want to potentially lose this relationship and man who is actually a great father if I’m the one in the wrong!

OP posts:
BMW6 · 07/03/2025 09:36

He's a selfish cunt and a lousy father. He also has a drink problem.

The question really is - why are you putting up with it?

Dolambslikemintsauce · 07/03/2025 09:33

Not quite sure how he was home enough to even conceive 3 x dc....

EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 07/03/2025 09:32

A great father doesn't go out get really drunk and be uncontactable when his child is ill and his partner is home alone dealing with a baby and another little kid on top of that. A great father is actually there sharing the parenting load. You have 3 little kids including a baby, he's away next week and was last week and he can't to put his family first for one lousy night. Then he manipulates and twists everything because he'd rather make you feel horrible then admit his mistake and step up and be a half decent father. He's a shitty dad and an even worse partner.

Mnetcurious · 07/03/2025 09:31

Yanbu. He’s being totally unreasonable. When you have young children you have responsibilities at home and can’t just go out drinking when you want to, especially when one of your children is ill and your partner has asked you to be around because of this.

I do wonder why you went on to have subsequent children with him knowing his lifestyle/selfish attitude.

Nettleteaser101 · 07/03/2025 09:28

Well your DP is very selfish and I really think you should think about leaving or getting him to leave. You say he is a good Father but he doesn't really see much of your children. Why do women always put up with these selfish men then think it is themselves as fault. Get rid ASAP.