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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DP wants me to travel 300 miles around 10 days after I give birth...[long]

113 replies

DirtyBit · 06/05/2011 14:44

He can feck right off.

For as long as I can remember the plan has been that his family will come up to see the baby, this is how it works isn't it? Nobody expects a new mother to travel across the country so they can see the baby.

Especially with the likelihood that I will be having a c-section.

I'm having our baby 2 weeks early due to GD, we'll find out the exact date next week. Last week he started saying he wanted to go down at the end of the month (1st anniversary of his dad's death - can understand but still!) but he would go on his own if I wasn't up to it...not really fair on me if I am recovering from a c-section/difficult birth, but I would have said ok as I know he found it very hard last year. Now all of a sudden it's "but I'll be wanting to take the baby, the whole point is that my family can meet her"...erm no...my 10 day old baby will need to be with me, not at the other end of the country for 4 days. Apparently I can just express milk it will be fine Hmm

He's being such an arse, apparently, even though this has been the plan all along, his brother probably can't get time off work to drive his mum up (she won't drive on motorways Hmm) blah blah blah none of his family will get to see her until August. He won't take a day off to go down another weekend because he's not got much holiday to use (why the fuck has he taken so many days off midweek to do nothing so far this year then?!) and it's not fair, he never sees his family and when he does want to he can't.
I've been suggesting to him for months that he take time off and we'll go down but he hasn't wanted to. We could have gone over easter or royal wedding weekend and he decided he wanted to for easter then changed his mind last minute.

So now I'm being unreasonable.

I had previously said that I didn't want his whole family - mum, brother, sister, aunt, nan & grandad to be up straight away, but said today if it's a choice between them coming up the week after or not seeing the baby until August I'd rather they came up the week after.

He's said "FINE but your family aren't coming over while mine are here if they do I'll turn them away at the door" I told him to stop being such an arse and I would make it clear to my family that that would be his family's time to spend with the baby.

I even said to him why don't they come up on the 21st (probably a couple of days after birth) so that he is with them on the anniversary, but no, his half brother wanted it to be all 3 brothers & his mum at the end of the month. I may be being incredibly selfish, but my opinion is that our baby's needs as well as mine come first in this case.

He's also having a massive strop over the fact that my mum invited us to her birthday party on the afternoon of the 29th months ago and we agreed, before he decided he wanted to go down south that weekend, and that if I'm up to it I will be going for a few hours. Apparently there is no difference between me going half an hour up the road or 4+ hours to the other end of the country. And he won't come and pick the baby up after a few hours if I wanted to stay for a while. Fine by me.

He seems to think that I'm of the impression that my family comes first, as I see them a lot more than he sees his, but my family live in the same area whereas his live at the other end of the country. He decided to move up here, and now he's saying I'm unreasonable beacsue I won't move down there for a year. I've said no chance, I'm at Uni ("you could transfer"), I don't want to move across the country with a newborn, and he was so desperate to get away, why would that make me want to move there?

ARGH I'm just so fed up of how he acts when we have an argument, he's so arsey about everything. And the way he talks about my family when he's annoyed really pisses me off, "your mum's loaded, she can afford it, mine can't" yet he's happy to accept all the help she's given us (money, car, baby things". He's really rude about it all.

He's such a wanker sometimes Angry

I honestly think I'm being reasonable but please correct me if I'm wrong.

OP posts:
Blatherskite · 06/05/2011 19:45

Yey for common sense prevailing Grin

Glad he's changed his mind Op.

First babies are a huge shock - whatever age you are - and you're totally right when you say that you can never really prepare, you just have to roll with it when it happens...but if you are ever stuck, whatever time of day or night, remember MN will be here to help :)

MsScarlett · 06/05/2011 19:51

Good god yes Blather! I actually thought that there was something seriously wrong with dd and with everything I was doing, as I thought that babies actually slept, that they only fed about every 3-4 hours and that, apparently, "breastfeeding doesn't hurt if you're doing it right". Hmm

It was only after consulting mumsnet and found 1000 other mums with babies that never slept and fed every half hour with unbearably painful nips that I realised it was all normal! Grin

Good luck OP, and sorry if I've scared you! Grin x

Blatherskite · 06/05/2011 20:01

Yes, lets just point out that BF does not always hurt for everyone eh Scarlett before you put her off completely! Grin No unbearable painful nips here thankfully although i do have a friend that happened to

I'm actually quite envious of the Op. I didn't find MN till DS was about 6 months old. If only i could have got all the advice I got with DD when DS was tiny, things might have been sooo much easier!

MsScarlett · 06/05/2011 20:47

Yes should add the disclaimer, it only hurt for a very short time and doesn't hurt anymore! DD yanks them around like it's going out of fashion. And even if someone had been honest with me and told me it could smart a bit, I don't think it would have put me off so I'm sure it won't the OP - but let's not start down that road! Grin

The point I was trying to make is that yes, I agree that MN is a godsend when new motherhood is throwing all sorts of challenges at you - you can come on here and find lots of others in the same boat! Smile

Good luck with it all OP - glad you and dp have reached a compromise you're all happy with. x

clam · 06/05/2011 20:52

I tried expressing milk. 2 hours of farting about and got about a teaspoonful. Whilst I accept I may not have been doing it right, and that plenty of people manage it fine, it's not a given that you will be able to do it, particularly after 10 days and certainly not get enough for FOUR DAYS away!

Anyway, am glad to see the plan's changed. Good luck.

Blatherskite · 06/05/2011 21:08

I had expressed for DS so was confident I knew what I was doing with the pump when I had DD.

She had different ideas though and refused every single bottle we tried no matter what we put in it!! I ended up BF her for a year just because it was the only way to get milk into her.

No idea where she got her stubbornness from Blush Grin

CocktailQueen · 06/05/2011 21:17

Nope, YANU - he is an arse. You cannot express milk for a 10 day old baby! You will still be establishing bfing at that time. Ask peole to come to you. And HELP when they come to you, not sit on their arses and get you to fetch drinks etc for them. He sounds a bit bonkers...

hairfullofsnakes · 06/05/2011 22:04

HE is being TOTALLY UNREASONABLE! Tell him to stop being such a bloody prick - you poor lady, you are about to give birth yet have to deal with this immature selfish idiot!

hairfullofsnakes · 06/05/2011 22:08

A year from now he will CRINGE at his utterly ridiculous suggestion to take a bf baby (or even just a new-born baby!) away from it's mum for four days!

skybluepearl · 07/05/2011 00:16

you must say that you really only want people to visit if they are going to help out and look after you and let you bond with baby. do highlight that you can't cook/clean/change beds as all your energy will be on baby

scottishmummy · 07/05/2011 00:30

well yes to an extent,it's post birth not invalid convalescence.you bond by regular daily interaction and activities,dont just halt and feed and burp only

MrsGrotBag · 07/05/2011 08:15

oh this all sounds like my DH too so may be a man thing??

For our first baby he believed and then got in a serious arsey strop when I told him that he wasn't being reasonable about the following:

  • He insisted he was going to deliver the baby and have the first cuddle.
  • On day 2 he set the birth pool up in the garden, invited friends over, got in it as a swimming pool and was incredulous when I wouldn't get in it with him.
  • didn't believe lochia existed, let alone could go on for 6 weeks. I was just being negative about anticipating bleeding after the birth apparently.
  • insisted mother in law came for 9 days arriving on the day of the birth (she doesn't do anything but sit on the sofa) - she did come - wasn't invited back for DC2 or 3 Grin
  • also believed I would express from day 1 so he could do half the feeds. I tried til i was blue in the face to explain that I couldn't produce milk at that rate and that expressing was more time consuming and stressful than just feeding the damn baby.
  • exclusively breast fed baby to have open heart surgery at 3 months old and he is expecting me to express so he can swap with me and I stay at home with the other kids for half the time. I think not.

I'm sure there's other stuff but that will do for now Grin

scottishmummy · 07/05/2011 20:41

no its not a man thing.just the man some of you marry

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