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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to want my baby's dad to see her.....?

36 replies

kritur · 15/12/2011 11:34

Bit of background. Bloke got serious cold feet when I was pg and basically told me he wouldn't have anything to do with us and I would have to raise the baby by myself. We still stayed in contact, same circle of friends and also toing and froing on and off, especially when I was in late pregnancy when he suddenly decided to become nice again. So fast forward and the baby is now here, he has decided he wants to be part of her life however he didn't come to the hospital (I was in for quite a while) and he hasn't been to visit. He has seen her for about an hour when I took her round to his mum's house. The reason for this is his adult daughter is having trouble coping with the baby being here. SO he says he won't come and see his baby until his daughter is happy with things, apparently she thinks it might take a couple of months to do this! Last night I honestly lost it on the phone with him, he said adult daughter has to be his priority and he doesn't want to lie to her by saying he hasn't been round if he has. He thinks it doesn't matter because the baby doesn't understand what's going on and who everyone is. I can't stop crying about it, it's me who will have to explain in years to come why he's not in her baby pictures and she's growing so fast already.

So am I being unreasonable to expect him to come and visit?

OP posts:
kritur · 15/12/2011 13:15

His family aren't an issue, they want to see her and are happy for me to visit them or them visit me. I am now at the stage where I am just going to leave things, I can't wait around forever, it's not fair, he knows where we are.

OP posts:
Crosshair · 15/12/2011 13:21

He sounds like a shit dad and a shit person tbh.

Hope you can move on and you start feeling better about the situation.

Tryharder · 15/12/2011 13:31

OK. I think your aim here is to build bridges for the future. I would stop all contact with your baby's father other than what is needed for finances etc and let him sort himself out. The situation will calm itself down and I would imagine that he'll be in touch. But I would stay in contact with your baby's GPs as much as possible and make your DD a part of their lives. It's her family after all.

kritur · 15/12/2011 14:00

That's what I'm going to do I think. Stay in touch with her GPs and Aunties and Uncles and cousins and leave him and the daughter to sort themselves out. It's just crap being the bigger person when I'm hormonal and still recovering, I could have done without this.

OP posts:
WibblyBibble · 15/12/2011 14:11

No, YANBU at all. Why the fuck does an adult have to come before his relationship with his other child? He should stop using his daughter as an excuse anyway, why on earth would she be so 'upset' about him having another child? Also wtf is it with sex education over the last 30 years that has made men think that unintended pregnancy is so miraculous that they don't owe the person they get pregnant or the child they create any responsibility? Are schools seriously not teaching that contraception is not 100% reliable, so that it genuinely is such a shock to them when someone gets pregnant as a result of them having sex, or are men absorbing this revolting attitude to biological reality somewhere else?

WibblyBibble · 15/12/2011 14:14

Samandi, if he didn't want to have a child he would have had a vasectomy, or not have had sex. If he was having sex, he knew a child could be a result of that, so he made the choice to potentially become a parent. Stop being a misogynist. Men are just as responsible for ANY unplanned pregnancy as women.

eurochick · 15/12/2011 14:18

He has two children now. Why should the feelings of one trump the other?

SolidGoldStockingFilla · 15/12/2011 14:19

He isn't behaving well, but there is no way for you to make him behave better. So stop trying to do so, work on setting up the necessary legal structures to keep you and your baby safe and the man at arm's length (as others said, don;t put him on the birth certificate, do try to get him to contribute financially.)

Overcooked · 15/12/2011 14:22

Op - how old are you and how old is he?

You sound quite young but I could be wrong?

samandi · 15/12/2011 14:32

Samandi, if he didn't want to have a child he would have had a vasectomy, or not have had sex. If he was having sex, he knew a child could be a result of that, so he made the choice to potentially become a parent.

Is this what you would say to a woman (who was on contraception) having a termination because she didn't want a kid? That she should've been sterilised or not had sex? Hmm

kritur · 15/12/2011 14:34

I'm 32 and he is 41, I am not young!

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