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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

dh strops whenever expected to look after both kids for five minutes

69 replies

bedraggledmumoftwo · 17/01/2015 15:54

Just remembered i had left the food shopping, including raw meat, milk etc, in the car since before lunch. Took dd2(1) up to the bathroom where dh was with dd1(2.5). Exactly the same annoyed reaction as every time i ask him to look after them both, oh couldn't you wait five minutes until we came down? Well, no, because by then i might forget again and then all the food will go off in the car and we will get food poisoning. And he was entertaining a toddler on the toilet, ffs, not splitting the atom,and its not like i was handing him a sleeping newborn, i just sat a one year old on the floor next to him.

It drives me up the wall that whenever he needs to look after both of them i am expected to wait while he goes to the loo, has a shower, makes a coffee and gets ready. I, on the other hand, take one of them to the loo with me, and never get to shower let alone on my own. Getting in the kids bath is the only way i fit it in at all! He, on the other hand, stays in a hotel all week and expects these luxuries every day.

sorry for the rant, but aibu to expect a grown adult to be able to manage two toddlers for two minutes while i do something for all our benefit? And to do so with good grace?

OP posts:
clam · 17/01/2015 17:27

Why did you have to forfeit your lie-in to take them swimming? Surely that means a swap - you get tomorrow instead?

Roomba · 17/01/2015 17:35

I feel for you, my ex was just like this. He was pretty good with ust one DS but could not cope with two at once (still struggles tbh but has had to get better at it since we split).

He did have a massive wake up call when I got admitted to hospital for a few days when DS2 was nine months old (and still BF!).

LaQueen, completely agree with you - and this was one of the main reasons that I split with my ex as it was fucking ridiculous.

Jackieharris · 17/01/2015 17:36

If a mum was staying in a hotel all week imagine the abuse she'd get.

If he wasn't prepared to look after 2 kids he should have kept it in his pants!

Enormouse · 17/01/2015 17:44

laqueen absolutely.

When dp started looking after the DSes solo, his biggest gripe was the number of people who asked him with pitying looks whether he was coping and managing ok. His response - 'they're my kids and I'm not completely incompetent'

bedraggledmumoftwo · 17/01/2015 17:44

Clam, it was my suggestion. First time in weeks dd2 didn't wake at 4am so felt like id had a lie in already!

he is very good with 1 (dd1 to be precise) in fact took her swimming after dd2 fell asleep. I think we started with a divide and conquer approach and i was bf so had dd2 most, then learned to manage both when he went back to work. He has just never had to and still wants dd2 to be mine!

OP posts:
LaQueenAnd3KingsOfOrientAre · 17/01/2015 17:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

clam · 17/01/2015 17:48

Your suggestion or not, why not negotiate that you'd swap this weekend, as swimming was today?

bedraggledmumoftwo · 17/01/2015 17:52

Clam, no need, instead i have announced i am going out for lunch/wine with a friend tomorrow!

OP posts:
Icimoi · 17/01/2015 17:52

He's effectively said you should go away for a weekend and leave him in charge - so do it!

clam · 17/01/2015 18:05

Yay! You go, girl. Wine

TattyDevine · 17/01/2015 18:12

I can't believe you got away with saying on this board that (a) you have carpet in your bathroom and (b) you had the flu (without someone telling you it was just a cold and that its always just a cold and never the flu)

Grin
bedraggledmumoftwo · 17/01/2015 18:27

Actually our bathroom is tiled, but there is an offcut of carpet in the corner in front of the sinks for sitting dd2 on/ in case dd1 falls off her step!

  1. it really was the flu. Complete with fever, chills, aches and hacking cough till i threw up. I probably got away with saying it as it seems to be going around at the moment!
OP posts:
bedraggledmumoftwo · 17/01/2015 18:40

Right, he is being meekishly apologetic and i have sent him up to bath both children while i have a glass of wine load the dishwasher.

OP posts:
ItsAKindOfRabbit · 17/01/2015 18:54

Urgh, my DH was like this when ours were small.

He is better now that they are older (6 and 4) and I have trained him

I, personally, think there's a lot of ingrained sexist stuff relating to this kind of behaviour.

My mother is shocked that DH is expected to, you know, parent his own children. Then when he does anything it's all fucking applause from the old school - like the lady over the road who went on and on and on and on about what a good Dad DH was because he used to take DD1 out on her scooter on a Saturday (while I did the housework)

I had DD1 24/7 apart from that hour on a Saturday morning - was I a 'great' mother in her eyes? Constantly out and about with her, did she ever praise me? Nope.

ItsAKindOfRabbit · 17/01/2015 18:56

I remember going apeshit once when DH had swanned around all day at the weekend once, then I had asked him to please sort out the DC's tea for a change.

Ten minutes later I asked him to help me with something else and he replied "but I've just cooked their tea for you"

For ME???? Fucks sake.

BlackeyedSusan · 17/01/2015 19:47

you only got away with it as your h was such an arse. shows how much of an arse he is. Grin

notonyourninny · 17/01/2015 19:55

Stop and stop it now. Nothing will change unless you take action, talk to dh, make it clear things need to change asap.

A mum from school told me her dh had never looked after dd in 5 years until she was admitted to hospital. Shock

Dh has always looked after our 4 dcs on his own, they are his dcs too. Also, our youngest is two so at the weekends, fh takes him with him as much as possible.

BlackeyedSusan · 17/01/2015 20:00

yep ex used to change nappies for me... drove me batshit.

once pils came to help with decorating. sent ex out with his dad and dd in a pushchair. he got back and thanked

morethanpotatoprints · 17/01/2015 20:14

My dh was a bit like this when ds2 came along as I am a sahm and did most with the dc as he was away alot.

He asked if I would go to a friends, shopping, cinema anything to give him time so he would be able to learn to cope without me and in fairness so the dc could also learn to do without me for a while.

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