Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Aibu for asking dp to help once in a while?

198 replies

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 02:02

Basically I have 2 boys, one a preschooler who goes to cm 2 days a week and a young baby who is starting to wean onto solids.

I'm on mat leave but due to return to work later this year. Dp is self employed but contracted so doesn't get to pick his days to work. He works a very physically demanding job and is generally out of the house by 7am often working miles away and doesn't come home til about 7pm. He is exhausted. He only works about 4 days a week tho.

I do the majority of the housework and everything child-related, take charge of the household bills and basically any other 'life-admin' that gets thrown in our general direction.

I never have 'me time', oldest son in the throes of potty training so all is fun in our house Hmm

I am constantly run ragged from the minute I get up with the kids to the moment I get to bed at night. Always mountains of laundry to do and bottles to sterilise and general drudgery that comes with running a house.

Dp got home early last night, just before I'd started making tea. He came home to a howling hungry baby who I had just made a bottle for, a preschooler whose pants I had just changed (for the umpteenth time that day) and me who couldn't even get tea started because of the afore-mentioned things. I asked dp if he would give baby his bottle. He did, so I could make tea. Afterwards it was near enough bedtime for kids, I asked dp if he wouldn't mind getting kids ready for bed whilst I tidied kitchen and put laundry away. He did this begrudgingly as he was tired from work. I understand this.

Now the thing that gets my goat is even on his days off I do majority of housework, sorting kids etc, packing bags when we have to go out the house, sorting everything from birthday presents, buying groceries, taking kids to docs/dental appointments, that sort of thing. Dp will quite happily sit in the same room with the kids but he will be on his iPad or phone doing 'research' - just generally ignoring his spawn. He will 'help' when asked but other than that not really. The phrase that comes out of my mouth most often but not massively is 'can you just do me a favour and do x?'.

He was on his phone this morning doing 'research' in bed whilst I was downstairs giving kids their breakfast, washing up pots afterwards, and taking clothes which had been sat in the washing machine all night and put them in the dryer. I came upstairs and asked dp if he could get them dressed whilst I showered. He was on his phone on the Internet, and kicked up a shit-storm about how he never has any time to himself and how I'm always asking him to do stuff. Lets just say a row followed.

When he comes home late from work which is often, I, generally speaking have bathed kids and put them to bed, sorted out bottles for baby's night feeds which I do and cleared the kitchen. All dp has to do when he gets home from work is heat his tea up, eat it, wash his plate, have a beer and go to bed ready for the next day. I never ask him to do stuff around the home when he comes home late at night.

Today I have pretty much done everything even tho he has had a day off. We've argued about his lack of help around the home and how I nag him. We've attended my friend's child's birthday party, done the food shop and he has gone to his parents house for the night who live about 25 miles away as his family are visiting over Easter so he can go for a drink/get pissed with them. He moaned because I asked if wouldn't mind returning home at a reasonable hour the next day. 'Oh look, I can have a night out for once but with conditions attached. You just don't want me to see my family!' Errmmm.... Nope I've been suggesting you go out for a drink with them all week, you arse! Angry

Before he left the house tonight I was still pretty upset at the events of today and had been crying. After I bathed and put kids to bed (whilst he was on the phone to someone) I took clean clothes (mainly his work clothes) out of the dryer and was putting them away upstairs. He came up, saw me sorting the laundry, didn't bother to offer a hand even tho it was his stuff and asked 'did you empty my work pants pockets before they went in the wash?' I said yes. He asks me did I come across any lottery tickets in the pockets. I said no. He rifled thru the laundry basket despite the fact I was obviously upset, pulled out his work pants, checked the pockets and found some bits of paper which had been washed by accident. I an only assume they were the lotto tickets.

He then left the house in a huff! Not even an apology for being an arse.

I will be up tonite with baby. And up early the morning with oldest son. I have a back log of phone calls I need to make at some point which I can never get round to doing - dp knows this. And yet I seem to get sweet fa 'help' towards our responsibilities. His favourite lines are 'I don't understand why it takes you all day to do what you need to do. You shouldn't have washing to be putting away at night time' or another one is 'how do other mums manage?' Or the killer line which gets pulled out the bag as a last resort 'my mum had 7 kids and ran a business, why can't you cope?'. I can cope just fine ta very much, that's not the issue!!!

Sorry for long post. Aibu to feel absolutely fed up?!? I don't want pity, I just feel like I'm going out of my mind. Can't reason with him, he is irrational. Oh and has never looked after both kids for more than a couple of hours on his own.

OP posts:
OTheHugeManatee · 27/03/2016 11:50

Sorry OP but I think your problems are far worse than a DP who just needs a jolt to make him step up. He sounds like a massive arse.

I'd kick him out for a few days, see if that makes him see you're serious. You're not married and the house is in your name so you're entirely within your rights to do it.

If that doesn't work then I'm afraid it's LTB.

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 11:57

This sounds cold and nasty but I'm down to SMP now and was planning to take full 12 months off work. Of which I won't get paid for 2 of them. So I need his pay cheque for the moment coming in. I dont know if I'd be able to claim tax credits or the mo or what I would get. I'm planning on holding out til September when I go back to work and understand what my childcare arrangement will be. Might just have to suck it up til then. When I'm back at work he may surely see I can compress all the household/child duties in to the remaining time without something having to give or me making myself extremely ill playing catch up

OP posts:
Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 11:59

Cant*

OP posts:
BeAVoiceNotAnEcho · 27/03/2016 12:08

You sound so worn down it saddens me reading your posts. You're not alone and many women go through the same shit day in day out!
You are both parents and both have an equal responsibility,you both live in the same house so he has to realise he needs to do his share. It's not helping out either!!

Find that self esteem and tell him to step up or step out and don't come back x

TheTartOfAsgard · 27/03/2016 12:14

I've been in exactly the same position you are in, even same age gap between the children, and a manchild as well. I put up with it for years but My turning point was one Sunday when I'd been ill all week with a really bad dose of the flu, he'd been out the night before and came down and asked what's for dinner. A switch went off and I told him to fuck off and don't come back. I still do everything now, but as a working single parent and I've never been happier.

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 12:19

I am worn down but I don't think people would see it if they saw me in person. I try and stay as upbeat as I can but I do feel a bit, dare I say it, depressed some days. I had pnd after ds1 so sort of recognize the symptoms. But this feeling I have feels more cyclical as in some days I am better at coping than others. Dp knows this, he witnessed it at its worst but it must be easy for someone who doesn't dwell too deeply on how others feel to easily 'forget'. Some days I just cry. Frustration, loneliness, isolation, self-loathing and a loss of my own personal identity and a grief for that loss though it's only a fleeting thought. Have explained this to dp the other week but had to use metaphors a lot as he just wasn't 'getting' it. I feel like I speak in a foreign tongue around him sometimes.

OP posts:
BeAVoiceNotAnEcho · 27/03/2016 12:28

I'm not surprised you feel depressed...you're effectively doing this alone and without the proper support from a loving partner.
Bringing up young children can be draining, a relentless drudgery some days just trying to keep a house tidy and kids happy! Believe me I've been a single parent and found it easier in many ways!
He should be sharing this with you...how do you feel when he comes home from work? X

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 12:38

It's weird. I feel like yay the kids are in bed, lets have some quality time together. But that never happens due to him having to go to bed early and spending majority of his time before bed on iPad or phone.

I think that's my brain playing tricks on me I.e wanting to feel that excitement of seeing my partner at the end of a long day to have good adult conversation with. Ultimately it doesn't really happen.

My expectations are set too high I feel. He'd always find energy for sex tho if I bothered to offer it

OP posts:
TheCrumpettyTree · 27/03/2016 12:40

What are you getting out of this relationship? Forget the kids for a moment, just you.

LindyHemming · 27/03/2016 12:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Namechanger2015 · 27/03/2016 12:50

Monkey you sound like me during my marriage to a lazy and verbally abusive arse, trying to care for three young children and listening to him telling me how hard he worked and how tired he was.

I left him when the children were 7, 5 and 2. My parents were very traditional, my mum still thinks I ruined my life, but I didn't. I did the best thing ever for my children by showing them a much better life than one living with a massively disrespectful dad, and totally downtrodden mum.

I have only been out of the marriage for year, my self-esteem etc is still a work-in-progress, but I honestly can't believe how downtrodden I was by living with someone who clearly does not give a shit about my wellbeing.

I would think that having your name on the mortgage, a letter verifying his deposit was a gift and not a loan, and him working (so you won't be paying him any maintenance) are all very good things that make your legal case stronger.

Please consider taking a free half hour from a solicitor just to be aware of your legal standing.
Also please read ''Why does he do that' by Lundy Bancroft, I think you will find it a real eye-opener. It's available on kindle so you can read it from your phone if you don't want the book lying around.

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 12:50

He contributes financially. I think he wouldn't be too arsed about the state of his abode if he lived on his own.

I don't get the respect I deserve that's for sure

OP posts:
Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 12:54

He's home. I just told him I was about to make some dinner. He said 'I'm hungry myself', no offer of doing it despite the fact I've been awake most of the night and up since 6am.

Nearly in tears in the kitchen. Oldest son needs food tho

OP posts:
Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 12:55

Oh and although he walked right past the basket of clean clothes in the kitchen that needs to go upstairs, mostly his jeans that I washed yesterday I can guarantee they'll stay there til I shift them

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 27/03/2016 13:11

For starters, I'd stop doing a mother fucking thing for him. No teas, no laundry. Just let it pile up. Or dump it in a basket. He brings it up, tell him, well, your mother managed it for herself when she had 7 kids and ran a business, knock yourself out.

Stop waiting on him.

Make plans to get him out, too. Glad you are not married to him.

Ememem84 · 27/03/2016 13:14

I just had a conversation with Dh. Who incidentally has seemingly created a feast out of absolutely nothing. Roasted veggies pittas cous cous. Meaty chilli. Salad. And picky bits. must have slept through all of that

And asked how he'd cope if he was single. His answer is that he'd do it all. So I asked why wasn't he now...? blank look. we'll have a talk later...

TendonQueen · 27/03/2016 13:20

As expat says, stop doing anything for him. It's like the cartoon from years ago where the bloke comes home and finds everything in chaos and the wife says 'I decided the best way to show you what I do all day was not to do it'.

Don't move that washing basket either. He can come downstairs and get his own clean clothes when he needs them.

SOPH781 · 27/03/2016 13:25

OP I feel your pain. I had same issues with my dh when our ds was a baby. His behaviour was v similar to your dh and one day I had enough. I stopped taking into account his needs and wants when doing grocery shoping, I bought a separate laundry basket for him and stopped doing his laundry. I cook only for me and my ds unless i really feel like cooking for dh. I hired a cleaner and pay for her out of our joint account. This way, I don't feel like his skivvy, we don't argue about domestic issues and things are much better between us.

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 13:26

He's come in the kitchen expecting lunch to be made for him cos I made ds1 a bowl of soup. He said come on ds1 shall we go get our lunch only to find I've not made him any.

I'm sat at the table in tears. He put his arms around me and asked if I was alright. Typical reply I said 'I'm fine'. He said 'I do love you ya know?'. I told him I didn't want him to touch me. He asked what was wrong. I told him we aren't working. He's now asking if he can know who I'm texting. I said no.

His response has quickly to changes for acting 'sincere' to saying 'oh right, like that is it?' With hefty sarcasm. One sentence from me and his overall tone changes.

Does that sound like someone who cares? No, thought not

OP posts:
Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 13:47

Anyway enough of this mawdling, kids are fed. Baby will need a nappy change but dp will have to do that as I am taking myself off out in this miserable weather so as not to inflict my misery on my kids.

OP posts:
TendonQueen · 27/03/2016 13:48

Be specific. Tell him he treats you like a servant and that's why you're unhappy. Don't tell him you're all right if you're not.

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 13:50

I've used those exact words before now, Tendon. He said its bollocks cos he works harder than me at work

OP posts:
TendonQueen · 27/03/2016 13:52

Going out is not a bad idea. But don't be afraid to tell him how you want things to be change.

TendonQueen · 27/03/2016 13:54

How does he know? Tell him you're not interested in a competition. You are interested in a respectful relationship. Normal decent men are able to do stuff around the house. If he's saying he's not up to that standard then he has no right to make demands.

Monkeyonmyback · 27/03/2016 13:59

I'm constantly telling him it's not a pissing contest with regards to who has done what or had a more demanding day. But it's far easier for him to make it one to justify his own invented position than face up to the reality that he could actually be at fault

OP posts: