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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Why do I feel odd about this? Non biological parent and 'dads'

185 replies

LRDtheFeministDragon · 09/02/2017 15:29

My DP is expecting our first baby. She got pregnant partly because I have a history of miscarriage, which is being investigated at the moment. So far there's no definite indications of why it happens, but some tests have come up positive and so they're continuing to check things out.

Obviously, we're thrilled about the baby and I honestly don't feel the tiniest bit that she isn't mine. In fact we both regularly forget she won't inherit anything genetic from me. Grin However, I feel a bit odd about the mental 'boxes' people put me in. We just did NCT, and we had a lovely teacher who was falling over herself to be inclusive, and everyone else there was really nice and friendly. Now we've finished the classes we were encouraged to set up little facebook groups - a general one, one for dads and one for mums. Perhaps predictably, the general one is silent, there's one for mums which DP tells me is full of chatter, and as far as I know, there isn't one for dads at all because no one's set it up. Or, of course, they have and I just don't know. I could set it up myself, but I'm a bit nervous, firstly because I know someone in the same situation as me who had men complain they couldn't talk freely in front of her, and partly because ... and this is bad ... I just don't feel as if I have so much in common with the men. Rationally, I know we share a lot of common ground, and they're all nice, but I feel out of place. And obviously I don't fit with the mums either. And I feel oddly lonely.

I am not generally one for language policing and so my issue isn't that I mind people talking about 'the dads' and including me, or referring to me as 'honorary dad'. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just don't feel as if I have the same experiences as them.

I am sure this will all fly out of my mind once the baby's born and I'll be far too busy and sleepless to think about anything so trivial. But can anyone sort of understand why I'm feeling out of place, and help me figure it out?

OP posts:
LRDtheFeministDragon · 10/02/2017 13:10
Grin

Yes, I can imagine.

I am still delighted by the occasional person who doesn't realise that the baby I'm expecting in March is not, in fact, located about my person (and I promise my lardarse is not quite that huge). Recent examples include a lovely student of mine, and, shamingly, one of my ex-colleagues who did seem slightly bemused at my lack of bump, but couldn't quite figure out how to put it all together.

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 10/02/2017 13:24

Not read he whole head but this is you, wow. Congratulations :o
Off to read the thread and discover it's from 1992 and you are actually now a grandma or something...

Dashper · 10/02/2017 13:26

I've nothing to add to your question but aside from NCT meet-ups, I suggest you focus on taking your DD to baby groups or join local 'mummies' (that's what mine is called. Cringe) meet up groups on FB. That's where I have made my longest lasting friends, despite doing NCT to make friends.

StealthPolarBear · 10/02/2017 13:26

As many have said I'd join the mums group. You may not have anything to contribute about leaky nipples and piles bur I'd happily talk about that sort of thing with you about on a way in wouldn't with a man. And there'll be plenty that are relevant to you - you'll have more in common than not.

Familyof3or4 · 10/02/2017 13:29

I would join the mums group as you're a mum not a dad. The fact that you're not pregnant is irrelevant.
It was a silly idea to have separate groups anyway.

Catsize · 10/02/2017 13:34

We did NCT as two mums. My partner went into the Dads bit, as it was more a divide of 'those carrying a baby and those not'. The Dads bit was more about support and stuff and the mums bit more about being pregnant.

She wasn't put into either camp - just invited to choose whichever.

I can understand how you feel OP.

LaContessaDiPlump · 10/02/2017 13:36

First off, congratulations LRD and partner!

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread. However in our NCT group there was one lesbian couple and so I sort of have experienced the situation you're describing.

The couple (let's call them A and B) joined their respective FB groups - A (pregnant) joined the 'Mums' group and B joined the 'Partner' group. The mum one (which I was also in) was fairly fast-moving, probably because we were all still at work and had time to chat Grin

I think, looking back, B deliberately didn't join the mum's group. I think she wanted A to have a space that was just hers, which was very thoughtful (although B was perfectly nice and would have been welcome anyway)! The pattern has sort of held good over subsequent years; A tends to come to 'Mum' events and B comes along too with general events. I suspect that that is more based on who went to the baby groups and was off with baby though (i.e. if you are splitting parental leave then it means you'll spend more time with these people too).

Oh and A and B are both definitely Mums - Mother's Day is a big deal in their house, they tell me! In fact they are clever because they decided one mum could have American Mother's Day and the other could have British Mother's Day Grin genius!

LaContessaDiPlump · 10/02/2017 13:37

I mean we had all LEFT work. Sorry Blush

BertieBotts · 10/02/2017 14:14

Shock Ha! Yes. I was joking, it's a bit of an extreme solution to a very minor problem! :)

MrsTwix · 10/02/2017 15:35

Congratulations to you both. Just my opinion, I don't think you are overthinking it. The course leader should have been more clear about if it was 1 group for those pregnant and the other group for partners, or if it was a mums group for women and a dads group for men.

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