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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DP wants a lie in every weekend

334 replies

IWantALieIn · 18/03/2018 10:08

Not sure who is BU here. He says me, I say him.

I have a toddler from a previous relationship, who doesn’t see his dad. DP is very good, looks after him like he’s he’s dad and is very good at housework, cleaning, whereas I am shit at it. DP is helpful, kind and generally wonderful.

However he sleeps 12 hours a day. He says he needs to and it’s not a choice. Therefore, he can’t get up in the morning. I harassed him to go to the GPs and his thyroid seems to be slightly underactive and he's got a follow up for that. He also has depression, as do I, but he says his sleep has been like this since before he was depressed.

Now here’s the issue. DS gets up at 6am. He sometimes doesn’t sleep through. We have the agreement that DP will get up in the night, because he doesn’t like mornings, I’ll get up with DS.

However, on the nights DS sleeps through, DP still thinks I should get up every morning because “he needs 12 hours sleep”. I said we should take it in turns, so one night he sleeps through, DP gets up in the morning, next night I do it, or vice versa. He says this isn’t fair because he needs his sleep and I said I’d do the mornings. I said but otherwise I get no benefit of DS sleeping.

I also have bad joints, and take prescription painkillers. In a morning, in the winter, my joints are stiff and sore and I can’t take my meds if I’m looking after DS alone.

Is he being u? He says I am because he does most of the housework and needs his sleep. I also think maybe I am because DS isn’t his son?

OP posts:
notapizzaeater · 18/03/2018 11:46

What do you do about ds on university days ? Do you have the meds and look after him then getting him to nursery ?

What did you do before you lived with DH ?

summercat · 18/03/2018 11:47

Fuck me, he's got it made hasn't he? Staying up til 1 or 2am, fucking around on the games console, lying in til midday, (doing fuck-all around the house, or to help his partner,) and blaming 'tiredness' and 'fatigue' on it all.

What an utter fucking arsehole.

Why the fuck do some women put up with this fucking SHIT? Hmm

Ask yourself this OP, would HE put up with this from YOU?!

Course he wouldn't. No man would tolerate any woman behaving in such a selfish-cunt manner, and yet women seem to put up with it. Baffles the hell outta me why!

WombatChocolate · 18/03/2018 11:47

If you are an adult who needs lots of sleep, then you go to bed earlier, so you can still get up when you need to.
How is he ever goi g to get a job if he can't get into a sensible routine? Student days of staying up until 1 playing games are over. If he needs lots of sleep he needs to aim for bed at 9 - you are a family with children and his hours need to fit the family and not a single student.
If he can't understand this and be willing to start adapting to make it happen, he's not suitable for family life. You will need to have a hard conversation about it. You can acknowledge how you appreciate his help with housework and in night, but be clear that family hours are needed - he's either with you and your DC and part of it, or he's outside living his own single lifestyle. He needs to choose.

Anatidae · 18/03/2018 11:48

I’ll also say as well that fibro can be used as a bit of a catch all diagnosis - while it exists (I’m not saying it doesn’t at all!) I think some GPs are a bit too willing to just label any female with chronic tiredness and pain with fibro. It’s well worth exploring other avenues esp. if you have hypermobility for example.

You definitely need to rule out any other cause

RoadToRivendell · 18/03/2018 11:49

Under no circumstances would I consider a relationship with anyone who required 12 hours a sleep a day. Why would you do this?

Cornettoninja · 18/03/2018 11:49

My job to sort DPs lack of routine

In a round about way kind of. It's your job to ultimately decide whether this is the kind of life you want for your dc and importantly you. You can't make your dp do anything all you can do is try and convince him of the logic and importance of your stance. If that doesn't work (which is 50/50) then what?

I do have sympathy for your position - loads - but that doesn't mean I don't think you sound utterly defeatist. You have listed many, many reasons why things aren't the way you wish they were but seem reluctant to axhknowledge solutions.

I get that, it's hard and seems insurmountable but the status quo isn't making you happy and has to change in some way unless you are content to accept this your lot in life and lay down and take it.

There are ways of coping - housework for instance. There's a million resources online that will list things step by step for you and help you gain independence in a small area that seems to be a circle of power for your dp to justify his less desireable behaviours.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 18/03/2018 11:51

My job to sort DPs lack of routine?

Her Household is her responsibility. If her DP is hindering something in her household then yes it is her responsibility, she needs to either get rid and resolve/manage her child’s sleep issues and ‘high needs’ and housework herself along with her own medication and illness it’s part of being a grown up with a child and a illness or disability

PurplePirate · 18/03/2018 11:52

I just wouldn't find a man like that compatible with family life. Sleeping until 1pm because of playing PlayStation into the small hours? Fuck that.

mimibunz · 18/03/2018 11:53

What’s a ‘high needs child’?

IWantALieIn · 18/03/2018 11:53

No-one knew how much pain I struggled with because I didn't give them details. I think that's the same here with our perceived lack of understanding.

I’ll admit that. I hate writing it or talking about it because it makes me feel inadequate but no one is a mind reader.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 18/03/2018 11:55

'Under no circumstances would I consider a relationship with anyone who required 12 hours a sleep a day. Why would you do this?'

Because he's doing all the housework and all the night wake ups with her toddler.

IWantALieIn · 18/03/2018 11:57

I’m talking to DP now and he’s said he’s happy to go to bed 9-10 ish as long as he gets an hour to read by himself so he can unwind and not feel overwhelmed.

OP posts:
whampiece · 18/03/2018 12:00

What’s a ‘high needs child’?

I do believe it's a child Wink

summercat · 18/03/2018 12:00

BLESS. What a fucking princess he is!

Jeez OP. Really???

Letseatgrandma · 18/03/2018 12:01

When did your DP leave university? You say it was recently, but it’s March now and most courses end in June/July. How many months ago?

Is he claiming medical -related benefits? It sounds like he is only just raising these medical issues with his GP, so maybe not? I just wondered what you have been living on?

I could sleep 12 hours (though certainly not every night!) when I was at University but as soon as I left and got a job, that stopped and real life took over!

I would be worried that he would deliberately not get/keep a job because he likes his lifestyle at the moment too much-that’s why I was wondering what was funding it and if that was likely to continue indefinitely, making it debatable if he would actually get a job?

RottenTomatoes959 · 18/03/2018 12:02

I may be somewhat biased and I do think you're being slightly unreasonable seeing as he is not his dad but my ex also used to "need" twelve hours sleep a night. It was impossible to get him up when he didnt want to. He always used to say his body was just different. No he was just a fat lazy shite who also didnt work and when he did he lost every job he got.
If its a thyroid problem he needs some form of medication because sleeping twelve hours just doesnt work with daily life in the future.
Id cut my losses if I were you.

IWantALieIn · 18/03/2018 12:03

He’s applying to jobs. We’ve been living off of money we saved while studying, it’s not sustainable long term. My course is ending soon and so we won’t be doing it much longer.

OP posts:
Minus1 · 18/03/2018 12:04

It sounds as if he has a student body clock and lifestyle. I remember the luxury of being able to sleep whenever.

As soon as he starts working (will he?) he will have to conform to early morning starts like everybody else. He’s not likely to go to bed at 6pm for a 6am start is he?

hummusscot · 18/03/2018 12:07

Honestly to me it sounds like two disabled/chronically ill people with clashing disabilities/chronic illnesses trying to parent together. You're both doing the best you can in the circumstances, I think, and pushing for more referrals for pain stuff for you and sleep/thyroid stuff for him will make a huge difference in the long run. I don't actually think there's much else you can do other than deal with the medical stuff because it sounds like that's the root of the problem.

I have fibromyalgia and my partner has chronic fatigue syndrome- my pain keeps me up at night and she really genuinely does need 12 hours sleep. We're currently TTC and talking a lot about building a family based on those circumstances and both in agreement that pushing for more medical intervention is the best idea. Sounds like a really similar situation in a lot of ways. I wish you the best of luck.

Letseatgrandma · 18/03/2018 12:09

Blimey-I never managed to save a penny whilst studying!

Good luck with the course-do you both have degrees that will lead to an clearly defined role (that probably makes no sense, but I mean like a specific degree as a speech therapist or social worker etc) or is it more of a curriculum subject degree, where further training is needed or decisions need to be made about which field to enter? I’m just wondering if he’s going to find work easily or if he might be struggling to know what to ‘do’ with his life next and is putting it off by sleeping which could in turn be causing depression?

hummusscot · 18/03/2018 12:09

I would say though that the playstation into the small hours is not on and is something that needs to change- activities like that are known to make sleep conditions worse!

Babyplaymat · 18/03/2018 12:11

"so he doesn't get overwhelmed"?! With what? He doesn't do anything!

Seriously, between two adults there are 3 days studying taking place and there is still arguing about sleep, housework can only be done by one person etc etc. The whole scenario seems crazy.

He sounds like a total princess, which is really unattractive.

Does he take thyroxin? If he does t, why not? How does he know he has thyroid problems? And if he does, it is obviously not enough if it is so badly managed. He needs to grow up a little.

DisorderedOrder · 18/03/2018 12:12

You definitely need to push for referral. You can't be spending your life on opiates that make you unable to care for your child. There might be other therapies or medications that will work. Meanwhile as a short term solution could you just set your alarm for 5 am to take your meds so the drowsiness wears off before your ds gets up?

IWantALieIn · 18/03/2018 12:13

He has a clear goal, yes. He has a whole career plan.

He says he’s always wanted to get up early but is hindered by fatigue and he hates is.

OP posts:
FinallyHere · 18/03/2018 12:13

he will have to conform to early morning starts like everybody else.

Or get a job that suits him, shift work, lots of tech developer roles it really, really doesn't matter what hours you work, so long as you are good at what you do. I happen to be a morning person, but am really surprised by how many people here don't seem to realise just how many services are available 24/7. A&E, contact centres, 999 operators, theatres, restaurants, TV, radio, DJs, allsorts....think about it for a moment.