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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be pissed off with this unfair sleep situation?

157 replies

WaitingForSunday17 · 23/03/2018 08:24

Possibly I am as I am very tired.

I've been up at least twice a night since dd was born two years ago. She also tends to get up around 6.30am. I am very tired. In that time DH has never given me a night off or got up at the weekend with the children. He does work full time and I'm a sahm so in some ways I guess it's fair enough but I'm SO TIRED.

In the week I'm up at 6.30am with dd and DH works from home so doesn't get up until 8.30am at the earliest to start work around 9ish. At the weekend I'm up at 6.30am with dd and DH gets up about 10am ish.

As I said he does work full time and I am a sahm so I don't expect him to get up in the week but just occasionally at a weekend it might be nice.

Aibu?

OP posts:
MrsMozart · 23/03/2018 10:10

This wouldn't be fair on any planet.

He either needs a wake up call (pun almost intended), or to grow up and accept his responsibilities. Or both.

SnowiestMountain · 23/03/2018 10:11

YANBU, he is a absolutely taking the piss!!!

kaytee87 · 23/03/2018 10:11

I'm actually angry for you. I'm a sahm and my DH would never treat me like this.

NextInLine · 23/03/2018 10:12

Yanbu, my husband also has a very demanding job, he gets up with the kids on either Saturday or Sunday. I get up though the night with the baby through the week, as he is up early for work, although he can usually tell when I'm exhausted and struggling so he will get up instead.
There is no reason why he can't get up one day at the weekend.

WorkingBling · 23/03/2018 10:12

Well, unanimous thread here. I think that says something.

Like a PP, when I was on mat leave, I had to get up with DS to feed him in the night. But DH would be on duty from 5:00 so as soon as DS woke up, he would get them both up and if necessary get DS down for another nap while he got ready for work etc. He would leave around 7:30/8:00, meaning I could sleep until then.

Your DH is a complete prat.

Snowsnake · 23/03/2018 10:21

In the nicest possible way op,you have allowed this..in your situation I'd be expecting dh to get up half the week with dd in the mornings at 6.30. And you get up. At 8.30 to take over when he starts his job at 9.same at weekends.one day each a lie in..dh gets up once a night in the weekends

puffyisgood · 23/03/2018 10:26

yeah, i dunno. you say DD was born two years ago. looking after a two year old [assuming you have no other kids] isn't that demanding, probably less so than most full time jobs.

on the other hand, looking after an actual baby, especially a young one, is quite a bit more demanding than almost any normal 'job'... are you saying that the pattern you describe has been going on for all of the last two years? if so, the mind boggles...

HeckyPeck · 23/03/2018 10:33

Have you tried counting up just how much more sleep than you he's had over the past two years?? And he works from home??

I make it 1,768 hours. Not including the hours you've been up in the night too.

He's being incredibly selfish.

aoeu · 23/03/2018 10:35

He's a lazy shit. I worked full time while DW was sahm, but of course I still got up on the weekend to do stuff with my kids.

Faroutbrussel · 23/03/2018 10:57

puffy my two year old Ds was a lot more work th

Faroutbrussel · 23/03/2018 10:59

*than a baby

Confusedbeetle · 23/03/2018 11:03

Although this thread is about you carrying the load, which is entirely unfair., I would also add that you need some help in the sleep management of your 2 year old. You should not need to get up twice a night to a child this age unless they are ill or distressed for some reason. If your Health Visitor is not trained in sleep management (many are not) then you need to find someone who is. Your little one has trained you to stick to the development age of a six month baby. Not in the childs best interest or yours

TalkFastThinkSlow · 23/03/2018 11:07

If he works from home, there is no reason why you can't split the mornings. Have you discussed this with him? Has he actually said no?

Tailfeather · 23/03/2018 11:09

That doesn't sound fair and the longer he gets away with it the more he'll expect it. You both need your sleep to function.

HobnobBob · 23/03/2018 11:19

He obviously doesn’t value what you do and you do yourself a disservice as I don’t think you do either.

blackteasplease · 23/03/2018 11:23

Mind bogglingly unfair! I'm speechless and angry for you in equal measures.

Cath2907 · 23/03/2018 11:23

I work full time from home in a very demanding job. My husband is a SAHD. We alternate weekend get ups and I also get up the same as him at 7am every day to sort out breakfasts / dog etc.. If I didn't work from home I'd be up a lot earlier to commute. I do expect hubby to be able to cope with mornings on his own when I need to work early or if I've had very late t-cons the night before or when I am away for work but on a "normal" morning it is all hands on deck and that includes mine!

Your husband is being an arse!

blackteasplease · 23/03/2018 11:23

I could never ever want to have sex with someone who treated me like that, I can tell you.

The resentment would be too huge to feel any attraction to them.

milliemolliemou · 23/03/2018 11:24

Where are you OP? What are you going to do about this? Hecky has given you some fodder - that over the last two years you've had 1768 hours less sleep than him (not including the broken nights) , which is 73 whole days or 10 weeks or 2.5 months. You could point that out to him. I second sorting out your DC's sleep patterns. If not health visitor (who has those any more with a DC aged 2) then go online for help or to the NCT or whatever.

OneStepSideways · 23/03/2018 11:28

Well I think it's fair you get a lie in one of the weekend days. That's a bit selfish of him.

I'm going against the grain here, but Mon-Fri I think it's reasonable for the SAHP to get up with the toddler, sort breakfast, get them on the potty and dressed etc. I consider it part of my 'job'. I wouldn't begrudge my DH a couple of extra hours in bed before work. His day is far more stressful than mine. While I'm watching Peppa Pig/Mumsnetting/chatting to my friends at playgroup he's stuck in meetings/on calls/working under pressure to meet deadlines. I used to work in a similar field so I know how stressful it can be. There's no time to daydream or put your feet up with a coffee or nip out for a walk.

I'm assuming your husband's job also requires a high level of mental effort/concentration as you say it's more demanding than yours. (I'm assuming he's in his home office 9-5 working, not dipping in and out of it.)

In your shoes I'd put my foot down about a lie-in one of the weekend days. Or go for a day out.
But on weekdays I think you just have to get into the routine of 6:30 starts, the way you would with any other job. I've always had to get up around 6 to commute, so my toddler rising at 5 doesn't seem so different.

SleepingStandingUp · 23/03/2018 11:46

I'm assuming your husband's job also requires a high level of mental effort/concentration as you say it's more demanding than yours

I'm assuming your husband's role also requires a high level of him telling you how much harder he has it then having to do most likely everything in the house.

If OP slept through the nights fair enough with the well that's your working hours but she is literally on duty 24/7 with at least two wake ups at night and poor didums does as far as we know basic 35-40 hours a week

Whatthefoxgoingon · 23/03/2018 11:54

you’ve made a massive rod for your own back. Tell (don’t ask) DH he’s doing the weekend mornings from now on. I’d bet good money he barely does any childcare in the evenings either.

Pokemonlovepower · 23/03/2018 12:01

I used to work extremely tough hours and hard and I can definitely say that having a baby is a lot more tough than my old job and I was working nearly 16 hour days x

Energise4U · 23/03/2018 13:16

It's really important to split the number of working hours equally between the 2 of you for several reasons you may not have even thought of yet...

Currently you have a 24/7 job, (168 hour per week) and he has a 40 hour per week job... the working hours have not been split fairly, (equally) between the two of you!

If you do not nip this in the bud then he will always have more energy than you, so he will naturally end up dominating you. Unfortunately from a psychological perspective you will then always be unhappy because you're not feeling empowered, and he will always ironically be unhappy because in his eyes you will be a shell of what you once were to him, not able to do all the enjoyable things with him that he wants from a relationship.

This way of living will most likely end in one of two ways if you do not motivate him to change... the most likely scenario is that he will find comfort elsewhere... and the other scenario is that you will let this carry on for years which will make you become emotionally detached from him, which will lead to you living in a loveless relationship for years, letting him use your body from time to time, until in several years time you will finally reach your last straw and leave him for the security and emotional support of somebody else.

It happens all the time, so don't be a statistic!

Both of these options are pretty horrible, so please talk to him... and if you're too tired to find the words then please write down everything you want to say to him, including how you need him to support you, because it's more important to get the message across "in a way he understands", than to do it in the idealistic way you may fantasise about.

Men are quite simple people, like little boys really, so you need to be blunt, and direct but also considerate to their feelings.... so don't just tell him you need help, but instead tell him exactly what you need him to do.... for example, "we need to take it in turns to wake up in the night", and "I need you to do the housework if I'm making the meals" etc etc.... Give and take!

Please always bear in mind that a relationship is 50:50... it's about give and take, about sharing responsibilities, and people inherently can be quite selfish without necessarily meaning to be and in most instances without even realising they are being selfish at all!

This is why it is always important to use the power of your words to "calmly" let him know exactly what you need from him, and to explain to him exactly how it affects you, both physically and emotionally when he does and does not do the things he could be doing to support you.

To be fair guys are very simple creatures. They often just want to live with the person they love, do things they enjoy doing and have sex with the person they love "as much as possible", so I'm sure if you make him understand that by splitting the workload 50:50 you will end up having more energy for sex etc then he will be more understanding and compliant in helping you out... because you are talking to him directly in the language he understands! (ie, he will think, "I want sex, Oh ok I need to do this to get sex, ok that seems fair").

On the flip side.... never EVER tell him he's not getting sex unless he does something for you, as this is a very negative way of phrasing it... you will make him feel like you are manipulating him, so when you do have sex he will be more inclined to just have the type of sex he wants to have with you instead of being considerate to your own emotional needs, and he will also feel less supported and be more inclined to look elsewhere.... you have to use your words to make him understand that by helping you out you will be expending less energy, so you will be less tired which will result in you having more energy for enjoying sex with him more often.... remember to speak his language ;)

Hope that all makes sense and you feel empowered to talk to him about the things he can do to help you out.

Go into the conversation with an open mind, because remember, he may not be aware of just how selfish he's been being. If he gets angry or defensive then don't escalate the emotional tension.

And if after speaking to him, you know he has understood the message but continues to take advantage of your good nature then I'm afraid that he's already crossed that invisible line whereby he will never come back, so in that instance it will be much healthier for you and your children's emotional wellbeing to leave him.

Most men are understanding though so I'm sure it won't come to that!

Have a great weekend

Energise4U

Ducktalesooooh · 23/03/2018 13:27

Energise4U - words fail me.

We're not all married to Neanderthals who share parenting because they might get more sex.

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