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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My husband has come up with a great idea ...

108 replies

WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 10:39

to continue smoking.

I'm due to give birth soon and it was promised that he'd quit before baby arrival due to sids risk and we'd spoken about this numerous times.
After not bothering for the months leading up to the birth and me asking repeatedly when he'd quit I was given a date.

I stupidly joked today about him not having long and I hoped he was going to cope seeing as He's not cut down at all. To which he flew off the handle ranting at me about my terrible behaviour and that he's going to quit but the second I have a glass of wine or beer he's going to start again.
When I asked how the two were related he informed me that he was having to give up something he enjoyed and so I had to as well.... I pointed out that a glass of wine wasn't going to give our kids chest infections/ear issues or sids and that I had already quit during pregnancy as well as all the other horrors this pregnancy has thrown at me and he's done absolutely nothing except continue to drink beer/smoke like a chimney/roll his eyes when im struggling.

So aibu to think that if you're going to just sit waiting like a creep for your wife to fail or wait for some perceived indescretion then you may as well leave now. This just screams 'i don't want to quit and need an excuse'.

OP posts:
DarlingNikita · 28/05/2019 12:04

He's already announced he won't be doing any night feeds/settling
Has he now? What did you say to that? What are you getting from this relationship exactly?

WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 12:05

Jelly i agree that I won't be able to control what happens on contact time but at least I won't be subjected to a half spouse stinking of smoke living here but unable to do anything as they've smoked.
If I'd agreed to stop smoking then when I found out I was pregnant I just carried on he'd be furious.

OP posts:
PlinkPlink · 28/05/2019 12:07

It's difficult isn't it.

People have varying levels of addiction too. OH used to smoke but just stopped of his own will. No patches, nothing.

My ex on the other hand took about 10 years to stop. I tried nagging, I tried threats. In the end, I gave up and the only thing that made him quit was him taking it seriously enough to go to the GP, off his own back. He needed to reach the point where he genuinely wanted to quit.

It doesn't sound like your partner wants to quit, even though his baby's needs and health should be paramount.

It also doesn't sound to me like you're going to leave him because of it - despite it being a huge dick move to not bother quitting.
It sounds like you have certainly lost respect for him though.

It's the other stuff that would really make me think twice about having him around OP... not getting up to do his fair share? Might as well fuck off and do it on your own then...

WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 12:07

He said babies want boob so he can't do feeds. When I suggested the settling etc or just bringing the baby to me to feed then putting them back to sleep he said he has to work.

I feel like it's me reaching compromises and him looking for loopholes.

OP posts:
Mumofone1593 · 28/05/2019 12:08

I know a man who was like your husband is with smoking, always giving a date in the future to quit..
'baby is up all night I need to smoke to cope', 'when baby goes to sleep I need to unwind'. Whenn the child was 2 and had horrendous asthma and he continued to smoke the wife had to leave. Miraculously he then stopped but always is mean behind the wifes back and really resents quitting. In all honesty if you can, I would leave.

Throckmorton · 28/05/2019 12:11

He buys alcohol for you while complaining about you drinking it, and offered you cigarettes when you had quit? Honestly, this man is an absolute arse to you. Why are you with him?

WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 12:12

He's very petty. The pregnancy has highlighted this. It's like a box of red flags came out.
None of the things agreed are now going to occur without seemingly some form of punishment as compensation. So yes he will stop smoking until I have a wine. Yes he'll do night feeds if I work and not him. I feel like I'm already stressed with unwell elderly relatives, pregnancy complications, upcoming surgery and now he's going to put me on spy watch to make sure im not doing anything I shouldn't so he can smoke.
It's not normal.

OP posts:
DarlingNikita · 28/05/2019 12:12

He said babies want boob so he can't do feeds. When I suggested the settling etc or just bringing the baby to me to feed then putting them back to sleep he said he has to work.

Right. So you're NOT working when you're feeding and looking after HIS child?

Why are you with him, OP? Genuine question.

FizzyGreenWater · 28/05/2019 12:13

He just sounds so utterly foul, couple that with the nasty, attacking, manipulating personality and I would seriously think you are genuinely better off without him.

He's already announced he won't be doing any night feeds/settling, hasn't looked at all interested in the pregnancy

delighting in offering me cigarettes so that he could start up again as I wouldn't be able to complain as I technically smoked

Now that's being thrown in my face as an excuse for him to smoke, being called an alcoholic etc

He's been vile since I have asked. Each time has been a drama where I basically get told to fuck off and stop nagging.

he's done absolutely nothing except continue to drink beer/smoke like a chimney/roll his eyes when im struggling.

Vile
Petty
Dismissive
Agressive
Stinks
Already says he won't help... and even if he did you'd be watching your baby breathe in fag fumes... CONSTANTLY. (No way on earth will he give up, but he WILL cause absolute hell over it in the days/weeks after the baby is born).

Two things to say:

I feel like this uninterested petty stranger is going to be at my birth even though he's done jack shit to support the pregnancy. - You don't hav to have him there. Think about that as a first step. If you don't want the birth to be an upsetting experience then this is about you, YOU are the important person as you go through the birth process and you need to feel supported and ok in order to get your baby here safely. I really don't want to go through another horrible labour experience like last time and then with someone stinking of cigarettes/coughing all over me. Oh vom. That is so disgusting I don't know where to start. Think about another birth partner and tell him why.

he stinks as he smokes so many. So If he enters a room it's overwhelmingly obvious - If he stinks so much that you can smell him coming into a room whether he's had a fag or not, then he is absolutely going to be a health risk to the baby. I do actually know of someone who suffered a SIDS tragedy, a friend of my cousin. Her H, now her ex-H, was like this re smoking. He was an abusive bully and a total twat who absolutely stank and made the bare minimum of effort with changing clothes etc and kicked up a huge fuss. I won't go into more detail but one thing my cousin says tortures the mother is that she blames herself for not being stronger in not letting him have the baby go to sleep on his faggy jumpers etc. - 'You can't keep me from my kid'. No point in nagging someone like that to change clothes constantly when they'll kick off though, and if they basically smoke constantly then what's the point?! It's literally seeping out of their pores.

If you think he'll be a nightmare stinking arsehole who will also start demanding not to be sidelined as well as not helping you then please separate now, before the baby is born. Maybe it would be the kick up the arse to make him see how much damage this is causing. But even if not, at least you'd have the birth and those first crucial months bonding with your baby in a non-stinking, safer more peaceful environment.

Oh and finally -

but i can guarantee he'd be the first to demand overnights and a 50/50 split if we weren't together - Yes. He'd be the first to demand. And the last to actually want. Someone who's already said they don't intend to help with feeds and won't give up smoking for their child? Haha. No, he won't want 50/50 - he will want to threaten 50/50 so that you don't leave and make his life harder. So if you get to that point, you simply say 'But of course. I have a life too, I might want to start a new relationship, I'll need to build a new career - of course you will be taking equal responsibility for proper, full-time care.' He'll backtrack faster than a speeding stinky fag-end.

amusedbush · 28/05/2019 12:22

My MIL died two years ago from a long term condition that was 100% exacerbated by her smoking. Her doctors begged her to stop smoking for years but she said it was her last joy in life. She was 51.

I smoked for twelve years and after seeing how she left this world, I'd never touch another cigarette. Your DH is being selfish as fuck.

FizzyGreenWater · 28/05/2019 12:45

He's very petty. The pregnancy has highlighted this. It's like a box of red flags came out.
None of the things agreed are now going to occur without seemingly some form of punishment as compensation. So yes he will stop smoking until I have a wine. Yes he'll do night feeds if I work and not him. I feel like I'm already stressed with unwell elderly relatives, pregnancy complications, upcoming surgery and now he's going to put me on spy watch to make sure im not doing anything I shouldn't so he can smoke.

Jesus, leave him! No, it's not normal. It's bloody horrible and he sounds like an absolutely horrible person.

I potentially need surgery after birth and need him to be able to do that care. Look, I am not sure that you can, full stop. Either you will by the time of the birth be in a totally abusive situation where he will, immediately, go on the attack so that he can find a way to justify smoking as he will not stop - or he will be smoking anyway even if you keep the peace. He is unable to stop. So you cannot, CANNOT leave him with any more than bare minimum care/interaction with a very tiny baby as it is not safe. If anything happened - and I admit I get quite het up about this as I know of a situation where if I'm honest I believe that a baby probably died because they spent their first weeks close to a dad who stank like a fucking ashtray - if anything happened, then it would absolutely destroy you.

Walkamileinmyshoesbeforeujudge · 28/05/2019 12:47

Mind boggles that you have shagged him at least twice tbh....

WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 12:48

He's got a few weeks to go so I'm hoping this is just a tantrum because I brought it up. He has apologised but as they say ..actions speak louder than words. We will see.
I appreciate all comments and take on board people's opinions and if I was reading this I'd be thinking what are you complaining about as you knew he smoked prior to pregnancy etc.
I was hoping after this awful year that this was going to be a positive experience but it's been awful. I've also got the choices to make about visiting infirm relatives after birth which will be so stressful with newborn and older child. I really needed support right now.

OP posts:
Oohgossip · 28/05/2019 12:52

He sounds disgusting. Wouldn’t want to be with him at all.

When I started dating dh, I found out he smoked and politely said I didn’t date smokers, sorry. He quit and we’ve been together ever since. Said he wanted me more than fags 🤷‍♀️

FizzyGreenWater · 28/05/2019 12:53

I'm hoping this is just a tantrum because I brought it up

No. He's made no effort to cut down, he didn't stop last time. He is not preparing to stop smoking. Mentally, he knows he will continue and the way he will get to do that is by bullying you.

Maybe you just needed to vent here and can't see a way out, but it's clear that your post just above is not even what you believe. Yes, you needed support, you aren't getting it, so it isn't just a tantrum is it? It's him.

Please bear in mind the real health risk to your baby.

WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 12:53

Surgery may well not be an option. I need further tests but if they're bad or inconclusive I'll need to have it done.
That's another thread in itself. Currently it's just something under investigation which is awful to have done while pregnant, however if it turns out to be something nasty I have a whole further set of issues in store as I'll need huge support. But currently it's looking ok.

OP posts:
WonderWorm · 28/05/2019 12:56

Fizzy I unfortunately agree with you. He may stop for a few months or not but eventually I guess I know he'll find some perceived slight I have done to start again or he'll just throw tantrums or be vile as punishment.

OP posts:
FizzyGreenWater · 28/05/2019 12:57

Good luck with that part of it OP.

Would there be anyone else who can possibly come and stay and help if you do need the surgery? Although I suspect that if you even suggest that, that's where Mr Stinky-won't-do-any-night-wakings will suddenly insist on his right to breathe toxic fumes over look after HIS BABY, just to stroke his ego.

FizzyGreenWater · 28/05/2019 12:59

eventually I guess I know he'll find some perceived slight I have done to start again or he'll just throw tantrums or be vile as punishment.

Do you really want your children to grow up seeing that, seeing you bullied, having a stinking selfish manipulative shit as their other parent in the home?

Please leave!!!

cuppycakey · 28/05/2019 13:13

Seriously - what on earth are you doing with him?

hesagooddog · 28/05/2019 13:14

I'd get rid of him. He doesn't have yours or your dc's interests at heart. He's telling you who he is, listen. He's already told he plans on being an absent parent and partner.

There is 0 chance that I'd let a smoker near my baby.

NameChangeNugget · 28/05/2019 13:17

Disgusting attitude to a disgusting habit.

Kick the drug addict into touch. Vile

Aridane · 28/05/2019 13:23

Let's face it - he's an addict showing an addict's behaviour (plus some other traits)

jellycatspyjamas · 28/05/2019 13:32

Honestly, the smoking isn’t your issue here - the behaviour more generally is abusive and controlling, that’s what I’d be focussing my decision making on, the smoking is neither here nor there in the face of him being vile and punishing.

Looneytune253 · 28/05/2019 13:38

Sounds a bit volatile but I would call his bluff considering you prob won't be drinking for a little while so he would have a good go to get quit before you would pick up a drink anyway. Looks like he's looking for an excuse not to quit and he has put the ball firmly in your court. Throw it back at him and just say 'deal' even if it means you abstaining for a month or two