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AIBU?

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Abandoned at 6 weeks pregnant - AIBU to shut down?

361 replies

NattyEagle · Yesterday 14:04

I cannot believe I am typing this but my now ex “partner”of 2 years has given me an ultimatum. Have an abortion and we carry on as a couple, or keep the pregnancy and I will never see his face again. As soon as he said this, we were done!

His initial reaction was apprehensive - I thought it was fair. But I NEVER would have imagined hed do a runner. When I first told him I was pregnant he made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere - it just wasn't the best time. 3 days later he gave the ultimatum. He was as cold as ice.

He’s being manipulative and saying “don’t let any man tell you what to do, if you want to keep it, that’s fine, but I will not be there”. He had a truth dump and admitted to being a terrible father to his other two kids, beating them, being abusive, and basically not enjoying fatherhood. He loves them “sometimes” but cannot stand the responsibility. The entire time we were together I never met his kids but he claimed to be father of the year, pretending to see them and be with them.

I’ve cut contact with him and blocked him yesterday!

Hes ruined this. He was the one who told me not to take the morning after pill! We agreed we would see what would happen regarding family planning and a baby. Hed go up and down but always maintained it woild be a good thing.

i had a bad feeling that I’ve misjudged who this man is and contacted his ex who I have never spoken to.

she was an Angel and told me he has not seen his other two kids properly in two years due to social services intervention because he badly best their 9 year old. On top of that he was just a terrible terrible partner that financially abused her and beat her. He wouldn’t turn up to visits, ignore them for months at a time. No birthday cards….nothing. He also refused to divorce her and she had to get it done via court order. He told me they were divorced 3 weeks into us dating. The amount of lies exposed in our conversation was something out of a Netflix documentary. He told me she was a housewive….turns out she had 3 jobs while he paid for nothing. When her son was a baby she came home and he had bitten him! Hes a stranger. A stranger. I’m broken.

I basically have been with a compulsive liar and sociopath who saw our relationship as a bit of fun. I ignored a lot of red flags because I’m 34 abojt to turn 35 in December and I’m scared. I’m kicking myself for letting my loneliness consume me.

I don’t want to be pregnant anymore but already had a termination at 31 and cannot bring myself to take the pills. I feel no connection to the pregnancy anymore because of him, and am scared I’m romanticising motherhood out of fear of it not happening for me.

you know how some woman say “F U, I’m keeping it!”. That’s not me! It sounds horrible but I’d love to just have a miscarriage to take the choice out of my hands. I have no desire to be a single mother or raise the child of a compulsive liar. I don’t think I can love this child and heal from his lies. I’m also petrified this is my last chance to be a mum. I guess I’m clinging on to being pregnant - I felt so special and giddy in those short three days before my world was turned upside down.

please give advice and be soft with me. I want to be a mum but not like this. The abortion just feels….wrong. I’m 34 about to be 35. What if I never meet anyone? What if I do but we can’t get pregnant. The abortion I had at 31 was a massive massive relief. This feels like the hardest thing ever. I see no good outcome. Children abandoned by a parent seem to have a lot of trauma no matter how big the village.

my head is saying get rid of it and feel horrible because you deserve to. Deep down inside you knew who this man was and you played with fire because you were desperate. If you don’t have kids after this - that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The other side of my head is saying that I’m just grieving a massive loss and I will forgive him, come to peace with this, and love my child.

please give it to me straight and share your experiences because my brain is fried. I’m 5 weeks + 4

OP posts:
NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:32

Buttercup211 · Yesterday 18:26

You say you'll never see him again and he hates you but have you considered that a man so twisted and evil may want to see his child in order to abuse them? You would live a lifetime of fearing wondering if he would come back demanding access.
This isn't your last chance of having a baby. Please think ahead to the future. This would be a lifetime being tied to this evil man. Sending strength x

@Buttercup211 I’ve learned alot about him and a lot of things have clicked in place over the past few days. Fear of him showing up isnt a deciding factor in this. He just would never!

OP posts:
missipop · Yesterday 18:32

nocoolnamesleft · Yesterday 17:16

I can’t believe I’m saying this, as I usually lean pro life, but if you continue your pregnancy I would be terrified what this violent child abusing bastard might do to your vulnerable baby. Because we have all heard stories of how hard it is to ban violent men from any contact. The only way it could possibly work would be if you could prevent him ever finding out that you continued the pregnancy. Otherwise he’ll probably make your life hell just to punish you.

This.

i generally always go on the side of continuing a pregnancy if at all possible, but in this particular case I share the concerns you have, plus those stated by many other posters.

I’m particularly worried about the fact that this man’s son is autistic, has ADHD and has shown violent tendencies. If the mother of this child has no similar issues herself we can reasonably assume that there are some genetic influences involved.

You could find yourself on your own struggling with a neurodiverse child who presents with some challenging behaviours.

I never thought I’d say it but I would abort and have therapy to help me approach the rest of my life.

I feel very sorry for you and wish you all the best.

camshaft · Yesterday 18:34

So sorry you’re going through this. I would abort. You have many more chances to meet someone wonderful and experience motherhood in a nice way. A baby deserves more than this scum bag x

NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:34

lostatsea15 · Yesterday 18:21

It's always going to be your choice, you have asked for opinions.
I'm so sorry how you have been treated, you sound so alone, and lonely.
Possibly your family are keeping away as they can see relationship as it is, and you haven't been able to till now? I hope they rally round you soon.
A baby isn't going to heal or help you, they totally take from you, cause they are babies and deserve it. Those of us who aren't mentally doing well , are not content, needing time to work on ourselves aren't always the best mothers. If baby was to portray behaviours reminding you of a man who has really treated you badly, how would you feel? What if they are 17? Kids deserve their parents, but how will you deal with a 10 year old knowing dad's about but not involved, parenting is a minefield generally but you would be foolish to not be extremely wary. This guy will not stop being dangerous to be about. You sound like your really needing to nurture some good friendships/relationships, a baby on your own is extremely time consuming.
Personally, from a very far distance I would say your fears are valid regarding future chances, but you are pregnant, so your definitely still able to have a baby by a much safer partner/doner.
Your confidence is wrecked, no wonder. Repair for a bit before being a mother. Your future self will really appreciate you taking the pills, just my thoughts

@lostatsea15 thanks. What a thoughtful and well rounded message.

OP posts:
BlackeyedSusan · Yesterday 18:34

Don't make any decisions for a couple of days to give time for the shock to settle a bit. Get counselling. Work out whether you want to be a mum at all. Work out the practicalities. Make your decision with more information.

If you do keep the baby then he can't have anything to do with them.

IDontCareWhatMyUsernameIs · Yesterday 18:34

NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:32

@Buttercup211 I’ve learned alot about him and a lot of things have clicked in place over the past few days. Fear of him showing up isnt a deciding factor in this. He just would never!

Love. HE BITES BABIES.

You know fuck all about what he is capable of.

StarPyjamas · Yesterday 18:36

IDontCareWhatMyUsernameIs · Yesterday 18:34

Love. HE BITES BABIES.

You know fuck all about what he is capable of.

Yep, and beats up his 9 year old.

It's getting a bit ridiculous now with the claims that the OP knows for a fact what this man would or wouldn't do, considering she doesn't even know him.

NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:36

missipop · Yesterday 18:32

This.

i generally always go on the side of continuing a pregnancy if at all possible, but in this particular case I share the concerns you have, plus those stated by many other posters.

I’m particularly worried about the fact that this man’s son is autistic, has ADHD and has shown violent tendencies. If the mother of this child has no similar issues herself we can reasonably assume that there are some genetic influences involved.

You could find yourself on your own struggling with a neurodiverse child who presents with some challenging behaviours.

I never thought I’d say it but I would abort and have therapy to help me approach the rest of my life.

I feel very sorry for you and wish you all the best.

@missipop thanks, I never grew up with guidance. My own mother who had unresolved trauma and has ruined my life with her darkness told me to keep it this morning because we will all love it. Well that was her logic for having 4 kids in the first place and look how that worked out? Did we fix her? No. Are our lives a mess? Yes.

OP posts:
Hobnobbled · Yesterday 18:36

One of my closest friends fell pregnant by a POS guy. Moved back to be near family, kept the baby, never looked back. She has no contact with the father but speaks to the grandparents on the father's side. The downside is you don't get a break for a long time, even with family helping. The upside is she has the most beautiful relationship with her son. They are so close and she has put everything into being the best mother she can be. He is so well-socialised and articulate, always immaculately turned out. I think it was the making of her to be honest.

SwirlingAroundSleep · Yesterday 18:39

I completely empathise and was in a somewhat similar situation (he tried to force me to abort and turned violent when I was 10 weeks pregnant, I hadn’t met his kids yet because we’d only been dating 8 months and I had ignored red flags). I chose to keep my DS and he is the light of my life, but I was always adamant I was keeping him and tbh was naive.

If your ex really will having nothing to do with you then you could have the baby and it might be fine, but that’s only if you want to do that and can separate the child from the man who created him. That has been easy for me except for when my son gets angry as it triggers my fears he will be violent like his dad.

if you do decide to keep the baby my advice would be to move away and leave no way of him accidentally meeting your child. I did this and it provided huge relief and room to breathe/create a safe life for my son. In addition I know if he did ever show up he would only get supervised visitation in a visitation centre and would have to travel hundreds of miles each time do so. Most men wouldn’t do this let alone useless men like your ex and mine, so it allays my fear somewhat that he would get any access to my son.

That being said I think you need serious counselling no matter what you decide.

LikeASoulWithoutAMind · Yesterday 18:40

Oh OP my heart goes out to you - that's such a lot to get your head round. It's good to hear that you've had a counselling session already - I hope it helped and that you can continue with some more sessions to help you process everything.

You sound really fragile right now (understandably) and what I'd say to you is motherhood is hard work, especially as a single mum and especially without a strong support network. You don't sound like you're really in the right place for that right now.

But you are young and you do have time.
I'm going to tell you two stories - one about a friend whose partner up and left when she was 35. They were trying for a baby but she wasn't pregnant and I held her while she sobbed that she'd never be a mother. Fast forward to now and she is indeed a mother to two gorgeous children and married to an equally lovely man who she would absolutely say makes her far happier than the original guy.

2nd story is about another friend who decided to go it alone and have a baby through IVF and a sperm donor at 42. Mr Right just never came along. Is it hard work? Absolutely! But they're very happy and I'd wager it's a lot easier than having a baby with a lying abusive scumbag.

I'm only telling you this because there are always other options, other plans, even if life looks different to how you expected.

Be kind to yourself and focus on getting yourself mentally and physically strong. I think you know what you need to do here.

Take care.

WhatDoRacoonsSay · Yesterday 18:41

Hi OP.
Im not anti abortion, I've had one myself, but I also raised my daughter completely alone from her being 6 weeks old when my ex left me, and never came back, a month after my Mum died.
Admittedly he didn't come with that back story, but it can be done if you want to.
I'm not saying you should, just putting it out there.
Dd is 25 now and I have no regrets.

NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:41

@StarPyjamas be nice please. I’m a human being in need. I’ve taken responsibility for my poor mental health. I’m just being human and thinking out loud for some support. Please. I’ve read your comments. I’ve taken them on board. You’re not the 34 year old sat opposite abortion pills when this time last week I was happy. Please. I know I need to take them but I’ve always wanted to be a mum and this is hard. Please. There are two schools on my road! A nursery! I was so happy when he reacted well. I’m trying.

OP posts:
Buttercup211 · Yesterday 18:42

NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:32

@Buttercup211 I’ve learned alot about him and a lot of things have clicked in place over the past few days. Fear of him showing up isnt a deciding factor in this. He just would never!

And surely you never thought him capable of biting his baby or beating up his 9 year old. I think with a sick, twisted person you can never be sure of what they would or wouldn't do.

Pugdogmom · Yesterday 18:43

I have nothing to add that people haven't said already, but just want you to have a cyber hug OP

LikeASoulWithoutAMind · Yesterday 18:44

WhatDoRacoonsSay · Yesterday 18:41

Hi OP.
Im not anti abortion, I've had one myself, but I also raised my daughter completely alone from her being 6 weeks old when my ex left me, and never came back, a month after my Mum died.
Admittedly he didn't come with that back story, but it can be done if you want to.
I'm not saying you should, just putting it out there.
Dd is 25 now and I have no regrets.

Normally I would agree with you but I think unfortunately the key difference here is he sounds actively dangerous. That's a huge risk for OP to take.

Maninasuitcase · Yesterday 18:45

LadIsInPain · Yesterday 14:08

Abortion, then LTB.

No! Do both of these things, but the other way around.

NattyEagle · Yesterday 18:46

Hobnobbled · Yesterday 18:36

One of my closest friends fell pregnant by a POS guy. Moved back to be near family, kept the baby, never looked back. She has no contact with the father but speaks to the grandparents on the father's side. The downside is you don't get a break for a long time, even with family helping. The upside is she has the most beautiful relationship with her son. They are so close and she has put everything into being the best mother she can be. He is so well-socialised and articulate, always immaculately turned out. I think it was the making of her to be honest.

@Hobnobbled the nuance here is that I don’t want the pregnancy and genuinely just don’t have the strength for an abortion. If I could turn back time I would NOT be pregnant. This man is not a POS. He is unwell and belongs in hospital. I don’t want to out myself or his ex but he has a looooooong history of violence which I never knew about that his ex revealed! Hes a compulsive liar and literally cannot construct a sentence without one. I don’t mind pro keep the pregnancy comments but they must be rooted in reality. It’s one step away from a pedophile/ serial killer!

OP posts:
Avie29 · Yesterday 18:46

Hi OP, i will keep this as short as possible, my first pregnancy wasn’t planned, my partner became abusive physically/mentally and verbally after i became pregnant, i managed to leave when i was 12 weeks pregnant, he was still being verbally abusive towards me and my family members, death threats, his friends were also sending me horrible messages, i kept the baby, i hoped he would grow bored and leave me alone but he was a thorn in my side for 12 years, he went on to have 3 more kids with 2 different women, one of which took him to court and he ended up not being allowed to see any of his kids and he went to prison, my daughter by this point had already cut contact with him.
i am telling you this because no matter how abusive he was, and how many threats he made i never once regretted keeping my daughter, i hope this helps.

DottyAboutDogs · Yesterday 18:47

if you keep the baby, don’t put him on the brith certificate. It’s what he wants and it means he has not right to be involved if he changes his mind

SunsetDrifter · Yesterday 18:49

Have an abortion, you don't want this man's child or to ever see him again for that matter, don't tie yourself to him. You are nearly 35 not 45, you really aren't even close to running out of time, you really need to get that out of your head because you have made some rather bad decisions out of desperation, when you really don't need to be desperate.

Kpo58 · Yesterday 18:49

I would personally abort. The likelihood is that you could end up looking after a ND child for life who has violent tendencies. This isn't a life that you want to lead especially on your own without a chance of respite.

You still have time to find someone better to have a child with.

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · Yesterday 18:49

You cannot keep this baby because you may be lonely. You will be even more lonely when you have the baby as s/he will be with you all the time and you cannot go out - to work / to shops / to socialise without him/her

and this horrible horrible man may be in your life for the next 18+ years even if he never ever gives a penny towards the child.

IF you get to around 40 and have not met the right man fallen in love and know it's the right relationship to bring a child into - you DO have options - you could have IVF or you could adopt...

CrazyCatLady2026 · Yesterday 18:52

Abortion and block his number. This is not someone you want to tied too. It would be irresponsible to continue.

Sotiredimightreallydie · Yesterday 18:52

The law allows women to have abortions so that we can make the choice. And yes practical things come into that, but if you want the baby, have the baby. You are clearly quite attached already, from your description with the scan.

Yes it'll be really hard, but motherhood is also wonderful.

Given his lack of interest you may not need to be kind to him for the next 18 years because it sounds like hell disappear off. Trying to think of him like a sperm donor I guess.