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I don't know what to do. I don't love my child.

223 replies

MarylinMonrue · 24/11/2020 13:35

NC because this is so terrible, I know it is. I know there's something horribly wrong with me, so please - you don't have to be kind, but please bear in mind I don't know if I can go on like this anymore.

I was never sure if I wanted children, but even though I didn't know how I'd feel, when it happened (accident) I didn't fight it. Everyone around me was so happy for me when I got pregnant and kept saying things like 'You'll fall in love as soon as you see them' and so on, how it was the most overwhelming feeling in the world - and that everyone had doubts but hormones took care of that when they got here. And it didn't. I know I'm supposed to feel like my son is the most important thing on earth to me and I don't. I miss my old life, I miss having choices. Why are women's lives supposed to stop when this happens? I resent it so much. Sometimes I wish I could leave him somewhere warm and safe where he'd be looked after and never see him again. My DP is neither a great nor a bad father, hands-on enough and seems proud of his son, but he's definitely noticed something wrong because he keeps asking me why I don't want to spend time with our baby, and I don't know how to say I wish I'd not had him.

I'm not sad or crying all the time so I guess I don't have PND? There is just a hole inside me where I'm supposed to care about my own child. What's wrong with me, did anyone else have this? Could it be PND? Please be gentle, I never thought I was a bad person before this.

OP posts:
Enough4me · 24/11/2020 17:23

I wouldn't suddenly leave until you've had help to see if this is PND or similar.

If you had a broken arm you wouldn't cut it off, you'd get get help to mend. Mental health is invisible, but just as tough on our lives.

There may be other options you haven't explored, to build a relationship at a distance.

You really need professional help to know the full situation, rather than making drastic decisions.

SallySaidHi · 24/11/2020 17:23

It’s very normal to not feel a bond. It isn’t normal to be actively considering leaving your supportive, non abusive, otherwise happy relationship and child. That is a flashing light for someone needing support and yet men leave their children and partners every day, as can be seen on these boards 10x a day. Women are held to far higher standards than men. Man leaves partner and child - these things happen, nobody should be in a partnership they're not happy in, everyone deserves to be happy, blah blah. Woman leaves partner and child - she needs help, it's not normal, it's PND.

Walkaround · 24/11/2020 17:24

Sounds very much like PND to me!

Rolopolo2000 · 24/11/2020 17:29

@tara66

Your DS may just turn out to be a charmer - you'll have to wait and see.
That might be relevant when I come to friendships and love interests.

Not parental love or bond

CountryCob · 24/11/2020 17:30

I think it’s relatively normal to feel like this at first, it’s also possible that you aren’t completely suited as I don’t always think I am. But that has a lot to do with how we are expected to behave. Mothers are completely isolated and left at home with children and I don’t think it is reasonable. My daughter is 5 now and it’s completely different but I felt very distant at first. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to feel a certain way. Look after yourself. Let Partner know you really need a break and go for walk, have bath etc on own. Baby won’t always need you this much and you will get some independence back. You are a mum now we aren’t perfect and even if you left you would most likely spend much of the rest of your life thinking about him. How much sleep are you getting?

Rolopolo2000 · 24/11/2020 17:31

@SallySaidHi

It’s very normal to not feel a bond. It isn’t normal to be actively considering leaving your supportive, non abusive, otherwise happy relationship and child. That is a flashing light for someone needing support and yet men leave their children and partners every day, as can be seen on these boards 10x a day. Women are held to far higher standards than men. Man leaves partner and child - these things happen, nobody should be in a partnership they're not happy in, everyone deserves to be happy, blah blah. Woman leaves partner and child - she needs help, it's not normal, it's PND.
Conversely the situation you describe

Man leaves family - evil twat
Woman leaves family - she’s doesn’t really want to but rather suffering a mental illness and needs help

Requinblanc · 24/11/2020 17:32

Speak to your GP and try to get some psychological support. As other have said it could be PND and you don't want to suffer in silence.

Are you getting enough support from your partner? is there anyone else who could help with the practical care? a nanny? a parent? so you can have some time to yourself?

Gilead · 24/11/2020 17:34

Sounds exactly like pond to me, do talk to your GP. 💐

Gilead · 24/11/2020 17:34

Pnd!

Peachypips78 · 24/11/2020 17:40

You lovely lovely lady for your honesty. I agree with previous posters- sounds very much like a perinatal mental health issue to to me. I work in perinatal mental health with women who feel like this every single day, who say they should never have become mothers and have made a terrible mistake.

Go to your GP and get some meds- they really, really work. Sertraline is the usual drug of choice.

mandsbag · 24/11/2020 17:40

@ElspethFlashman The MN link you posted has just brought tears to my eyes (little does). Worth reading the full thread, OP.

And you are absolutely not a monster. Flowers

ScottishStottie · 24/11/2020 17:41

@SallySaidHi

It’s very normal to not feel a bond. It isn’t normal to be actively considering leaving your supportive, non abusive, otherwise happy relationship and child. That is a flashing light for someone needing support and yet men leave their children and partners every day, as can be seen on these boards 10x a day. Women are held to far higher standards than men. Man leaves partner and child - these things happen, nobody should be in a partnership they're not happy in, everyone deserves to be happy, blah blah. Woman leaves partner and child - she needs help, it's not normal, it's PND.
I dont think anyone thinks a man walking out on his children is ok. Walking out on an ubhappy relationship and walking out on your children are two seperate things.

As long as a man is involved and actively parenting their children, this doesnt have to be with the other parent of the child.

Too many women think that a man ending a relationship means 'hes walked out on us'. While some men may do that, its important to differentiate the ones that end an unhappy relationship but still want to be involved in their childrens lives.

tara66 · 24/11/2020 17:44

I'd just like to say I did know a woman who had to have her first child looked after completely by someone else for several (9?) months because she felt it was impossible for her to do anything for him. She was quite an ordinary married, middle classed , sensible woman. I only knew her years after this happened. She said she just could not relate or do anything for him at the time - a sort of mental block. He was away from her until she wanted him back. I suppose SS and doctors were involved. I think DS must have been fostered out. The child was never difficult in any way. She then went on to have another child and was fine with it.

ARoseInHarlem · 24/11/2020 17:44

14 months of motherhood. In my opinion, without the initial rush of love/ hormones added to a pre-existing urge to procreate (which is like an insanity, to me), I don't think many humans would do it. It's dull, boring, relentless, seemingly pointless. There's nothing to be gained from it and everything to be lost.

Also, in my opinion, it gets progressively worse until about 3 or 4 years old when they become more "human". They could become annoying, irritable, boring humans, or they could become funny, delightful, interesting humans. Some of it is down to nurture, some to nature.

It's also reasonable to expect that after 3 or 4 years of spending every day with something or someone, you would become attached to it/them.

None of this necessarily equals love, though, and humans NEED love.

You are a person deserving of a chance, but so is your baby. You are an adult who can and should exercise self-control and self-determination. Your baby cannot do either of these things, and had no choice in the matter of being born. That was on you and only you (the flip side, if you will, of how a termination would have been your choice and only yours). Children have (I believe) an entitlement to at least one caring and loving parent/person holding the position of parent. Ideally, two or more. Otherwise that child is set for inevitable problems as an adult.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be thinking about myself so much as worrying that I'm holding the child back. Perhaps he would be better off with a loving father and step-mother? Or, a loving father and no mother/step-mother because that might be better than a fully present mother who you can't escape but who you know doesn't care for you. There are times when stepping away is the loving thing to do.

None of these comments are a judgement of you. These things happen. You obviously feel something (responsibility, duty, affection?) because you're asking strangers for help. You clearly want to do right by your son.

Maybe talk seriously with your DH about how you feel and what's best for your DS. Perhaps you can absent yourself for six months or a year, see how you feel. Perhaps you separate/divorce. Perhaps you stick together with you working FT and your DH becomes a SAHD. There are options.

This sounds like a very difficult situation, and guilt isn't productive. Try to find a solution, absent your own feelings. Your situation isn't conventional, and might call for an unconventional solution.

Flowers
LilyMumsnet · 24/11/2020 17:45

Hello OP, we are really sorry to hear you are feeling this way.

We hope you don't mind, but when these threads are flagged up to us we usually add a link to our Mental Health resources. You can also go to the Samaritans website or email them on [email protected]. Support from other Mumsnetters is great and we really hope you will be able to take some comfort from your fellow posters, but as other MNers will tell you, it's really a good idea to seek RL help and support as well.

We also like to remind everyone that, although we're awed daily by the astonishing support our members give each other through life's trickier twists and turns, we'd always caution anyone never to give more of themselves to another poster, emotionally or financially, than they can afford to spare.

We are going to move this thread to the Mental Health section shortly.

tara66 · 24/11/2020 17:48

Rolopolo - disagree - my son is a charmer to me - if he wants to be!

NameChanged4Today · 24/11/2020 17:51

This may help @MarylinMonrue - good article on reasons/solutions. subject. www.netdoctor.co.uk/parenting/baby-and-toddler/a26676/cant-bond-with-my-baby/

oakleaffy · 24/11/2020 17:54

@MarylinMonrue

I just keep thinking DP could have him, and I could leave them both. DP would never let me give him up for adoption - he's wary enough of me at the moment as it is.
I did know a family where this happened...and it worked reasonably well.

The child was in my child's class at infant/junior school,
The children lived with Dad and a sibling, and their mother had very little to do with them.

Their dad said the mum just wasn't ''Mum material''. He was non judgemental, and he was a very good dad to the kids.

The kids seemed very happy with their dad, but they did occasionally see their mum.

The kids would be young adults now.

As PP have said, Men walk away from DC every day of the week.... yet when it is a woman, people can't admit that she is just not cut out to be a mother...and try to say ''PND''.

It can't be good for either mother or child to be at odds with each other.

Do people say of fathers ''Oh poor you! you are not a monster, you must have depression adjusting to the new baby''

Sometimes that deep love doesn't happen, it is just more 'taboo' when a female says she hates being a parent than when a man says the same.

wildraisins · 24/11/2020 17:55

This is really sad, but is definitely not your fault. Try to accept your feelings and not beat yourself up, and think practically about where to go from here.

It sounds like your son has a loving dad. Do you think they would be OK without you, if you were to leave? - If that's what you needed to be happy and fulfilled? Are you sure that you will always feel this way, or is it just a stage?

I am thinking about your son as he grows, and wondering if it is better for him to have a mum - who resents his existence and whom he can never please - or is it better to only have a dad, but one who really loves him?

I don't know - but it is something to think about.

You have mentioned a couple of times feelings about wanting to leave them both and I really think counselling would help you to analyse those thoughts and work out if that is how you really feel or just a short term frustration from coming to terms with your new life.

It's OK to feel like you've made a mistake and want to escape. It's just that it's also important to do some work and really get to the bottom of those feelings before making big decisions. What you decide to do will impact 3 people's lives hugely.

Good luck, don't feel guilty, you deserve to be happy. Just please find someone professional to talk it all through with.

NellyDElephant · 24/11/2020 18:00

I, like you, had a very difficult birth with my firstborn, I remember her being put on my chest and all I wanted was for her to be taken away, I wanted to go to sleep and not wake up and it was hideous. She was a difficult baby and a difficult toddler, starting school was particularly hard work and primary school overall had a lot of ups and downs. I can honestly say I like her much more now that she’s approaching her teenage years (and these are the ones that are ‘supposed’ to be the worst!) not every child and every parent follows the textbook route through parenthood. I would still happily turn back time and choose not to have fallen pregnant with her, given the option. But that’s not an option now.
It doesn’t mean she’s neglected or unloved or unhappy; I’ll always be there for her and I will always make sure I do my very best, whether it feels like second nature to do that or not.
You are not alone in feeling the way you do OP.

OverTheRainbow88 · 24/11/2020 18:02

Do people say of fathers ''Oh poor you! you are not a monster, you must have depression adjusting to the new baby''

I often read in MN women reminding others that men can get PND.

sniffsniffcough · 24/11/2020 18:03

OP, I feel you, I have a similar age baby.

I've not got PND, looking after kids is just shit. Honestly the biggest lie we are sold as women as that this is somehow worth it. Torpedoing my own life, career, health and sanity for years and years is NOT worth it. It's not rewarding in any way for me, I live for the times when my child is in childcare.

I also fantasise about leaving and starting a new life because like you I actually found the baby stage easier and quite frankly I just can't be bothered. The whinging and whining, the engagement and mess and noise just makes me feel nothing but irritated.

Ohalrightthen · 24/11/2020 18:08

@overtherainbow88

Do people say of fathers ''Oh poor you! you are not a monster, you must have depression adjusting to the new baby''

No, men who don't bond with their babies are just heartless bastards who don't pull their weight and don't want their lives to change.

Women, however, are all inherently maternal and nurturing, doncha know, so if they don't enjoy being mothers they must be unwell!

Some people shouldn't be parents, and sometimes those people have children anyway, and no amount of therapy or pills can change who they are, you can't make someone love their kids or enjoy parenthood, and then everyone suffers.

Ohalrightthen · 24/11/2020 18:09

@sniffsniffcough

OP, I feel you, I have a similar age baby.

I've not got PND, looking after kids is just shit. Honestly the biggest lie we are sold as women as that this is somehow worth it. Torpedoing my own life, career, health and sanity for years and years is NOT worth it. It's not rewarding in any way for me, I live for the times when my child is in childcare.

I also fantasise about leaving and starting a new life because like you I actually found the baby stage easier and quite frankly I just can't be bothered. The whinging and whining, the engagement and mess and noise just makes me feel nothing but irritated.

Can i just ask, why don't you leave?
KnitFastDieWarm · 24/11/2020 18:09

@MarylinMonrue i can remember, when DS was around 14 months, having a similar feeling when people said ‘oh it’ll get better as he gets older’. I’d just think ‘i can’t be arsed with that, how does that help me now?’ I did love him, but i loathed the day to day reality of parenting a toddler, i actively hated it.

DS turned five this week and he is a complete and utter joy AS A PERSON. He’s great company, he’s my little buddy, he asks me how i am and shows me things he thinks will make me laugh. It’s honestly so different from having a young toddler - i’m so much better and more patient at this stage as it comes more naturally to me. I also have far more time to myself and DS is a lovely and integral part of my life who i wouldn’t ever be without. Hang in there Flowers