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Feeling like ive failed as a mum due to not having the perfect baby daddy

23 replies

MamaWhy · 12/03/2022 22:40

I split with LO dad back in november and kicked him out after he decided not to contribute towards any bills and spend all his money on drugs. A week later i discovered i was pregnant and i just didnt have the heart to terminate so ive gone ahead with the pregnancy and trying to see the positives of the situation and keep positive about it all but its hard.

I allow LO dad to come and see LO but allways when im there and never alone with LO. I think its important that LO has his dad in his life, his dad interacts with him well and shows intrest in his life.

My family are completley against this, completly hate ex and have made it very ovious they would rather me cut him out completley, they see all negatives about him and no positives like the fact that he does want to be involed in his childs life and does help me where he can and is a good dad when he is arround, dosent harm me or LO in any way. My family are very little support to me and if im honest some weeks ex is the only adult contact i get/comes to see me and LO/helps me at all (will do little chores to help me whilst visiting LO).

I try my best to just not mention ex to family at all and try shut down any questions they ask about him. I dont involve them at all in LO contact with him and it in no way affects how much and when they see LO, they only really see him when I arrange to see them and take him to see them, i cant remember the last time one of my family members came round to see me and LO, i invite them all round regulary for dinner/cup of tea/ play dates with cousins, all get declined unless its me coming to them.

My sisters recently made a big fuss, her partner has said to their 4 year old that he does not like my son and the 4 year old repeated this to me on several occaisons and my sister has just brushed it off like its not a problem that he says this and the reason he says this is because he does not like my sons dad, my son has done nothing wrong and it gets me very upset when her daughter repetively says it, luckly LO is young enough that he dosent understand but it wount be long. I had enough of the comment and said i no longer want my son arround them if comments like that are going to be thrown arround and then be brushed off like hes saying he doesnt like marmite. My sister then made a big deal of her daughter asking where my sons dad is, saying she needs an explination to tell her and calling a big family meeting about it. Its just unneccasay in my eyes, just tell her LO dad is not with his mummy and he comes to play and see him sometimes, no thurther explanation is needed, we had a handfull of friends growing up that didnt have a dad in their life and we never questioned it or needed an explination. My sister also in the past has made a comment saying she would rather my past physicaly and emotionaly abusive ex would be the father of my babies than their actual father, which really upset me as it took me alot to get out of that relationship and report it and go through the trama of court to get a restraining order.

I just feel like ive failed as a mum for not having the perfect baby daddy and family situation. Im trying my best, trying to work part time as well as beeing a single mum with little family support, im at breaking point and feel like i have nobody to turn to and feel like everyone and everything is against me in life. Im getting so down this week the only time ive left the house is to go to work and get food shopping, i feel like ive let my son down not doing anything with him just sat on the sofa feeling like cr@p.

OP posts:
Sux2buthen · 12/03/2022 23:11

You're not failing, you and your child are the only ones winning here!!
Your family sound horrible and o can't speak for the father but him being present and helpful is a good thing as long as his private activities are kept away.
I am a single mum to three, their dad is currently not seeing them at all. My family are lovely but also do not visit so I understand feeling alone with it all.
If I was you I would block out the stupid judging voices and focus on enjoying the time you have him all to yourself.
You sound a lovely strong mother

yummygummy · 13/03/2022 09:22

So sister's partner is going around telling his son he doesn't like your son? And they're both 4? Who does he think he is? POS. Your sister sounds horrible too. I'm sorry you don't have more supportive family, you have done the right thing to leave your ex and it sounds to me like you are setting clear boundaries around contact with your child.

MissMaple82 · 13/03/2022 09:27

Somethings not adding up here. I find it very hard to believe your entire family are against this mans involvement with no real justification.. Maybe you're just in denial?!

Oldtiredfedup · 13/03/2022 09:29

Your family sound utterly toxic

Onceuponatimethen · 13/03/2022 09:40

Op there is a lovely book for kids called the Big book of families by Catherine and Laurence Anholt. You can get it for about £3 second hand on Amazon. It is a lovely book and perfect for reading with babies as it’s poems. It’s all about different families and has some funny poems and lovely drawings. I loved reading it to my l.o.

The two that have really stuck with me are:

In a long list of different family types… “Mum and me happily”

And “When you are tiny like a seed your family is all you need”

All your lovely l.o. needs is you too love them. Literally. That’s it. Just keep doing your job and loving them and it WILL be ok Flowers

AHungryCaterpillar · 13/03/2022 09:46

@MissMaple82

Somethings not adding up here. I find it very hard to believe your entire family are against this mans involvement with no real justification.. Maybe you're just in denial?!
Agree... people are usually against someone because the person has bad mouthed their ex repeated and people then form a negative opinion of the person and they wonder why their family doesn’t like them when all they’ve done is bad mouth them, either that or it’s based on the way he has treated you and spending all his money on drugs? They really don’t like him for no reason? Speaking from experience my sister use to run her ex into the ground then be surprised why the rest of the family didn’t like him
AuntFlorence · 13/03/2022 09:51

That's his failure not yours. Everything your child has is despite of him and will have you to thank for

LIZS · 13/03/2022 09:56

Is your ex actually contributing positively to your lo life, financially, emotionally? Is he on the birth certificate? He sounds like a loser tbh and maybe your family see that and are trying to protect you but going way ott.

MMMarmite · 13/03/2022 10:06

It strikes me that you're very isolated, seeing noone except your ex some weeks. Your family are not reliable practical or emotional support. Do you have the chance to make local friends, potentially other parents?

theworstwife · 13/03/2022 10:21

You don’t sound at all like you are letting your son down - you are trying your best in a difficult situation. The actions of your ex are not yours or your son’s failings. Your sister is getting some validation and feeling of superiority by highlighting what she feels are the negatives of your situation to you and your family. Anyone who would judge a child for the misdemeanours of their parents is a moron and a piece of shit.

If I would you I would disengage with her nonsense - you won’t win. Don’t be so hard on yourself

liveforsummer · 13/03/2022 10:27

@LIZS

Is your ex actually contributing positively to your lo life, financially, emotionally? Is he on the birth certificate? He sounds like a loser tbh and maybe your family see that and are trying to protect you but going way ott.
I wonder this too. Remember if he decides he wants more contact or unsupervised contact and goes to court if you refuse he will get it.
liveforsummer · 13/03/2022 10:27

Your sister sounds like an arse though and is a separate issue. I'd avoid.

mangoontoast · 13/03/2022 10:35

I can figure out if you're talking about a newborn baby here? You found out you were pregnant in November, so your ex left, you had a baby, went back to work, weeks have passed... in a time frame of 4 months?

AHungryCaterpillar · 13/03/2022 10:36

She has a child already and is pregnant again...

OakRowan · 13/03/2022 10:44

Is he still doing drugs, does he work? Its not unreasonable of your family to have strong boundaries around this man if he isn't a good person. It shouldn't be a positive that all he wants is to spend time with his child, that doesn't make him a good dad, that should go without saying. Agree with others there must be more to this, because there is such a strong contrast between how you describe him and how they react to him. He isn't a good father is he, it isn't outstanding, supportive parenting to not be able to remain with your partner and simply want to see your own kid sometimes. And you can't even leave your child alone with him? Maybe your family are right and the way they are demonstrating this is upsetting to you.

LIZS · 13/03/2022 11:04

@AHungryCaterpillar

She has a child already and is pregnant again...
Ah so she is pg with second dc to ex? Were you living together or was it casual before you split?
MamaWhy · 13/03/2022 20:08

They litrealy dont like him because of the drugs. My sisters partner has not liked him from day 1 as they didnt like eachother at school, some kind of friendship group clash, but left school 12 years ago so should just put it behind them now🙄

LO is 16 months so not at an understanding much that is said to him.

Ex is self employed and so is in and out of work, when we were together he went employed at a local factory, good pay but he hated it but stayed as it payed the bills and let us live nicely, as soon as we broke up and i kicked him out he quit that job and went back to beeing self employed picking up jobs some weeks and nothing other weeks so child maintance is very hit and miss. But when hes not working he will come over more to see LO and help more. His drug use is mental health driven and his family are trying to support him to get help again as he did in the past and got back on track.

Family meeting never went ahead thankfully as both my sisters tested positive for covid so a good excuse for me to avoid the family for atleast a week, I just cant deal with them all any more it drains me.

OP posts:
MamaWhy · 13/03/2022 20:20

I feel like my family arent happy that we are co-parenting well without arguing and agree on most things. They love drama so would rather us be at eachothers throats constantly.

My mum seems to think that ex has no say in anything anymore like she brought up naming the baby and i said a few i liked and said but ex dosent like some, her response was well its your choice what you name the baby not his. And our 16m son has never had a haircut, he has very fine hair but at the back its starting to get a bit long, my mum comented saying he needs a haircut and she will arrange for her sister thats a hair dresser to come over to cut it and i said no ex wants to let his hair get a bit thicker and for him to get a bit older so holds patience when sitting as hes not one to sit for any period of time which i agree i think it will be a nightmare to get him to sit to get his haircut and i think it should be a thing we both agree on and a memory we should both be there for.

OP posts:
OakRowan · 14/03/2022 09:50

So he has mental health problems that he isn't seeking treatment for, using drugs instead which will make him worse and doesn't want to work full time, so isn't contributing properly financially? I can see why your family aren't impressed, rightly so, why are you tolerating this from him? Raise your standards, he is letting you and your baby down, why do you think that's acceptable?

OakRowan · 14/03/2022 09:52

You are not co parenting well if he is too idle to work, because he chooses to self medicate with illegal drugs and doesn't contribute enough financially, none of that equals good co parenting. You aren't parenting well if you accept this. You have such a low bar!

Nothankyouv · 14/03/2022 10:06

Having a shit Dad sucks but what sucks even more is not having a Dad at all. You’re doing a wonderful job - your family are utterly dreadful

liveforsummer · 14/03/2022 16:10

@Nothankyouv

Having a shit Dad sucks but what sucks even more is not having a Dad at all. You’re doing a wonderful job - your family are utterly dreadful
I disagree. My dc would be loads better off without their dad and it makes me feel sick when I think a lot the damage he's causing in the long term and more will come when they become teens.
cherryonthecakes · 15/03/2022 12:11

Even if your child's dad was Putin, your BIL
is massively unreasonable to say stuff like he doesn't like you son. Wtaf is wrong with him and your sister for condoning this?

On the other hand, if I was your family I would be very concerned that you're having your druggie ex round. Is he paying you maintenance and not costing extra like eating food you cooked? If you're hosting him like a friend with cooked food and he's taking showers and taking the piss then I'd be telling you that was wrong. I don't believe that any contact with dad is better than no contact at all. He could apply for contact and get it unsupervised anyway.

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