Hi, I’m brand new to mumsnet so I’m sorry if I’m starting this thread all wrong… I’m just looking to talk to other parents about things I’m struggling with because I’m feeling like I’m going a bit crazy at the moment! So please be gentle with me :)
to give context I’m a new mum, I have a 14 month old and I’ve just finished mat leave and I'm adjusting to returning to work. I work 3 days in the nhs and my husband is a head teacher, he is full time and I appreciate his job is very demanding. I’ve struggled with the inflexibility of his role for quite some time, but having a child has exacerbated it. I have a large caseload myself, my role is also pretty full on and I’m also doing all drop offs/pick ups because husband has morning and after school meetings.
This week has triggered strong feelings of anger/resentment for me that I’m struggling to swallow down and I’m feeling like maybe I’m also being unreasonable but I just can figure it out… I really needed some extra support due to taking on some difficult cases, I asked hubby if he could be 5 mins late for a morning meeting and drop off little guy just on one day. This would afford me an extra hours work to get myself in a good place and relieve some stress, but he was adament that he could not even adjust his meeting time for 5 mins because ‘all the teachers will have to wait for me’. I asked him whether he could just give them a heads up and tell them it starts at 8.20 instead of 8.15am? It was just a flat no. He told me I was being unreasonable and over the top when I expressed that I felt frustrated and stuck in the rigidity of his job.
for context, he is a great dad when he is home and helps loads with the cleaning and house chores. He adores our son and has been very good with him since he was born, helping in the night where possible. So this makes me feel super guilty when I feel so angry. He has always just worked such long hours so the mental, physical and emotional load of parenthood feels so primarily on my shoulders, and without even a little bit of flexibility I feel trapped in the dynamic. During the school holidays of course it all calms down and he is also in a much better place and things feel easier. But during term time - which can be long and of course for most of the year, it doesn’t feel balanced at all. I also feel like he just can’t or chooses not to understand the intensity that can create, often becoming instantly defensive and then I feel even more misunderstood. I think if he could even just acknowledge it I’d feel better, but he doesn’t.
I feel like I should be able to just accept this as I am the mother, but I’m really struggling in the aloneness. We don’t have any grandparents living nearby to help either.