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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Husbands, masturbation & paranoia......

180 replies

ParanoidWife · 05/01/2004 21:40

DH and I always had a great sex life pre DD but things have certainly slowed down since her birth, due to my sex drive dying a rapid and almost complete death (sex reduced to once a month MAX). Our DD is now a happy healthy toddler and only recently has the physical side of our marriage picked up a little, we have had sex twice this week and DH has orgasmed 3 times (once via non penetrative contact IYSWIM). I know DH still has sexual urges, his sex drive is fairly average.

I am learning to drive and I have a couple of one hour lessons per week. A few weeks ago I came home from a lesson and DH was in the bath. I popped into the spare room for a sneaky 5 mins on MN and there was something on the desk, it was clearly semen. I checked the history and the temp internet files on the pc and they had all been wiped clean (DH is in IT). DH got out of the bath and came into the spare room to say hello. When he got in I jokily said 'you need to get yourself a better towel, next time' (or something to that effect). He said 'what are you on about ?!' I pointed to the fluid on the desk and looked at him quizzically. He denied it was semen or that he even knew what it was and how it got there. I KNEW he way lying so I calmly turned off the pc and went downstairs DH came down and admitted that it was semen and that he had been masturbating to images on the internet. I told him that I would prefer it if he wasn't so secretve about it as it makes me think that there is more to it (ie is he cheating on me in chat rooms etc). He said he understood that I would feel insecure and I asked him to not delete the addresses off our PC in future (we share our own private profile so kids wouldn't ever get access to it). He agreed.

Anyway, I had another lesson tonight, we had an hour together (in front of the tv) and he went out to his sports club. Naturally I came in here to go on MN when he left. I checked the history and sure enough he'd been downloading mpegs with titles like 'mouthf*ck' and 'dirty double penetration'. At least he'd kept the history.

My point is that I've lost a lot of confidence in my body/sexual attractiveness since childbirth. DH does his best to reassure me, and sometimes I even believe him. Then I find out that he is w*nking over leggy slim blondes and it all goes out of the window I know that it is all fantasy but part of me can't help thinking that he'd rather be with them than me, the thought makes me feel physically ill.

Looking at the properties on history I can see that I was barely out of the door before he was up here with his pants down

I don't want to deny him his right to do whatever he pleases with his own body in his own time, but how can I feel better about it ? How do I convince myself that his masturbation bears little or no relation to me ? Is that even true ?

Thanks
An embarrassed regular Mumsnetter

OP posts:
CountessDracula · 06/01/2004 14:19

HI PW, sorry to hear you are upset about this but I have to agree with most on here that it's normal. I would have though it good manners to clear up the results afterwards though!

To make yourself feel better, maybe you could do something to improve your feelings about yourself. Try and get some time to yourself, maybe have massage or manicure and try working on the bit of the body that bothers you (mine is my flabby stomach with it's nasty post csection shelf of nastiness!) I am NOT suggesting that you do this for your dh but for yourself. Alternatively wear something that covers up the offending area(s) and get back into a bit of nookie, your self-confidence will soon come back (well mine did and I'm still flabby as hell!!!)

Dadslib · 06/01/2004 14:22

Message withdrawn

CountessDracula · 06/01/2004 14:24

Dadslib I don't think it's what you're saying, more the way you are saying it you prannet

ParanoidWife · 06/01/2004 14:24

I have a drawer full to bursting with the 'right' sort of undies which I do wear on a daily basis in a bid to feel sexier. All I see when I catch sight of my naked self in the mirror is my stretchmarked, wobbly, gut . I have one of those ab-belt thingies which does help firm things up a bit. My bottom bothers me too, it is at least 50% bigger now than it was when I was a svelte 8 1/2st (I am reasonably tall). Perhaps this is more about my lack of self confidence than DH's lack of sexual decorum ?

OP posts:
ParanoidWife · 06/01/2004 14:26

Thanks CD, Dadslib you were painfully blunt and a little bitter sounding TBH.

OP posts:
flamingo · 06/01/2004 14:28

Twinkie, you were awfully mean to Dadslib. Granted you don't often agree and he doesn't exactly think before he writes but that was a bit OTT I thought.

What I THOUGHT dadslib was trying to say was that men often wank MORE when they are getting good sex. Sort of raises the sexual level... So it's a tribute to you rather than a competitor.

Seems like the issue of WHAT he uses is worse than the fact that it happens. Few things you could do - you could make your own porn (maybe a bit difficult if you have a lot of body image issues), you could do a bit of research and find the sort of porn you DO like (see Em & Lo's Ethical Porn article for a really grown up woman's take on these things) and discuss your issues with him. I suspect he'll respect your opinion if you don't simply get all cross about it.

What you don't need to do is force yourself to have more sex, or to be more pornstar-y - I very much doubt that has anything to do with it.

BTW Dadslib - from a woman's point of view bad full on sex is worse than a good wank too. People aren't really that different.

CountessDracula · 06/01/2004 14:29

OH PW you must be the person who looks back at me in my mirror..

I think I'm anorexic cos when I look in the mirror I see a fat person

Have you recently had a baby? If so then it will go naturally (to some extent) and the stretchmarks do fade. The first time I saw mine post childbirth I screamed, my stomach looked like Jackson Pollock had attacked it with red paint. Now it just looks a bit wibbly.

CountessDracula · 06/01/2004 14:29

Acutally make that VERY wibbly

Twinkie · 06/01/2004 14:29

Message withdrawn

Twinkie · 06/01/2004 14:32

Message withdrawn

ParanoidWife · 06/01/2004 14:36

Thanks Twinkie.

CD our children are similar ages, my stretchies are silvery now but I really got them quite badly. They are all over my tum, even reaching up to 2 inches+ past my belly button . I also have a wierd bit of skin which would be an overhang if I put on a few more lbs (though I had a vaginal birth). It's all wrinkly there too Am hideous beast with crinkly flesh and cellulite bum.

OP posts:
ParanoidWife · 06/01/2004 14:37

My bum looks ok in clothes but I must subconsciously dress well to hide it as it is a VERY different story when they come off.

OP posts:
Twinkie · 06/01/2004 14:38

Message withdrawn

Festivefly · 06/01/2004 14:39

I tell you something it means nothing, its your relationship that matters, my x hated porn, and ran off with someone else so there you go

M2T · 06/01/2004 14:39

DADSLIB STOP PLEEEEEEEASE!

You are basically suggesting that she should either accept it or shag him more!

Is that really all everything in your life boils down to!??
I think that was an incredibly honest and genuine post from Paranoid Wife about how she viewed your posts and how they were not helpful to her. And they weren't.

I fing it a total insult to all the people who have posted adivce on here that you have categorised it as a "pat on the back and a box of Kleenex".

Shows you how highly you rate this advice from Mumsnetters! SO why do you ask us all for advice if we are so sexist, useless and sentimental??? Thats not an attack or me telling you not to ask for advice BTW..... its a genuine query. Why ask advice from people you oviously have NOT respect for?

ParanoidWife · 06/01/2004 14:40

Oh god , am in my 20's !

OP posts:
Twinkie · 06/01/2004 14:42

Message withdrawn

Twinkie · 06/01/2004 14:44

Message withdrawn

Festivefly · 06/01/2004 14:44

Balaclava Twinkie?

M2T · 06/01/2004 14:46

Oops... bad typos there! Trying to type too fast.

Paranoid Wife - I 2nd what loads of people have said. I really don't think it's a reflection on how you look or that your DH finds you any less attractive.

I found a dirty (YUCK!) towel under our bed the other day. I couldn't believe he had had a wank and I got really pissed off with him. Its a bit different for me though as I have a higher sex drive than DH (well I used to!). SO I couldn't believe it when he had finally wanted some and had done it himself. Anyway..... after a huge amount of shouting he told me that sometimes he just wants a wnk.... not sex..... just a wnk. I thought about it from my point of view and realised that I do that too, and probably more than DH does!!!! So couldn't really argue..... but I did tell him to make sure I didn't find the "evidence" lying around!

Twinkie · 06/01/2004 14:47

Message withdrawn

ParanoidWife · 06/01/2004 14:47

You have seen several piccies of me. It's not my head/face that I have issues with, it's the other 5ft+ below it

Will have to practice my come-face

OP posts:
CountessDracula · 06/01/2004 14:49

ParanoidWife mine looks like this in fact I think they stole my reader's wives style photos... (the link gives error msg first time, just cancel it repeatedly)

If that doesn't make you feel better nothing will!

CountessDracula · 06/01/2004 14:50

Twinkie how about a burkha?

motherinferior · 06/01/2004 14:50

Oh darling, no you're not a hideous beast. You're a woman who's given birth, and there are lots of us out there. And most of us struggle (at least the advantage of being an older mum is you've got other reasons for lack of youthful gorgeousness).

One thing - oddly enough I feel more physically confident after dd2 than dd1 because this time at least I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight (if VERY rumpled). So that may reassure you if you are contemplating another baby.