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Relationships

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Dumped for another girl while pregnant

17 replies

lucyxo · 16/03/2018 23:02

Hi, just wondering if there is anyone out there with a similar situation and how they dealt with it and what advise they can give me

I was with my ex for only 10 months but conceived within 3 months it was an unplanned pregnancy, when I told him he was nervous but seemed okay with it and said we can do this together and that he wasnt going anywhere, we carried on as normal then things started to change he was avoiding me, texting less often
We then rented our own place together he then went extremely off with me. I decided to confront him as I had enough of him treating me like I didn't exist, he then broke the news that he wasn't sure if he loves me and that feelings had gone and wasn't sure why? He said he'd be there for me and the baby. We broke up, he then moved back in with his parents only lasting a week living together, this all happened when i was 27 weeks pregnant! He mainly ignored me for the remainder of the pregnancy only texting here and there like once every 6 weeks, I decided to have him at the birth and have his name on birth certificate and my baby to have his last name and let him stay for 2 weeks to help me with the baby as I had weeks to adjust us not being together and also thought he was single and only devoting his time to being a dad and supporting me. After all my best efforts to be civil with him he decided to tell me there had been a girl he's been dating all along at his work (he's her manager) and that she knew he was expecting a baby and decided to be with him anyway and i believe she persuaded him to not be with me, So all makes sense why he dumped me! I was very hurt by the betrayal and have been struggling to accept it, I have allowed access for him to see his son once, sometimes twice a week for 6 hrs a time taking him to spend it at his parents, Do you think this is too much time for him to have with a 9 week old baby? I am now on antidepressants and really struggling to be happy knowing that he's happy with his new girlfriend, my main focus is my son and trying to co parent, also don't have support from his parents anymore as his mum decided to block me and ignore me, anyone had a similar experience to me? I'd love to hear your stories and advice

OP posts:
AjasLipstick · 17/03/2018 07:14

OP I really feel for you. Firstly, it's nobody's fault that he left you but HIS. He made that choice and would have made it even if that woman hadn't persuaded him to.

Secondly, it's good that he's seeing his baby and that his parents are also involved....the baby should know who his Dad is.

Is the baby bottle fed?

lucyxo · 18/03/2018 18:04

Exactly it is hard still having him in my life and seeing him but got to think of the baby, he needs his dad in his life, yeah baby is bottle fed

OP posts:
AjasLipstick · 18/03/2018 21:11

You don't have to send him for 6 hours if you don't want to. Does your ex pick him up and then bring him back? Do you agree on an amount of time beforehand?

FlyingMonkeys · 18/03/2018 21:21

Yes, I split up with ex whilst pregnant , he was seeing someone else. Dd has double barrelled last name. I think you may need to reflect on your child having your ex's surname. It's far easier if you have the same, especially if he's not going to be around much. Plus if you meet/marry someone later on you may all want the same name.

It's shit his family have cut contact. I would expect them to be civil if nothing else. I think contact is great but you need to define clear boundaries from the start. It'll get easier honestly.

lucyxo · 18/03/2018 23:04

Thankyou for your replies, Yeah my ex picks him up and brings him back, we do always agree on the times beforehand, just want things to get better soon! Just baffles me as there are some people out there that would wanna date a man who was having a baby, I'd run a mile if it were me! Also if a year or so has passed do you think I should meet his new gf? To see who's been in my son's life? It is a big shame about his family not wanting to talk to me but there loss!

OP posts:
FlyingMonkeys · 18/03/2018 23:29

I met the new gf, and the one after that. He's now married and more dc so it's all settled down. It will honesty get better and you'll now doubt meet someone new yourself. It's hard but try not to hanker over the idea of if you were still together (I did for a while). Obviously there's all kinds of families.

lucyxo · 19/03/2018 00:36

Thankyou for your advice I know things will get better eventually taking each day as it comes

OP posts:
DawnMumsnet · 19/03/2018 12:37

Hi, we're moving this thread over to our Relationships topic now.

fluffyrobin · 19/03/2018 12:53

Put your baby first and having a baby whose parents don't fight, co parent well, are loving and warm and give each other space and time with the baby is what is an ideal situation for any baby.

It's good that your ex has a new partner as a partner who cheats is not nearly a good enough partner for you, although he must be given all the opportunities to be a good dad to your child.

Enjoy the time he has the baby and make use of this time by resting, doing hobbies, work, whatever you want.

Good luck Flowers

BitOutOfPractice · 19/03/2018 12:56

Oh OP what a low blow he's pulled. I'm so sorry he turned out to be a heel.

JKCR2017 · 19/03/2018 16:18

It might not seem so now but this guy dumping you is the best thing that ever happened to you. Like I said, it might not seem so now but it will. One day you will meet mr right and realise the crap this one put you through was terrible.

I’ve been in a similar situation. My ex treated me like crap when I was pregnant and cheated etc. we split when I was 32 weeks. I was pretty devastated. Scared at the thought of being a single mum.

7 years on. I can honestly say I’m glad he showed his true colours. I’m in a rest relationship, with a great man.

As for the co-parenting. Onlycommunicate with the guy about your son but don’t argue or fight or make it bitter - I’ve been down that road and it isn’t nice. It’s great that your child will know his dad! But he sounds like a right d**k to women! My dad cheated on and made another woman pregnant while my mother was pregnant with me. Unfortunately I’ve never had a relationship with him but I wish I did sometimes! 😢

PrettyLittIeThing · 19/03/2018 17:38

I think it's fine the amount of time he sees the baby. 6 hours is nothing really. Awful for you though, yes you would think most women wouldn't want to date a man about to be a father but ime women do! My sister was dating someone who had a girl pregnant. I couldn't personally but each to their own I guess. Sending Flowers

Angelf1sh · 20/03/2018 05:56

I’d seriously advise that you change the surname to yours. I don’t know how old you are but you sound pretty young and, whilst he might be actively involved with the child now, that may not be the case in 5 years time. Without the same surname you are going to struggle with doing things like flying without a letter of consent from the Dad. The fact that he is on the birth certificate means he now has parental responsibility so he’d need to consent, but I’d say it was worth asking.

contrary13 · 20/03/2018 09:23

Everyone who says it's tough now, but it will get better, is absolutely spot on, OP. Your baby is 9 weeks old - and you've had a huge shock, both emotionally (the end of your relationship with his father) but also physically (giving birth to your son). You need time to recover, to rest, to deal with the huge swarm of hormones and emotion that you'll still be going through, and to re-adjust to life as a single parent as opposed to being part of a nuclear family with your baby's father. You will recover. It will and does get better. You need to look after yourself as well as your baby - and in many ways, you need to find a way of cutting all of your emotions towards your ex loose. Work out how to co-parent with him by all means... but this is a "man" who, if I've understood correctly, cheated on you with an employee at his place of work whilst you were pregnant and trying to build a future for your baby with him, didn't have the courage to tell you until months later, and has stood by and watched as his family have gone NC with you. Presumably, when he takes your baby to his parents, his girlfriend will be there occasionally - and if my own experience is anything to go by, it'll be his mother caring for your son, not him. Or perhaps even his girlfriend.

When my son was a toddler, his father took him off out for the day, then telephoned me to say that his girlfriend had given birth to their baby that morning, and he was taking our son to meet his new sister. I was frantic as (a) I didn't know if he was intending on bringing our son home again and (b) my family had just been destroyed in one of the cruellest ways imaginable. I found out later that the only reason he telephoned me was because his mother forced him to - she and his father had known about the woman he'd been cheating on me with, for 11 months... they'd looked me in the eye and spoken about what a wonderful man their son was, we'd eaten dinner together as an extended family, my children had spent time with them as doting grandparents. I barely have anything to do with them now. Any of them. My ex pretends our daughter (who was 10 at the time) doesn't exist and undoubtedly contributed to her MH problems, he sees our son for less than 18 hours a month and, then, he's more interested in interacting with the two children he and the girlfriend (now his wife and, actually, a lovely woman whom I get along with as she, too, is being treated in a similar way by him/his parents) have together, rather than ours, and for the sake of my own sanity, I have nothing to do with him anymore. Which hurt more than I can adequately explain as we'd been together since we were 14, having known one another since the age of 11. But... I got through it, and came out the other side a thousand times stronger. Being a single parent is tough, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather that than have my son learn from his father that betraying a partner is the right way to behave, or my daughter believe that it's acceptable for a man to ever treat her the same way as my ex treated me.

You will get through this OP. You're still in shock, still grieving the relationship which you thought you had... except that relationship didn't exist as far as your ex was/is concerned. How could it? He was dating another woman!

If I were you, I'd hunker down with my 9 week old and wait for the hormones to dissipate a little before making any rash decisions about your son having your ex's surname (other posters are right: it will and does make travelling a nervewracking experience if you have a different name to your child, and it might make your son feel "different", or as though he doesn't belong to you, if you have different last names to one another. My children are double-barrelled, and I've never pushed the issue - but both have dropped their father's name, independently, as they've grown older), or even the amount of access which you've given him. A 9 week old baby shouldn't be away from their mum for long periods of time, in my opinion, unless it's because that mother is a sole earner and the only one who is paying for the baby's food/clothing/nappies. Does your ex contribute financially at all, because babies are expensive little creatures!

And if I were your ex's "new" girlfriend, I'd be taking into consideration that if he can happily cheat on/leave his pregnant girlfriend once, he can - and probably will - do so again. Cliches ("once a cheat, always a cheat") exist for a reason.

FlyingMonkeys · 20/03/2018 19:02

Re: surname - the dad may put up a barrier to you changing the baby's surname now. However I believe you don't need his consent to double barrell and add your own.

As several of us have stated it really will make life a lot easier in the future. Aside from official documents my ds has always chosen to drop her dad's and just use my surname. If you have other dcs in the future it also opens the option to switching out your surname bit to whatever else you may wish to change it to.

lucyxo · 21/03/2018 12:28

Thankyou for your comments and advice and experiences it has really helped me knowing that I am not alone! I am thinking of double barrel the last name I wouldn't be able to change it back to just my surname as his dad would never agree to it unfortunately, he does pay for his son, each day is getting better for me and it really is and blessing in disguise, He's also saying that his new gf hasn't met my son yet but I know he is lieing and she's already met him he should of waited atleast 6 months to introduce, i am glad he still wants to be in his sons life but i do feel the novelty will wear off and he'll be more interested in his gf than his own son, for my son's sake I hope it will never happen, also we are both 23 so we are young

OP posts:
Rollonweekend · 21/03/2018 19:19

I have no advice as i have no direct experience but just to say you sound absolutely lovely and you are handling this really difficult situation with class. Enjoy your new baby and as you say you are still so young and you have everything and lots of happiness ahead of you.

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