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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

Relationship breakdown during pregnancy

16 replies

Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 01:27

My boyfriend and I have been together almost 2 years. Before that we were friends for 16 years. I am currently 10 weeks pregnant (my 2nd, his 1st).
We tried for this baby for 9 months.
unfortunately, after nearly 18 years, I don’t even feel like I know him anymore. I feel like I am pregnant with a strangers child. (On his part, not the babies, I WANT this baby, that’s not in question).
this pregnancy has been brutal for the whole 10 weeks so far. I’ve been coming off 2 types of medication with horrific withdrawals and rebound, constant morning sickness, hormones from hell (I have hormone issues anyway which he’s very aware of), prenatal depression and anxiety, huge amount of stress from taking the father of my first child to court through all this (to keep my son safe), someone hacking into my PayPal and taking money, my sons Nan being diagnosed with terminal cancer, struggling to eat and sleep (I’ve actually lost weight), to name a few of the things making it difficult.
obviously having quit smoking and drinking, strips me of (unhealthy, I know) coping mechanisms I’d usually turn to when stress is particularly high.
parenting my first child too.
it’s just really, really hard. I’m so tired.
4/5 days after I found I was pregnant, I was sitting in the car with my boyfriend, crying hysterically, just begging for a hug. Begging him to show he cared, he was just cold. I haven’t had to beg for comfort for 16 years before that, it was just there, he was just a really good, super supportive friend.
it’s only gotten worse from there. I’ve told him numerous times, I’m scared I’m not going to survive this. The depression really takes over sometimes and I just can’t see the end. I would sit there and cry for hours and he would just completely ignore me as if I wasn’t there. No matter how much of a state I’m in, how desperately I tell him I need him, he’ll still just go fishing. After a meds drop, I was a total mess, telling him I didn’t know how I was going to manage this, he went out for 13 hours and didn’t even check in. Not a single text. Didn’t tell me when he was coming home, nothing. I told him it hurt me before he left, I told him when he got back. His response was “aw. Well, I saw a baby monk jack”. And that was it.
sorry I’m really blabbering here and not making much sense. This is too long already, I’ll try to summarise. It’s things like this all the time. He just keeps leaving me in a state, then acts like it’s nothing. Consistently. He’s snapped at me or ignored me more in the past 10 weeks than he has in 17 years.
i get that it’s stressful for him too, I do. But he tells me and everyone else he’s totally fine. It’s like he doesn’t even notice what a mess its become.
one time, I was happy. I discovered we could find out the gender of the baby early with a blood test and I found that exciting because everything else felt so awful. He just snapped at me and told me he was busy and to leave him alone (he was washing up). Bearing in mind he knows I had a terrible experience with my first pregnancy and this will be my last due to hormones problems, this crushed me. It was like a switch flipped. It was one thing to be distant and cold when I was falling apart but to be like that when I’m finally happy about something.. changed something in the way I see him ne feel for him. Am I crazy? Dramatic? He drilled it in to me how much of a better experience this pregnancy would be than my first.. so far, it’s very familiar.
thank you if you got this far, I know it’s so long and doesn’t explain things well, feel free to ask questions.
i feel so guilty for feeling differently towards him now.

OP posts:
Bunty55 · 15/07/2022 01:46

It's too much to read. Can you write it again and make it shorter please. It sounds horrendous

Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 01:53

Sorry, I know it’s long, I’m not very good at explaining things atm, my heads all over the place. Basically, we had a great friendship for 16 years, got together (everyone said “about time”), tried for a baby for 9 months, I’m now pregnant and he’s like a different person. Emotional support has gone right out the window. Things he’s done have changed how I feel about him. I’m sad and confused and I feel guilty for not being able to see him in the same light anymore. Hope that helps.

OP posts:
MMmomDD · 15/07/2022 03:10

It just sounds like you are under a lot of stress - and need professional help with your anxiety and depression.

I don’t think any partner can be really expected to be able to deal with it for weeks and weeks - you need to take responsibility for yourself and get help.
He can’t make it better for you.

—‘I’ve told him numerous times, I’m scared I’m not going to survive this.’ —

It’s unfair to dump that on a partner. Please get help.
Hope you sort of out and get through this difficult time!

Yesgtu · 15/07/2022 06:29

@Pandapoppp he sounds cold and uncaring. He should be there for you at your lowest. Can you seek help from GP etc and perhaps your partner will start to do a bit better especially if he did in the past?

GreyCarpet · 15/07/2022 07:38

MMmomDD · 15/07/2022 03:10

It just sounds like you are under a lot of stress - and need professional help with your anxiety and depression.

I don’t think any partner can be really expected to be able to deal with it for weeks and weeks - you need to take responsibility for yourself and get help.
He can’t make it better for you.

—‘I’ve told him numerous times, I’m scared I’m not going to survive this.’ —

It’s unfair to dump that on a partner. Please get help.
Hope you sort of out and get through this difficult time!

I don't always agree with MMmomDD but I do think she makes a good point on this.

He is obviously being a twat but I'm not sure I could cope with everything you describe from another person either. And I'd run out of patience very quickly with someone who "would cry for hours on end".

It sounds like he's withdrawing and pretending it isn't happening because it's just too much for him to deal with.

You say that he's changed but, by your own admission, that's because you've changed dramatically too.

Do you have actual mental health support who you could offload to instead?

MolliciousIntent · 15/07/2022 07:43

It sounds like he's got serious compassion fatigue and given what you've said in your post I'm not surprised. I think you need to look for additional professional support. Crying for hours a day and declaring that you're going to die is a lot for someone to cope with.

Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 08:44

Thank you for your replies. Yes, I have mental health care. As much as I can possibly get. First thing I did was get in touch with my gp, the perinatal team and the mental health team. I have always suffered mental health problems and have always asked for help when needed. He’s seen it all over the years and never responded this way. I’ve spent years and years working on this. I should point out that before we tried for a baby I spoke to him openly about it numerous times and made it very clear I didn’t know how it would affect me but that it would almost certainly be hard work.
i must also point out that one of the main reasons I get so upset IS the lack of support and change in his character. As in, that comes first. Me getting so upset is often a result. Everything else would be a lot easier to cope with otherwise. I stopped ‘putting it on him’ at all recently, he doesn’t seem to notice either way. Maybe it’s worth mentioning that all my other close relationships are perfectly fine, my friends really save my head.

OP posts:
KosherDill · 15/07/2022 10:12

MMmomDD · 15/07/2022 03:10

It just sounds like you are under a lot of stress - and need professional help with your anxiety and depression.

I don’t think any partner can be really expected to be able to deal with it for weeks and weeks - you need to take responsibility for yourself and get help.
He can’t make it better for you.

—‘I’ve told him numerous times, I’m scared I’m not going to survive this.’ —

It’s unfair to dump that on a partner. Please get help.
Hope you sort of out and get through this difficult time!

I agree with this. He's your boyfriend, not your therapist. It's really not fair to keep making hysterical demands of him. You need to speak with professionals ASAP.

GreyCarpet · 15/07/2022 11:36

He wasn't in a relationship with you previously. That's why it was different before and is different with your friends. They get some respite from it and you are quite likely, without even maybe realising it, leaning on him more heavily than them.

I've got a friend who has severe MH difficulties and sometimes he is very low with it. A friendship is fine because there is distance but he can't sustain a relationship because of it. He expects too much.

Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 11:37

I do get help. I always get help. I had resigned myself to never having another baby even though I wanted at least one more but knew how hard it would be. He convinced me it would be fine because he’d be there and he knows exactly what it’s like when I’m struggling, he was one of my closest friends for 16 years. He’s always handled it incredibly well and said it didn’t scare him and wasn’t an issue for him. This hasn’t built up. It started as soon as I got pregnant. Before I started cutting down meds, before the morning sickness kicked in. Just overnight, cold and distant. I came here for support so it’s not coming out at him. I feel bad for it. I leave him be now. It hurts to want to share something with your best friend and all of a sudden they don’t seem interested. I feel so much worse. I didn’t realise I was the asshole. I just felt alone.

OP posts:
GreyCarpet · 15/07/2022 11:47

You're not an asshole but this is probably an extreme situation. He might well be a complete dickhead but a complete turnaround after knowing him for so long and discussing it first does make it sound like he thought he'd deal with it better than he has.

Do you have other coping strategies you can use too?

It's good you have other support.

billy1966 · 15/07/2022 11:51

This is not a situation to be adding a baby into.

You have sever MH issues whichbyou need support for.

A baby is a really bad idea.

What about the child you have.

How have they been impacted by having a mum with severe MH issues.

You have time to rethink this situation and think about the child you have already.

Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 11:55

I don’t expect him to fix it. I know he can’t, that’s why I ask for help from professionals. I expect emotional support, the same emotional support that was there before. I don’t yell at him, I don’t tell him he’s bad or wrong, I’m not nasty, I’m not even angry, I’m sad and confused. I ask for a hug most of the time. Or just for him to be around when I’m particularly ill and need some physical help, or come to an appointment with me or please could you read this leaflet about prenatal depression so we’re on the same page. I’m not saying “I’m broken and it’s your responsibility to fix me.” It’s not. It’s mine and I take care of that by myself. I call my gp, I call the therapist, I call for help and I attend my appointments religiously. I’ve asked him if I’m just too much to handle and said it would be understandable. He insists it’s not an issue. He has always asked me to be honest and open with him about how I feel, he TAUGHT me to do that, I really struggled with it in the past.

OP posts:
Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 12:02

And yes my MH issues are bad right now because I’m pregnant! Because I’ve had to reduce my meds as they’re not safe for the baby. I didn’t know exactly how bad things were going to be, but it was something we discussed a lot. I have worked SO hard on my mental health for years and I’m perfectly stable on my meds and other treatment like therapy. I didn’t KNOW it was going to be this hard but I honestly thought we’d be fine after he reassured me over and over. I didn’t know a bunch of these things were going to happen right now.
My child is my life! I want him to have a sibling! I won’t be here forever and when they day comes he won’t have to deal with it alone. I take care of my mental health BECAUSE of him! I’m going through hell right now (unexpectedly!) to protect him! Unlike a lot of mothers I’ve seen who would just sweep it under the rug because it’s easier for THEM. I don’t let me son see any of this.

OP posts:
Pandapoppp · 15/07/2022 12:14

My son is 9. We have a warm, super affectionate, loving, wonderful relationship. He talks to me all of the time, we are super close. He is an incredibly happy, smart, funny little boy. I protect him from my issues which generally are perfectly under control anyway. I could not predict this. My partner wanted this and honestly, if he’d stayed the same, the support would’ve been plenty.

OP posts:
MolliciousIntent · 15/07/2022 12:21

It is very, very common for men to become abusive once they have a woman "trapped" by pregnancy.

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