Feel so guilty, but I'm finding some of this really hard

[LollyPop87]

Hi all. I'm new to this part of the forum, but I'm very glad I found it.

I'm going to sound like an awful person. I have been with my dp for two years. I love him so much and we have an amazing relationship, I've never been so happy.

Dp has a ds, who's now 6, from a previous relationship. Ds lives in a different city which unfortunately means that dp can only go to see him every other weekend, and has him up here during most of the school holidays. Dp finds this very hard as he misses his son desperately when he's not here. I think he is an amazing dad and really respect what he does. I try my best to support him and can't imagine how it must feel.

Me and dp have lived together for under a year. Before we lived together I spent lots of time with his ds and loved it, I love children.

When we moved in together the time I spent with his ds increased, but I was finding it ok. I think he is a lovely boy and really enjoy spending time with him, and love taking him on days out and things like that.

However, this is where I am going to sound awful. It's been his half term this week and he's been up this way. It's been the first time that I have been in work AND had him here too. Normally my holiday's are the same as his (I am a teachet so have half term etc off, but my half term was a week earlier this time).

I've found it hard. I've been coming home exhausted from work and haven't had the energy to interact with him at all. He's a lovely boy but can be very very loud. He will come right up into my face and talk loudly. He will sometimes scream for no reason. If he was my ds, I would ask for some quiet time at some times, but I can't because he is not. Sometimes by dp will ask him to be quiet after a while, but not always.

This isn't really making any sense. Basically, I am really really struggling with the sudden change in routine, in my role, in everything when he is here. Everything is just so loud and constant and I don't get a moment to myself once I'm home from work. I want children myself one day but I am not ready for my own children yet.

I feel so awful posting this. I love my dp, and and I am very close to his ds too. I want to be able to shift my focus when he is up so that I can cope better. I just don't know how to. What can I do to make myself enjoy it all a bit more? I don't want my dp's ds, or my dp to pick up on how I'm feeling.

I think I also find it hard that I know I would be a lot stricter if he was my ds than my dp is. He does let him get away with quite a lot (he has admitted that because he doesn't see him as much as he would like to he just wants to enjoy their time together, and therefore finds it difficult to discipline him). He will often throw tantrums if he doesn't want to do something and will cry and cry, until he gets his own way and then suddenly stops! I feel like this needs addressing but as he's not my ds I can't!

Sorry for the long post. And I'm sorry if I sound mean or horrible :( I promise I'm not really, I just want some advice as to how I can be better at this.

Thank you for reading :)

Thank you both so much for your replies. MatryoshkaDoll - I actually felt a bit teary reading your reply. This is exactly how I feel. I was literally only saying this sentence - 'you don't have the unconditional love to fall back on which means you don't mind' to my sister when we were chatting about it on Wednesday! That is exactly it. And it can be an irritation sometimes. It really can. And you don't have that unconditional love to fall back on to stop it being an irritation.

And yes, you are totally just parachuted into it all. This is exactly how I feel. No build up, no excitement, just a ready made child that might behave quite differently to how you would expect a child of your own to feel.

I can't tell you how amazing it is to hear that I'm not the only one that feels like this. I find as well, because I'm not a parent, and I don't have this automatic unconditional love, I have to try extra hard to make up for it. And that it would be even worse for me to feel any irritation or find it hard, because he's not my child. I'm not sure if that makes sense!

Needaholidaynow - I think you're right. I do worry so much, because I am probably a lot stricter than my dp. (I think its the teacher in me too!). Some of the things are very small things, like saying please and thank you, and some of them are bigger things, like screaming and tantrums. I do sometimes feel like I haven't got a say in things in my own home when he is here, and that is very hard. Maybe I should speak to my dp about it. I just worry he'll see it as me disliking his ds, which is far from the case, I like him very much!

Is it awful that I can't quite honestly say I love his ds? I like him very much, and care about him alot, but love is a very strong emotion and I don't think that's how I feel. Do I need to feel this way? Will I feel this way over time?
I feel awful admitting that.

Just to add, I care about him deeply and would do anything to keep him from harm. I also really enjoy spending time with him and I'm proud of his acheivements. I certainly don't feel the opposite of love towards him. So maybe I do love him in my own way. It's just I've never been in this situation before and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel.

You are being too hard on yourself.
You don't have to love him - I don't love my DSC.
You have the right to relax after being at work all day and to tell DSS off if He is being too loud/naughty whatever.
Talk to your DH and set some boundaries - it doesn't mean you don't lime him, just that you need some space sometimes

Hi lollypop

Don't feel bad for finding it hard. Step-parenting IS hard. I have been with my dp for two years. He has two DD and full time residency. I moved in three months ago and it's taking time to adjust. I do some parenting and discipline too if necessary. Happily my dp is mostly supportive, although sometimes he does things differently to how I would. I do love my DSDs but I would say it's in a different way to how their dad does, or to how I would love my own child. They say they love me back, but I expect it's in a different way than their parents. Do try and speak to your dp, it will probably help. Don't criticise his DS (i'm sure you wouldn't) but do tell him how you feel.

Good luck

I would quietly start to get a bit more involved in disciplining your DSS. If you don't it will drive you nuts and it isn't doing your DSS any favours. As a teacher I bet you know how to go about it, consistency is the name of the game.

Don't worry about whether or not you love your DSS. It is wonderful that you are fond of him

I am really sorry for not replying until now - I could not find this thread anywhere, and being fairly new I wasn't sure what to do. Very sorry!

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has replied. It is such a massive relief to hear that the way I feel is not wrong. I always felt that I had to love him in the same way as I will one day love my own child, but this thread has made me realise that its ok if that doesn't happen.

I would obviously do my best to treat him the same, and like I say I do care about him alot.

It is very hard though. When I posted that I didn't actually love him, I was expecting to be told that I was awful. It was the first time I'd really admitted it to myself. So it is amazing to know that its ok.

It makes sense really. The love people have for their children must be the strongest in the world, it is not something that I can just make myself feel. I'm so relieved that I can start excepting that.

Thank you all so much. I think I'm gonna spend quite a lot of time on this forum. It is just amazing to be able to speak to people who are going through similar things and to be able to be honest without worrying about being judged.

I think maybe I do need to play a part in the discipline too. The thing is, I don't have any children myself, so I'm not always sure if I'm being too strict. When I'm in work, the rules are very clear, so I know when i need to respond. Im not sure where the boundaries should be with DSS. I think I would also be a stricter parent than my dp. He is an amazing dad btw, I'm not saying I'd necessarily be right.

Thank you all again for your replies and advice :)

Accepting*. Its been a long week!

Hi there,

I'd say that you have done brilliantly to acknowledge the way you feel.

I'm not a step mum, but the mum of a ds who has had a step mum since around the age of 5/6.

I would say the worst decisions my ex and his wife made were telling their respective children (not through anything I or her daughters father said) that they each only told their own children off whilst continually thrusting 'we are a family' down the childrens throats.

Just as the love you feel for dss isn't that of a mother for a child, the childs love for you isn't the love of a child to its parents.
Its a relationship which should be celebrated for its difference.

As a teacher, when you have new children each year, you relate to them, you set boundaries for them, you may even love different things about them and feel proud of their achievements etc and in return receive acknowledgement that you have played a significant role in their daily lives and development. You wouldn't allow a 6 yr old in school to throw tantrums and shout in your face, so between you and dp you need to transfer the same sense of respect for you and your space and belongings to your dss.
Its not about being dss parent but teaching him respect for others, which hopefully dp will support you with.

You are not alone. I could have written the OP myself. The behaviour does need addressing if it is bothering you, as trust me, it will only get worse. Set the house rules and ensure that all parties abide by them, and establish with your dp how to enforce them.

It is not easy, and having a 12 month dd who doesn't sleep, and working 50+ hrs per week has left me feeling slightly distant from dsd - not her fault but unconditional love is indeed a wonderful thing that you cannot fake.

Good luck with it all xx

Lollypop, just wanted to add my voice to those of sympathy. My DSS is such a good boy in so many ways, but there is no getting round the fact that he is a child who is annoying at times and who is not the product of my own ideas and values. I think so many of the difficulties of stepoarenting come from not having unconditional love to fall back on. It must be harder if there is Disney parenting going on, but I assure you even without that it is still hard!

I had such a lovely day today, a day on my own to do what I wanted in the house for the first time in months. Within an hour of DSS arriving this evening, I was hearing 'I don't like it, I cant eat it' regarding the dinner I'd made specifically for him really hoping he'd like it, I was stuck watching some kids film I had no interest in, and I just felt all the contendedness of my day draining away...not good, and it's not DSS's fault or DP's or mine, it's just so hard adjusting from 'child free' to 'child centered' eow!

Thank you so much everyone :) I can't even begin to explain how hearing about other people's experiences is helping.

Riverboat - I can relate to that experience so much. I actually read that last paragraph a few times because it rings so true with how I've felt so many times.

I was just wondering, does anyone have any advice as to how I could talk about this with my dp? He's quite sensitive and I don't want him to take it the wrong way and feel upset. I just really want to talk about how I feel before dss comes up during the Christmas holidays. I feel bad admitting it, but I actually feel quite apprehensive about it. It's just so hard.