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I feel bad for posting this but I feel like a ship with no rudder right now and don’t know what else to do. My wife and I married back in March and prior to getting married we talked about having kids and how many we wanted to have. I was 26 at the time, my wife 30. She has a 4 year old son from a previous relationship with dad still in the picture about 25% of the time. I love him as if he was my own son though. Immediately after getting married we agreed to start trying which we ended up pregnant right away. When my wife officially told me though I was suspecting that she was pregnant already I was very excited! Now she is 17 weeks and I find myself completely lost with how to feel and I oftentimes am starting to feel very disconnected. She has not done anything to make me feel this way though it is as if I want to disconnect. I find my excitement has worn off and I am fearful, I know this sounds selfish but even with our 4 year old I find that she gives him all of her time, patience, and love and I get whatever’s left if anything and I worry what the will be like when we add 1 more. I get that children need attention more attention but I just feel like she gives all of it to them and none of it to me and even just a tiny amount would be nice to receive! Last night I went to bed and she has been staying up later and often falls asleep on the couch and then later wakes, cold and comes and hops into bed with me and snuggles right up next to me to warm up which I absolutely love sleeping right up against her arms wrapped around her. Last night was different. She came in and I wanted to be on the edge of the bed as far away as possible. She crawled into bed and I pretended like I was still sleeping facing the edge of the bed too. She then started grabbing at my shoulder to roll me over and I’m thinking what is she doing in my head and then realized she was trying to get me to roll over and snuggle up with her. I was absolutely repulsed by this and thought absolutely not I do not want to do this but I gave in and did. I don’t know why but it’s like I am resentful or something and I want nothing to do with her. It even went so far that this morning when I left I contemplated for 5 minutes whether I wanted to go back into the bedroom like I always do just before I leave the house for work to give my usually sleeping wife a kiss and tell her I love her and have a good day (sometimes she is awake). I did it but I feel like the only reason I did today was to avoid being asked why I didn’t later. I don’t like feeling like this and highly doubt this is normal but don’t know what to do. I’m not sure if it’s just that I’m scared to be a father to our own child now, or if it has to do with me feeling like now that she is rubbing on all this oil before bed that I can’t touch her anymore or that our days of sleeping naked are at an end for now when we have been doing so quite frequently up until just now, or if it’s just that I feel so helpless in the grand scheme of things. I bend over backwards to help her around the house and to get her things as needed and I love doing it, I have no problems doing it but I think the biggest thing might be that I feel left out while she is incubating our baby over there and already making such a powerful connection with it. I don’t know I just don’t feel like myself and I don’t like it. I can feel that the way I feel now is very negative and I am usually such an uplifting type of person. I don’t know what to do and could really use help or advice if there’s even a remote chance someone else has ever felt this way.
Hi Rduben88
Wow I never thought anyone felt the same way as I did!
Sorry if you didn't want my input, but I have felt resentment toward my partner for the last 4 pregnancies it is actually a normal mans' reaction to the first trimester, when we are adjusting from just being responsible for our partner to taking on an extra responsibility of Fatherhood!
On the point about other children we care for from previous relationships my ex-fiancée had two children and the dad was still in the picture so I know how difficult a situation that can prove to be!
The love you have and the love you feel are both real but that doesn't mean you are expected to instantly adjust to a change it will take a while for your feelings to catch up. My best advice is talk to your unborn baby give them a name that is special to you, I chose bean, then crumpet... Etc but it doesn't have to be food! Start a dialogue now and ask else will follow naturally when the birth happens, hope this helps please feel free to PM me my wife is now 11 weeks gone so anything could happen we could both be new dads on the same day.
Here to hoping
Painr5
Hi and welcome to the forum
I'm sure you're not the first expectant father to feel this way and I'm sure you won't be the last.
We all go through different phases and feelings in our relationships over time and being expectant parents can be a difficult time for both of you. Talking about these things can really help and rest assured you're not alone and you've come to the right place for support.
Have a good look around our expecting section for practical information and keep posting to our members on the boards. Our members have been through some incredibly difficult and also joyful times, they're a friendly bunch and support each other brilliantly.
If you're finding these feelings are lasting and upsetting you, it might be worth talking to your GP or having some counselling so that you have someone to talk to about how you're feeling. It's great that you're taking such good care of your wife but don't forget to look after yourself too.
Good luck
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