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Feel like my marriage is in a dangerous place

Starryeyed's picture

I am just tired. That sums me up right now, mentally and physically exhausted. Of course that goes with the territory of having a 15 week old baby. However, he is the easy part of my life. The exhausting part of my life is dh and his baggage, all resulting from the poor choices he made years ago.

Yes I knew all about this baggage when I met dh. Yes I found it difficult to handle and knew that marrying a man with two bms was going to be hard. I knew having ss every weekend was going to be challenging. What I did not know was how I was going to become resentful of money once my own baby is born. I have always hated that my dh essentially supports two other households each month but it has never BOTHERED me as I never gave it much thought. Since having my own baby, I see how it does, in that I essentially buy everything for my own baby. I never realized that my husband would be slow to put money into a savings account for our son but continues to find money to put aside for ss and sd every month (on top of cs). And it makes me angry. I also never realized that this would manifest itself in me being internally upset about my husband paying for ss to get his hair cut (he pays for all these expenses for ss because God forbid bm spend any of her cs on ss). While this did not bother me before, it annoys me now to no end. There's always money there for ss but nothing for my own son unless I provide it. Another example is on Saturdays and Sunday's dh cooks up extravagant meals for ss while we eat shit during the week. I don't pay for any of this food anymore but dh will always cough it up. Same thing when we went out to eat for my bday last week, dh thought nothing of ss13 ordering food THREE times more expensive than mine. I don't want these things to bother me but they do. I have never been one to fall out over money but the resentment inside of me is so upsetting.

While I knew bm was a breeding machine, I did not know that when I finally got pregnant, so would bm (with her current partner). I did not realise that our due dates would be a week apart. I did not realize that my telling dhs family about pregnancy (after a long time of fertility issues) would be spoiled by ss shouting out that his bm was pregnant right in the middle of our announcement. I did not realise that I would have my baby on a Tuesday, bm on a Friday and that for several hours on the Friday we would be two beds apart (granted that with curtains closed we barely saw each other and I was discharged that day). I didn't realize that when I tried to talk to my husband about my feelings on this, how I felt my moment was slightly tainted by the fact the person he already had a baby with was two beds down and how they both must have been thinking about when ss was born). I would like for my husband to even acknowledge how this made me feel. He of course does not speak about his feelings ever and dismisses when I do which results in me boytling everything up and just being absolutely exhausted. all of these feelings keep coming to the surface - collected ss on Saturday and bm came out to look at my baby and show me hers. I think she was being nice but I was not ready to see her, I felt extremely awkward. I am not her friend nor do I ever want to be. I am aware that all of this, babies and hospital was out of my husbands control. The rational side of me knows this and the one time I tried to mention this to him he correctly pointed this out. But the irrational side of me is so angry. I feel the whole thing is trashy and classless and I find it embarrassing. I find myself fantasizing about being with a man who does not have this baggage like most of my married friends. Having husbands to devote all of their resources - financially and emotionally into their ONE home and children together. I know it's not fair but I blame dh for being so irresponsible especially where bm2 was concerned. How could he do it twice?? By 26. Stupid.

Sorry for the big long rant. I have always had issues related to bm2 but never with bm1. Now that all this has happened at the most important time of my life, I am so resentful of marrying a man with such baggage. I don't know how to even move past this. For the most part, he is a very good man.
But his inability to talk about anything important , no matter how hard I try to get him to open up, is just exhausting and I feel is beginning to affect my mental health.

Comments

moeilijk's picture

Aw, poor you! This sounds like a really low point for you right now.

I see two main issues - the less important one is DH sharing in DS with you. You didn't have a baby to do everything for him alone, you had that baby WITH your DH. I know that DH doesn't have as much money due to CS, but with what's left over, you and DH should be working together on YOUR family. I have some suggestions about how to work that out, there are lots of approaches and every family is different so it's a conversation.

But you're not ready for that, because you aren't feeling like you can talk to DH, and it sounds like you feel he won't talk to you. So that's the priority.

I mean, if you guys were feeling connected, that story about BM two beds down would be a hilarious joke between you. But instead, it makes you feel lonely.

Do you have some insight into his character here? I know my own DH is not the best at opening up. He would if he could but he seems to have no idea what goes on in his own mind or heart sometimes. But I can see things aren't right because he mopes around or gets impatient. If I ask him what's wrong, he mumbles, "I don't know." (Ugh!) So I have to push.

But I hate pushing, it makes me feel domineering and controlling and insecure. So I have to push just a bit, and before I get irritated with Eeyore.

Quite the dynamic at the best of times.

Starryeyed's picture

Thanks for responding. My husband is very similar, he pushes everything down deep. It's to do with his upbringing and he grew up in a house where feelings or issues were not addressed.. The fact I want to talk about anything that might be bothering me terrifies dh. He shuts down as I believe he does not know How to address or deal with such feelings.

moeilijk's picture

If your DH is the kind of guy who is afraid of talking about feelings, I'm guessing you wait until there's a lot to talk about before you talk to him, so then it's even more intense for both of you?

If that's the case, try making it easy for him. Talk to him about very small things, and mostly positive things. Like, ask him what he liked the best about BS today. Or tell him that you really appreciated him running errands with BS so you could have some time to shower peacefully.

Those are 'nothing' comments/questions, but I've noticed with my DH, a lot of our conversations are about these 'light' and friendly topics. It makes me feel so nice when he tells me he enjoyed dinner, he had so much fun watching me play with DD, that he liked how DD lit up when he came home, that he's glad we got married... it makes it so much easier to want to keep trying when things feel so difficult.

Starryeyed's picture

Thanks. I will give this a try. I feel that things have gotten so bad (I'm so resentful and dh gets angry at me for being so resentful) that we don't even speak to each other in a meaningful way anymore. It's mostly snapping at each other. I want to change this now as I don't want this to end in a divorce but couldn't see it ending any other way if this doesn't stop and now.

moeilijk's picture

You know, it's really hard to show love when we also feel angry and hurt. But the love is there too, so find ways as best you can to show that. The anger and the hurt have a time and a place, don't bottle it up, but don't make it more important than the love.

Maybe counselling is an option. I think DH and I would benefit, even though we don't have any real problems, because sometimes our communication is so confusing that neither of us seems to know what the other person wants or needs or expects. Not in connecting to each other, just in picking up groceries or who paid what bill... minor, but still disruptive.

HappilySelfish679's picture

I feel you . I am resentful that a huge part of DH's resources go to support BM's lifestyle and her constant harassment about more money and I don't even have a bio kid. I can't imagine how hard it must be with a bio . I have no advice other than that you yourself have to provide for bio the best you can .

TwoOfUs's picture

I hear you. I feel like a big part of the reason that I DON'T have a bio-kid is all the unnecessary $$$ spent on skid extras. Breeding ground for resentment...but instead I'm just bettering my financial situation so that we can afford a kid. Wish my DH felt as urgent about it as I do...but I can't waste time crying about that right now.

Two more years and CS is done. It's already dropped by 1/3 this year, which is nice.

TwoOfUs's picture

Oh yeah...and to OP. A lot of this is likely post-partum hormones. Don't do anything rash right now. You are right that the situation is completely unfair, and that will cause resentment. And, left unchecked, resentment will kill your marriage.

Any way you can make DH see that he's killing the marriage? This is on him. In no way is it fair for you to subsidize his extras for the skids...which is what you're doing by paying for everything for your baby. Maybe DH is thinking...skids are almost grown. I still have lots of time with this new bio-son...I'll make it up to him...etc. You need to find a good way to show him that his actions are unacceptable. But I know that my DH has a "they're leaving the nest!" kind of panic about his kids right now that makes him act irrationally / overspend.

stepinafrica's picture

You just had a baby. It is possible the hormones are playing a part. One thing I have learned the hard way is that if you cannot change something, just put it out of your mind. Train your mind to forget about the money that goes to the other two BMs. If you cannot do anything about it, don't even think about it.