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Someone help me with my jealousy.....

tsurko's picture

I have two stepdaughters 8 and 9. I also have one natural daughter with their father who is 8 mos. We just found out we are having another baby early next year, this one a boy. I am having a hard time because we are in the middle of buying a house and with a new baby 2 of the kids will have to share. It probably should be the babies who share but I am having these huge jealousy issues with that. I'm having a hard time because I worked so hard my whole life to give my children (when I had them...and I waited) what I wanted and now I have to provide for another woman's children first. When I first got together with my husband my SDs lived with their mom and she barely even let them see him...but she is a junkie and the courts took them away and gave them to us, which was a shock since they were hardly ever in his life before. For the last couple years I have tried to give them everything they need but I get the typical stepmom drama where they don't listen to me and daddy defends them and I'm horrible and blah blah blah. And up to this point I have been able to handle it, but I want my kids to have the best that I can give them and its not working out that way and I'm upset. I know it sounds horrible and petty and so I guess I'm just looking for some advice on either how to handle it or how to feel better about it. I'm also concerned about a boy and a girl sharing a room in a few years...and just to complete the story, we haven't told anybody yet that they are getting their own room but my husband says it wouldn't be fair to make the two older ones keep sharing. Thanks for at least listening.

PrincessFiona's picture

I agree with you. But i don't have any good advice on how to make your DH see that it's not unfair to his kids. It sounds like there is already resentment set in.

It make sense to me to keep the infant in it's own room to not distrupt the sleep of the other kids. It makes sense for an 8 or 9 YO to not want to share with a toddler who doesn't understand to respect someone else's belongings, not to mention the safety issue of having small parts and toys not meant for a toddler availble to them. And it makes complete sense to have girls who are only a year apart share a room. Beyond that I think it will build their relationship as sisters. My sister (4 years apart in age) had separate rooms but she always slept in my room.

Are there size differences in the rooms that you can use to compromise? Maybe the bigger room is shared and the babies take the smaller rooms.

Good luck!

DaizyDuke's picture

It seems more logical to me to have the 8 and 9 year old (same sex) siblings to share a room, than to have the babies (boy and girl) share a room with the newborn constantly waking the other for feedings etc. You don't say if anyone is insisting that the girls have their own rooms? It seems like the 8 and 9 year old would be happy to share a room, being so close in age are they pretty tight?

starfish's picture

the older kids should absolutely share! or try to find a bigger house if you can fit it into your bidget.

tsurko's picture

Thanks for the replies so far...the rooms are pretty much the same size except one is a little bigger, which of course would be the room that would be shared...Dad is oushing for the girls to have their own room and for the babies to share, We really don't have a bigger budget, although we thought about saving up for an add on but that wouldn't be for a year or two. We considered keeping the newborn in our room until he starts sleeping through the night and then putting the two babies together because of crying issues. Also, there is already resentment on both sides...We try and talk about it and work through it but this issue just seems so permanent that I am having a hard time bending on this one. Thanks Again.

tsurko's picture

Of course there are power struggle issues...this is a blended family. When the kids first came I wasn't even asked, they just showed up because their mom didn't want to take care of them anymore. So I was accepting and changed my whole life to include them...we even moved to a bigger apartment. Then one weekend (after just a few months) they went to visit their mom and she decided she wanted them back...so without even talking to me their dad let them go, I was pretty upset about it. Then, about 4 months later the state found her unfit due to some issues with another child she has (not my husband's) and all her kids were forcibly removed from her care and given to the BioDads. I guess I just wasn't as into it the second time around and have been irritated with the situation since then, I can't get over it. Also, Dad was pretty disengaged at first but lately he has really been trying to be a part of their lives and now I am a bad person and am not a "good enough mother". It's been really hard and I try to be understanding because my dad wasn't all that great to my StepSibs. But I can't shake the jealousy I have over wanting to provide as much as I can for my kids and not being able too because there are 4 and not just 2. BTW, I am the main source of income and I'm not trying to be a jerk but my husband would have a hard time just paying bills by himself...there's no way he could give the girls what we give them since we are do things together.

tsurko's picture

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice. Right no we just don't have the money for a bigger house. We've been looking for almost a year and I am tired of renting. Our rental has so many stairs (3 flights, 4 stories from my room to the laundry room) and I am always so tired from carrying the baby, etc. Also, I can't hear the baby when she is upstairs and with a second baby coming I'm desperate for one-floor living. I guess maybe flipping for it or drawing straws might work. We could try and add on but that will cost a lot of money and I don't think the rooms are big enough to split. Right now the older girls share and they have bunk beds which is ideal for sharing but I understand they want their own space....I did when I was that age. I can't stack cribs on top of each other and again the babies are opposite sex so in a few years they won't be so easy to keep together. I'm just confused....I'ld like to just think we can buy a new house in a few years but with this housing market and economy these days who knows....Ughhh...thanks for listening Smile

butterfly2010's picture

i agree, the 2 older girls need to share a room.

focus on YOUR kids first. especially since the skids are being the way they are. dont let your 2 children be put in the shadow by you, especially since i can sense their daddy will do it indirectly cause of the 2 older brats.

overit2's picture

Ummm, sorry, but this advise to the OP confuses me.. when you're a step-parent and you have custody, you takes ALL kids needs in consideration, not YOURS first, otherwise stay a single parent and dont' marry....this isn't about just you and your kids anymore. Two babies sharing a room is not being put in the shadow!! If you strive to put your kids first, and he does his, everyone loses-that's why I see so many problems around me w/blended families-nobody willing to bend and consider ALL the kids as first/priority rather then his/mine.

Why refer to them as brats already? I mean seriously-maybe I need to know more of the story-but some of you here have some serious lack of maturity issues and self-centered/entitled mentalities that reflect on your relationships with your stepkids.

overit2's picture

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overit2's picture

Ok, my two boys are 19mo apart-they are now 9 and 11 and still share a room Smile I won't lie it was tough with them sharing a room when they were younger (babies/toddler) because of crying issues, one keeping the other up, etc-that made it hard. Yes the first 4 mo or so you can have new baby in your room but it's still tough after that-but it's doable for sure! It's absolutely of NO difference to the kids-might be for you. Of course you would be able to have all baby stuff in that one bigger room. Changing table-toys, etc that they would both use-and it might actually be easier for you instead of hunting things down from room to room. Like changing tables, laundry, etc...that close in age, asides from the "crying" or ocassionally keeping eachother up there is NO problem w/them sharing. Infants/toddlers don't know the difference. You don't have to give them everything at this age. They just grow up to be entitled kids that "everyone owes me" anyways Smile Millions of people grow up w/a whole family in one room-two babes sharing isn't "depriving" them of a thing. You don't owe them seperate rooms and frankly that you feel they deserve it already is a little alarming.

As to a law governing siblings of opposite sex not being able to sleep in the same room-I think gvmnt needs to stay out of peoples homes/bedrooms and choices. I think it's an idiotic law! Thousands of people in other cultures do this all the time....what about people that have no means for more rooms? Legislating parenting choices and sleeping accomodations-literally that makes me ill to my stomach-have we allowed THIS much control over our lives? UGGG

As for the girls-I also agree it's still FINE for them to share a room at their ages, no reason they need to split right now until they are a little older perhaps. So eitherway, it's not really unfair/worse for one more then the other.

Why dont' your dh and you both write a list of pros cons of both scenarios and then compare your notes and combine and discuss.

An 8-9yr old girl are too young to demand a room on their own. But I also understand they've been through a lot more emotionally then your kids-so he may be talking out of guilt-BUT IMO if they have been through this it would probably be best TO keep the girls together to keep the bond close while they navigate through all these huge changes. SHaring a room might help them more then being on their own. Especially during tough times-sibilings have a way of talking to you, noticing things, being a companion, being a friend and noticing warning signs.

Another thing-YOu knew marrying him he had kids-and to be honest it really ticks me off when I see young/even older woman on here gripe and moan about "well they didn't live w/him before-we rarely saw them so I thought it was ok"...I'm sorry but think with your head! If your SO has kids-custodial or not-there is ALWAYS the possibility that the kids spend MORE time w/you know that that parents is married prsenting more stability-OR something happends to the other parents, etc, custody changes....maybe your dh's now want to pursue more time/custody when they have their own family and feel they would be providing more structure to their kids-this is NOT uncommon so go in knowing this!!

So if you marry a person w/kids just PLEASE don't do it unless you're willing to accept the fact that there's a real possibility you will have those kids living with you full time for the next 18 or plus years.

Maturity is severely lacking there.

DaizyDuke's picture

I wish people would stop judging. I thought this was a site where "steparents could come to vent". some people need to get off their high horses until they are perfect and THEN they can "cast the first stone"... ugh! :sick:

overit2's picture

I"m sorry-I understand it's to vent, I'm sorry my opinions of the venting don't agree with you. I"m not perfect by any means!! I'm not casting stones either....but venting or not-it's a very big chunk of women here and IRL that do this...get mad and jealous and upset when their bf, dh, whatever has his kids with him more compared to "what it used to be".

Common sense shoudl tell you -hey-he's got kids-there's always the possibility I will have to live w/said kids 24/7 if things changes-and accept that and marry them or move on. I guess what I'm saying is more of a warning sign-if you are NOT married already and haven't thought of the possibility of step'monsters' living w/you-do so and if you can't say w/certainty you could do it, then leave now and save yourself and your families loads of pain.

overit2's picture

I guess I completely disagree with this position-regardless of my bf's current custody arrangements-I'm smart enought to know that it's possible HE wants to have more time, or the daughter wants more time-or that if we are a family unit he would want to bring her into the unit for more stability. Personally the way I see it is...if you're going to date a single parent-you should be mature enough and responsible enough to know, accept and understand that the possibility is ALWAYS there for custody arrangements to change.

I'm sorry but that decision/responsibility is more on YOU then your DH at that point. If I were to ever tell my bf what my expectations of NOT having his daughter live w/us are-he likely wouldn't marry me-i'd be ashamed of him if he did honestly....kids are our kids first and foremost in a remarriage-we owe them the best and as much time as we can. If a new spouse can't handle it because of jealousy, what have you they should not have married. Personal responsibility for our own decisions is what it's called.

Look-even if say you discussed w/dh and agreed skids won't live with you guys (which I think is horribly selfish to ask of a dh-especially if he's taking on full sdad role to YOUR kids)....mom can lose custody (as above), die in an accident, become ill and bed-ridden and unable to care for kids for many reasons.

Maybe the kids are older and now want to spend more time w/the non-custodial parent (which happens a lot) to have bonding time, maybe the dad wants more time w/his biokids, maybe the kids and dad seeing/having a family structure makes it inviting and makes more sense for the kids to go do. To think I would ever dream of denying him that is absurdity to me. This is a choice that stepmoms should have taken well before marriage.

It's about your responsibility in saying yes-if they have kids-it's not about their prior arrangement, custody papers, your preferences-fact is you have a very realy chance those kids will be with you full time, parenting isn't a part-time when it's convenient to the stepparent/bf/gf thing....it's full time, regardless. If you can't accept that then people should move on and make different choices.

tsurko's picture

Thanks Fabumom...we considered having BD<1 share with SD8 but SD8 is filthy and not mature enough and we are afraid she might try an play wit her like a baby doll or something. SD9 is probably too mature to share and might try and feed her in the middle of the night or something :O . Anyway...for those who let me vent thank you, for those of you think I am immature thanks for what advice you could provide. I llok forward to additional posts Smile

quippers01's picture

H and I are about to be making similar choices. We have to move soon and would like to buy instead of continuing to rent. I have BD4 and BS9, H has SD5. I doubt we will be able to find a home in our price range with 4 bedrooms like we are renting now so the girls will probably have to share a room. I do have some issues with this. My ex doesn't really have a set up for my kids. When they visit, my kids usually sleep on the couch or floor. Right now the kids don't really care but when they are older they will want their own space. My h's kid has her own (lavishly furnished) room at BM's house. In the end I feel that my daughter will never have a space all her own because she will have to share with SD when she visits EOW.

As it is now my H keeps his kid's room like a friggin shrine to the kid when she's not here. I fear BD will be constantly told not to touch this or that and to keep the room just so for when his kid comes. I see us butting heads on this. There is also a violence issue that concerns me about them sharing a room. SD will not hesitate to hit BD if she is angry or not getting her way so I really don't like them being alone together for very long.

I have been trying to find houses with dens or dining rooms or SOMETHING that could be easily converted into another bedroom. That is the only suggestion I have for you. If you cannot afford something with 5 bedrooms, maybe you can find a 4 bedroom with an "unnessesary" room to convert.

IMHO, I do not feel jealousy is the right word to describe looking out for our own children...if we don't who will? Good luck.

tsurko's picture

That sucks about the violence...I am so sorry Sad I guess I'm lucky that the skids and bios are 8 years apart so there shouldn't be any of that "sibling rivalry" at least not between them. The older ones fight a lot and I'm sure the younger ones will too. Maybe you can get your BD4 and SD5 one locking cabinet each for special items they don't want touched...thanks for your post Smile

quippers01's picture

That's a really great idea, thank you! You seem like a very creative broblem solver, I'm sure you will get through this without too many lumps and bruises Smile

hismineandours's picture

I agree that the two older girls should share. To me this is not even a step/bio issue. It makes sense to put the two same sex, similar aged children in the same room.

Tx mommy of 3's picture

I agree with hismineandours. It's not a bio/step issue. He is making it into one though. What if all 4 were bios...what would you do? My 2 oldest bios are 16 mths aprt- 1 boy and 1 girl. That would've been hard to have the 2 babies share a room! 2 cribs? What about baby gear and clothes? The baby gear takes up room. Then sleeping...one wakes the other. Nope. Mine had their own rooms. Before you know it they grow up and then what? Idk. I think it makes sense to have the older 2 share. They areclose in age, both girls and full sisters. Sounds like it could be fun sometimes. And did I read somewhere that they share now? Why change it? That's what I would do but then again we don't have a room for ss since he only visits eow.

tsurko's picture

Thanks for putting it the way you put it "What if all 4 were bios". And all your points about baby gear and 2 cribs, etc. I have argued with my husband. He's not 100% against the older ones sharing, he just thinks because they are older they deserve their own room. Also SD9 is cleaner and more mature than SD8 so SD is tired of putting up with SD8's mess. We have been thinking about trying to enlcose in part of the living room which would be a cheaper alternative to an add-on. Ugghh! I also told him that if he really wants to put the two babies together that he will be waking up and helping me EVERY time one baby wakes up the other Smile Now he's waffling a bit with who should share. Wink

overit2's picture

Again-deserve their own room-they're only 8 and 9...I don't think kids "deserve" their own room. I DO understand the dilemma for the oldest if the youngest is very messy though, that could make it very hard on the oldest. HAHA...yeah figured he might waffle on that idea if the babies wake eachother up. I must admit that was a problem for me sometimes. My boys were 19mo apart...and the youngest slept in my and my exh room for the first 4 months or so....after that I moved the oldest to a toddler bed and baby to the crib. Either solution isn't ideal but workable-like I said, just measure the pros and cons together.

I like the idea of enclosing part of the living room too...another idea is the garage, it shouldn't cost THAT much to turn it into two extra rooms or one big room, etc.

When I bought my house the previous owners had already converted it into one big room, I use it now as the boys toy/media room/storage.

There's possibility if the bf does move in down the road we might turn that into two rooms-one bigger to stay as the media room, the other for a bedroom for his daughter when she comes visit EOW.

miriam's picture

It takes great love for you to treat your stepdaughters as your own. It's understandable that you would want to give the best for your children but sometimes we really have to give way for somebody else who needs more what we wanted to give. Try to set aside whatever jealousy you have right now and think of the greater good of many.

- Miriam (hospitals)"

tsurko's picture

I know...I really do try and give all the kids everything they need (not necessarily what they want). We also help both our sister's kids as much as we can--there are 8 kids ranging from 3 to 17. It just makes it hard when you have a little extra to give it to the kid that treats you the worst.

TexasBelle_80's picture

We are having a baby soon as well. We have 2 girls and 2 boys. Until the baby, the girls each had their own room and the boys shared. To be really honest, I didn't even worry about it. A newborn needs its own room and that's that. I didn't even ask I simply told the girls they were going to room together. My husband understood and never said a word about it. The 12 year old course complained that she'd have to share with the 7 year old but oh well. I'm not putting any child through waking up every 2 hours in the middle of the night. It's common sense for the two older girls to share.
Why would your husband think that the older ones need their own rooms. This new one is his child too. It is your home as well as his and these children are going to be there all the time. If I were you I'd explain to your husband why the baby needs it's own room and that your feelings are hurt and that it feels like he's giving his daughters a little more than he's giving your children. Let him see that it upsets you.