My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

to be pissed off with ex and his pregnant missus?

232 replies

urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 07:06

so ex and I have an eight year old son together who he sees every weekend.
they are expecting a baby together and so are my oh and I(bit Jeremy kyle I know!).
its ds's birthday in a couple of weeks and it will be falling on a weekend when his dad has him.
I presumed his dad would be happy about this and would be doing something with him as he has whinged for the last six years about how he never has him on his birthday and never gets to take him out for birthday either.
considering I have arranged and payed for trips to theme parks,animal parks,parties etc for his birthdays for the past six years I don't think this is a unfair expectation.
I have also arranged to take him and a couple of school friends out to the cinema and pizza hut the Friday before his birthday as my b'day treat to him.
however,son comes home last weekend and says that dad wont be doing anything for him on his birthday as pregnant missus doesn't really want to be on her feet much and cant go on rides etc.
im royally pissed off about this as I feel that that's her rigfht but why cant they go out without her?
it seems that since she has been pregnant ive had to pull ex up on a lot of things regarding my son being affected by her needy mood swings.
imten years older than her,on my second pregnancy and just getting on with things as normal.
very worried that ds will start to feel pushed out by them and new baby and also as a result may start to feel that it will be the same with my bubba too which it most definitely wont!

OP posts:
Report
Sparklymommy · 18/07/2013 07:08

Your poor son! Ring ex and tell him how upset your son is. He could do something with him surely?

Report
ZillionChocolate · 18/07/2013 07:16

She might be having a more difficult pregnancy than you. However I don't see why dad and son can't go off and do something with her staying home relaxing.

Report
Sirzy · 18/07/2013 07:24

I can understand her not wanting to do something which involves all day on her feet/rides but there are plenty of other things they could do.

Report
FredFredGeorge · 18/07/2013 07:25

Just because you've decided birthdays need to be celebrated with big outings, doesn't mean that other families have to do the same, so I think YABU.

Report
SanityClause · 18/07/2013 07:27

Stop trying to control them.

Get on with your life, and let them get on with theirs.

Report
MidniteScribbler · 18/07/2013 07:27

I agree with you, but on the other hand, he's not your problem anymore. You can't force him to do anything when it's his contact time, just like he can't force you to do anything. And trying to do so will only end up in an argument and break down of any communication you may have. Be the bigger person and do what you need to do to make the day you have planned exciting and fun. He'll know himself as he gets older which parent was the one that looked out for him.

Report
raisah · 18/07/2013 07:30

Cant your ex take your ds out for a meal or to the cinema? That wont involve traipsing arpund for hours.

Report
urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 07:32

yeah I can understand where shes coming from but shes kind of implying that if she cant do anything then why should they?
the fact that he has been banging on about taking him out for his birthday for years and now he has the chance he wont.
and as far as im aware she is having a pretty straight forward pregnancy as I see and speak to her quite often.
we usually get on quite well and shes quite a nice girl but this isn't the first incident of my son being pushed to the side since she has become pregnant.
im just worried about the affect this will have on his outlook to these babies once they arrive.

OP posts:
Report
ivykaty44 · 18/07/2013 07:35

It has nothing to do with you what your ds father arranges to do with him in his access time.

The only time it is of concern to you is if your ds would come to harm and it is not going to harm your ds if he doesn't go to a theme park or out for dinner on his birthday.

Concentrate on your relationship with your ds and not trying to control your ex and his g/f

Report
LindyHemming · 18/07/2013 07:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 07:39

erm sanity I am not trying to control them.
and when their life affects my son I have every right to pull them up on it.
like when my son was sent home the other week after being with his dad for ten hours and had only been given a bloody pot noodle all day?

OP posts:
Report
Fenton · 18/07/2013 07:43

He has his son every weekend but this is the first time in six years he gets to have him on his Birthday?

I think I would be wondering why you chose this year to allow it and decide what he should be doing with the day.

Pregnant with a first child in the heat of the summer I wouldn't want to be trudging around a theme park either.

I imagine they will be doing something nice for his birthday but have chosen not to be controlled by your wants.

Report
OddBoots · 18/07/2013 07:44

Talk it over with ex, maybe they are downplaying it to your ds in order to do something huge as a surprise but if not then mention that ds is disappointed and if you are willing then maybe offer to do something with him instead.

Report
urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 07:45

it has everything to do with me if my son is upset and being pushed out.
as a mother its my responsibility to make sure hes being treated correctly when hes not with me surely?

OP posts:
Report
LindyHemming · 18/07/2013 07:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LindyHemming · 18/07/2013 07:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

EhricLovesTeamQhuay · 18/07/2013 07:48

Yanbu at all. Your son has certain expectations and a birthday treat is normal for him. To let his birthday pass with no fuss would be unkind and upsetting for him. You have every right to question this. Maybe don't go in all guns blazing and suggest something sedate like cinema - frame it in terms of concern for both DS and his partner and try to sound caring and you might get somewhere.

Report
urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 07:51

fenton.
because sons birthday falls in summer hols we tend to just take him out on his actual b'day which has fallen on weekdays.
ive asked ex before does he want to take one of his holiday days off work to have son on birthday but hes always refused.
and just to make it clear I am not emotionally involved in their life.
I don't actually give a monkeys what they do UNTIL it affects or upsets ds.
and as I said earlier I can understand her not wanting to do certain things so why doesn't she just say bye,see you later and have a nice time?

OP posts:
Report
MidniteScribbler · 18/07/2013 07:53

How would you feel if your ex came and told you that what you were doing for your son's birthday wasn't good enough and that he expected you to do something else? You would be furious, and rightly so.

Setting a child up for expections of expensive outings and major events for a birthday is not necessarily healthy either.

Report
MammaTJ · 18/07/2013 07:54

That is more than a little bit different to not being taken on a big expensive day out! SS would be interested in a child only getting a pot noodle but they would not care about a child not being taken to a theme park!

You cannot control them and what they do, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect to, but you can help your child to deal it!

Maybe they are concerned about finances and are being extra careful with the baby on the way. Maybe they will actually not push your child out once the baby comes along. Be a little more positive with your child and I am sure it will be fine!

Report
urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 07:55

thank you ehric.
im not going to kick off at him at all as we have always been on quite good terms but im just going to casually mention it.
I think the fact that hes been promising my son a nice day out for years and has now retracted the promise is a bit off too.

OP posts:
Report
jamdonut · 18/07/2013 07:56

So...he's getting a birthday treat, from you, the week before?

So,he's not exactly missing out is he?

It's not his Dad's fault,as such, that having moaned about not having him for his birthday, that this particular year it turns out to be difficult to do anything major.

I'm more concerned that your son thinks that he's "not doing anything", when in fact he will be at his Father's for his birthday. I'm sure they will do "something",just not the all bells and whistles type !Hmm

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

ANormalOne · 18/07/2013 08:00

YABU.

He's still going to get treats from you, so he's not missing out. It's not your ex's fault that the one year he gets his son, his 'missus' happens to be pregnant in the middle of a heatwave. I certainly wouldn't want to be doing anything strenuous if I was pregnant in this weather.

Report
PrettyPaperweight · 18/07/2013 08:01

I don't actually give a monkeys what they do UNTIL it affects or upsets ds.

But surely your parenting sometimes upsets/affects your DS? Why are you right when your DS is upset but his Dad is wrong?

DCs are often upset, hurt, angry etc about decisions their parents make - just because YOU wouldn't parent the way your DS dad chooses to doesn't make him a bad parent - just different!

Report
urtwistingmymelonman · 18/07/2013 08:06

I can totally see the points some of you are making and ive taken them on board but I need to clarify a few things.
this is not the first and only incident that has occurred since pregnancy.
father has promised for the last couple of years that this year he will take him out and has now gone back on his promise.
i used the theme park as an example but am not saying that's what they should be doing.just the nice trip out that has been promised.
and up until now we have all been very amicable to each other and these problems have only arisen in the past three months.
it makes me laugh to hear people say im too'invested'in their lives.

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.