Selfish?

Sorry for such a long post, just want some perspective. I’ve been working on a book for nearly 4 years. I’d get a lot of writer’s block so it was never a daily thing, but when I got pregnant I completely lost interest in all my hobbies and stopped writing. For the past few months, I’ve been very occasionally writing, I’d say once a week for an hour. Well, I decided to say fuck it and started taking it serious. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to be a published author and this book means so much to me. I told my partner I wanted to finish it before we start trying for a baby around September-ish, because I didn’t want pregnancy to put me off again and also I’d struggle to find the time to write it with a newborn and a toddler. I currently write for an hour after my son goes to bed and during his naps (if he naps long enough lol). I’m my son’s primary parent. My partner works 40 hours a week, I BF and prepare and supervise and feed him every single meal. I’m the only one that really plays with him, because my partner considers sitting my son in his lap while staring at his phone or throwing him about and doing things that annoy him ‘playing’. He never reads to him or sings to him and never does the bedtime routine (I feed him to sleep). He does do every nappy change when he’s home, but most of the time I have to remind him or he’ll leave him in the same nappy for 4+ hours. All of this is to say I never get time to myself. And for the first 7 months of his life, I never asked for it. But recently, a couple of days a week, I’ve asked my partner to watch my son for 30 mins to an hour so I can get some writing time. Well, he’s starting making sly comments about it. I can’t remember exactly what he’s said but yesterday he made me cry, because every time I do ask I’m made to feel guilty about it. Like today. My son was down for his last nap but my partner went for a fag and asked me to make him a coffee before I started writing. I pointed out I didn’t have long before my son woke up, but he said I’d have plenty of time. I finally sat down with half an hour left, but before I could write, my brother’s girlfriend rang me while she was on her break. So by the time she hung up my son was awake. I asked my partner for a little bit of writing time. He said, “I never get to go on my game” or something along those lines. I pointed out that he goes on GTA with his friends for 2 hours every Tuesday and I never complain or make him feel guilty about it (which is less writing time than I ask him for, if not the same amount) and that he never asks for more time on his game, which I would give him? His response was, “Yeah, because I time gaming around his naps.” I pointed out I’d been on the phone, so couldn’t write, and he said I should have written while on the phone. I can’t write and talk at the same time. Anyway, I shut my laptop and he said, “Stop being so stupid, just write.” Which he does every single time this happens. But like I pointed out, why am I going to write if I’ve been made to feel shitty about it? We’ve now been giving each other the silent treatment. I made food for my son, which took me half an hour, while my partner sat with him on the sofa and just watched him whinge because he was bored (didn’t think to play with him or stand up with him or literally anything). He lay down on the floor and closed his eyes while I played with my son after he’d eaten. And it’s just pissed me off even more than I can’t even ask for 30 mins of writing time without feeling guilty about it. Am I being stupid?
Like
Share Mobile
Share
  • Share

Show your support

Just to add, I’m nearly 100,000 words in and I’m nearing the end so in less than a month I’ll be back to not asking him for time to myself/writing time anyway.

You are not being stupid. He sounds like he's completely dismissing anything that you need and putting his needs above yours and baby's. I'd start insisting on him doing bath and start of bedtime even if you do the feeding/sleep part. And when he's not working all food/playing is completely 50:50. I'd even write a timetable of time allocated to his gaming Vs your writing so he can actually see that it's fair.

You're not being stupid at all. He needs to understand how important this is to you and you're juggling so much! He needs to be more proactive with your baby and support you to enable you to finish your book - which btw congratulations in advance I'm so happy for you!! I really hope you figure out a way where he can spend more time with your baby doing things that he enjoys. Maybe he can take him out in the pram for a walk at the weekends to give you a longer stretch of time to write? Don't feel guilty for asking for some time for yourself especially when he has loads of time to do what he wants - it doesn't seem fair and equal. Obviously he works which I respect but surely he can spend an hour every evening or so with your baby. Good luck mama I wish you all the best xxx

Read more on Peanut
Trending in our community