Guilt
Does anyone else think their partner lives in guilt?
We have 2 kids together and he has 2 kids from a previous relationship.
Anything we do with our kids when the sk aren’t here he has to replicate, even a day out to the farm he will have to replicate it so they do the same.
Buys anything for our kids? God forbid he now has to do the same for his kids. Even though they get child maintenance so they’re always in new clothes etc and I have to fund our kids clothes, shoes, toys etc.
It’s like I look after my kids financially and he looks after his. I even buy his kids new clothes sometimes.
There was two occasions we had professional pictures taken of me him and our first child as the second wasn’t born. He would NEVER have a photo of us anywhere because his other kids aren’t in it.
We see them every other weekend and it’s started making me resent his kids slightly as he isn’t letting himself have or enjoy a life with us. I feel like we’re all hidden away and come secondary.
Even going on holiday as a family of 4 comes as a battle to even start a conversation about it. His kids go on holiday 3/4 times a year, we have one yearly holiday that we agreed his kids would join every few years. But that all even had to be hidden from the kids bio mum and even my partners family.
I get it, it’s as if they forget their child has a life with their mum and they get to do all these experiences with her. SK has a fantastic life with mum and dad coz dad always wants to be the fun one so does stuff when they’re round. Whilst our kids just sit on the back burner waiting for SK to come round. I think you’ve got the change the narrative yourself. Have you got a close family? Do loads of shit with them. Friends with kids similar age? Plan fun stuff with them. Plan stuff in advance ‘I wanna take kids here’ , plan it for when SK round that’s fine, but if for whatever reason they don’t end up coming you still go! Being a step parent is hard work and navigating everything is hard work.