Partner said family life is mundane and depressing ..

My partner said he finds family life mundane and depressing, he has no excitement in his life anymore. I take on the majority of the parenting, night wakes, getting up in the morning and preparing meals, nap time, bath bed etc. he might help with an hour here and there - taking him to the park one morning for an hour or doing bedtime routine once or twice a week. A bit of tidying around the house, emptying dishwasher or hanging the laundry out. He still has all the freedom in the world, he can go to the gym, socialise, out for drinks, go away on holiday, go to the beach, surf, etc. go to appointments, shower alone without having to ask. He will watch our son when I have an appointment but he’s never watched him for more than 3.5 hours and usually it’s taking him over to his parents. I have no family around, only 2-3 friends who are busy with their own lives. I have no hobbies, no free time for myself anymore. We have no ‘village’ so no one to give me a break or give us time as a couple. Hearing him say family life is mundane and depressing and he’s over hearing me complain about how hard being a mum can be (I’m 32 weeks pregnant with diabetes, anemia and a short cervix so risk of premature labour) and just struggling with back and hip pain, exhaustion, as I can’t sleep properly and never get to nap, and the heat is really difficult. I find I can take our son out in the mornings but by the afternoons I’m really struggling with energy levels. I try to check in with him daily, on how he’s feeling and encourage him to have his own life, ask if he wants to do things as a family, etc. but I can’t really help that my life pretty much revolves around our 16 month old toddlers wake up, eating, nap and keeping him entertained combined with house work. It’s disappointing to hear he finds family life so depressing, and I can’t imagine with another baby on the way life will get any more thrilling 😅
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Couples therapy! 🩷 he might also need individual therapy.

He may enjoy some dags out with your toddler? More than the park, I mean. Even if it's the zoo or an aquarium? I personally find that those can break up a week. Or even have him find a dad group? I know they're not permanent solutions, but just to see how awesome family life is

Let's be honest, family life (especially with kids under 4) IS mundane and relentless! My older kids are 14 and 10 and I enjoy days out with them so much more now they're older. My baby is 8 months, so she's our demanding one that pretty much dictates our lives right now lol. Do you and your partner actually spend any quality time together? Are you being too rigid about your toddlers nap times etc? I'm not seeing anything in your post which suggests that you all spend time together really.

I recommend reading fair play, you seem to take a lot of the mental load as well as a lot of the house work. You sound amazing and so strong and it must be frustrating your partner doesn't see that.

Hearing that is hard. When you speak to him tell him that you feel the same way (you get lonely, bored sometimes, miss your old life, etc). When you share some kind of feeling, he might be willing to open up more or not feel so bad for feeling the way he feels. I also feel like it may be because the second one is coming soon and he's just imagining how life is going to be. I think now that your toddler is nearing 2yrs old, maybe be a little more flexible with his/her nap schedule and sort of teach the 2nd one to nap anywhere? Obviously not every single day but couple days a week where you guys go do something together as a family and start doing things together as a couple. Try to make it less mundane and depressing. It's not a reflection of his love for you or his kids but it's a reflection in that life is totally different than it used to be and will be for sometime.

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