My (38m) wife (39f) “baby-trapped” me. How do I navigate this ?
Anonymous in /c/relationship_advice
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I'm not sure what kind of advice I need. Before I get any judgements, I know it was not my wife's fault I procreate so easily. Also, yes I do know I could have had a vasectomy. I don't know if it would have worked for me or not. Before I could consider one, I was starting to feel like we should try for a child. I was 22, she was 23. She was on birth control and all was well. After a few months of just "not trying", I had a "feeling" she was pregnant. She was shocked. We had a baby-girl. I was ecstatic. I always wanted a child of my own. I did not expect it to happen so soon. It did not bother me. Being a good father was in my cards. I loved that little girl from the moment I allowed myself to understand what was happening. Then she was born. I saw her for the first time. I fell in love. Nothing mattered. I was happy. That was 16 years ago. My daughter is absolutely everything I ever wanted.<br><br>3 years later when my daughter started walking. We tried for another. 3 months later, I had another "feeling" she was pregnant. Turns out I can read my wife's body well. She was 6 months pregnant when we learned it was a boy. I was elated. 16 years ago I had a son. I cried when I held him in my arms. Before I could even process it, I had another little human I'd die for. My son was particularly special. He was the "boy" I'd always wanted. I fell in love. Nothing mattered. I was happy.<br><br>I "read her body" again about 3 years later, when my son started walking. I was right. After 9 months and 7 days, our twins arrived. We didn't know they were twins until they were born. My wife was overwhelmed but after a few days, we got the hang of it. I'd seen them for a second before me and my family were escorted out. The next time I saw them, my wife was holding them. Now I have 2 more children I'd die for. Nothing mattered. I was happy.<br><br>2 years later, I "felt it again". We had another girl. As we found out she was on the way, I knew she was a girl. I was right. I fell in love with her too, instantly. Nothing mattered. I was happy. My daughter has issues. We can't know what they are. She requires a lot of care particularly from her mother. <br><br>2 years later, my wife was pregnant again. We were surprised. We didn't think we'd have more. We were told we'd never have a big family. This was the first time I didn't "feel it". I didn't know it was a girl. I was still working on the last child. This one was born after 9 months and 2 days. I didn't expect her. We had just bought a house close to the school our children were attending. With all the expenses, we weren't “trying” but we let it happen. I was expecting a boy. We found out at 2 months she was a girl. I was a bit disappointed. I wanted a boy but I was already in love. I knew I had to take care of her. I did not make enough. My wife went on a "mat-leave" which allowed her to stop working and have a steady income while she cared for a newborn. This freed up money in the household as we did not have to pay for child-care for our 5 other children. I "felt it again" 3 years later. I knew it was a boy. after 9 months and 2 days, we had a healthy baby boy. I was over joyed. We named him after my father. I was happy. Nothing mattered. I loved all my children. I'd go to war for them. I'd protect them with my life. It didn't matter how hard it would get, I'd do anything for them.<br><br>5 years later, my wife got pregnant again. I didn't "feel it" for a month or two. She was about 60 lbs over weight. I chalked it up to weight gain. We were in our mid 30's. I “felt it” one day. She cried about it. She didn't want a 7th. We were in our 30's. We had a particularly difficult year that year. Our daughter was sick (different daughter). My father had died. My child was sick. I was working 40 hours a week. We already had 6 children and she was pregnant with a 7th. She was overwhelmed. We were barely making ends meet. We were in debt. We were close to filing for bankruptcy. We had to sell our house. We had to heavily mortgage our new house. We barely had any money left for food. One of our sons was going through puberty and had an enormous appetite. We barely had enough money for food with 6 children. I wasn't making much more as the years went by. We were both extremely burnt out. She was stressed.<br><br>Her water “broke” after 8 months. Our youngest was about a month prematurely born. I was a wreck. She already hated being pregnant. Now she was more upset. She was close to blaming me. I cried, I was upset about it too. I didn't know if the child would make it. She was in a lot of pain. She wanted a c-section but her water had broke. I was a particularly big baby. I left her side a few times to calm myself down. I knew the child was in good hands. As we found out she was pregnant, we knew there was a high chance of death in child-birth. The baby survived while my wife barely did. I held my son in my arms. He was barely alive. He was weak. He was thin. But he seemed strong for his size. He cried a little. He was alive. I cradled him in my arms. I gave him a pacifier for his first time sucking. I couldn't help myself. I was in love. Nothing mattered. I was happy. His mother was not.<br><br>She was in tremendous pain. She hated everyone. She hated me. She hated the baby. She cried. She and the baby stayed in the hospital for more than a week. She wanted to die. She didn't want to live. She didn't want the baby. Now she was on mat-leave again. It didn't matter, I was still working 40 hours a week. She was alone at home with 7 children every working hour of the day I was at work. But she was particularly angry at our youngest. That child has had issues from the start. Not as bad as our daughter, but this one too. She needs physical therapy. It takes a lot out of our son to do anything physical. He cries constantly. He “forgets” how to suck every few hours. He needs more care than the others. He will get particularly angry. He'll cry for hours. Nothing is wrong with him. He'll just be unhappy, angry, and bawl. He needs constant attention. I do my best. Even with me trying, she does the most harm while I am gone. She's burnt out. She's 39 now. I'm 38. Before I was happy to have any number of children. particularly the last. She, however, was not. She resents him, me, and our situation. I do a lot. Everything I can. I barely have a life. Sometimes I resent my own situation. But the happiness of my children matter more to me than anything. I'd gladly live in a cardboard box and starve if it meant my children were happy and healthy. Before, she felt the same. Suddenly, she didn't.<br><br>She started "hating" life. The house was dirty. Sometimes the kids had fast food instead of a meal. "Life was not good. It was bad". She cried when she thought about it. She resented me. But she felt trapped. I was barely scraping by. The situation was not getting better, it was getting worse. We both knew it. I'd hoped our youngest would be our last. I wasn't sure. My wife felt like she was a "bad mother". Now she wanted to be a good mother. She felt like she needed to sacrifice her children for them to have a good life. She felt like she failed. I didn't. I wanted to comfort her but after a month, I felt like I'd done enough. I couldn't fix the situation. I didn't particularly know where to start. The only thing I could do was know my children were fed. I knew a little money was always left over. I'd scrape by. If I had to give up a little, I'd give up a little. But I'd always make sure my children were healthy. Always.<br><br>I'd particularly resented her "trap" when she'd say "Can't you see?!?! I barely have time to do anything!!". Yes. I could see. I worked 40 hours a week. I cooked every weekend. I cleaned every weekend. Every morning, I walked our children to school. I made their lunches. I made sure they had everything they needed. I brought them to their activities. I made sure they had everything. When I was home, I was particularly involved. I did everything. I particularly paid for everything. I left my hobbies behind. I simply did not have the time. As we found out she was pregnant, I "felt it". The baby
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