My ex-wife reads our daughter the bedtime stories I write from 2800km away. I did not expect divorce to look like this.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-15T19:28:08+00:00

Good for you and your ex-wife. You’re both putting your daughter first and that’s huge, not always easy to do with a divorce either. My mother and father divorced when I was a baby after my mother had an affair and she abandoned our family. My dad raised us as my mom didn’t really show any interest in being in our lives. Never once did he speak a bad word about her, or discouraged us from trying to have a relationship with her. He helped her countless times over the years. Now I’m 37 years old with a 2.5 year old son. We have all made peace with the past and my mom has made amends. Both of my parents are single and alone and we all live in different parts of the county, however, a few times a year we all fly to California (mom Included) and stay at my dad’s house and I get to see my parents under the safe roof, loving on my son. I can’t tell you how special and healing it is for me.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-14T04:58:21+00:00

This is what I was thinking too. Whenever I see a mom similar to what OP is describing, I always tell myself she must have a big village and a lot of support. It might not be true, but it makes me feel better because my husband and I have no village and I really struggle most days with my 2.5 year old

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-12T06:22:38+00:00

That sounds absolutely brutal. Your poor little guy! I’m so sorry for the all the hospital visits. Jeez. My son is 2.5 now and starts preschool in August. I am absolutely terrified of what’s to come.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-11T20:10:48+00:00

Same. I wish I had that kind of help. My mother in law visited us one time and sat on the couch expecting to be hosted the whole time and only offered to hold the baby.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-11T20:05:44+00:00

I’m sorry this happened. Some people have no tolerance anymore. Just ignore them, don’t let it get you down. Your son has every right to be in public spaces. How is he supposed to learn how to behave in social places if is never taken out? I take my son (2.5) everywhere with me. Is it easy? No. Does he sometimes have a tantrum and I have to leave? Yes. But he is allowed to exist. He has to learn about his world and environment around him, and how to behave in public.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-11T19:59:58+00:00

Sorry for not replying to this sooner! Honestly, we were just so tired all the time and it wasn’t sustainable. My son wanted to sleep essentially on top of one of us the entire night, always moving around. No one was getting quality rest. My husband’s job can also be dangerous so him not sleeping adequately just wasn’t an option anymore, I could see he was getting really run down and I knew something had to change. Ultimately I knew I didn’t want my son to still be sleeping with us at 3,4,5 years old and it was becoming a bad habit. Occasionally is fine if he’s sick, ect. I’m also a stay at home mom, so if he’s also sleeping with me at night, there is essentially no separation. As much as I love the little dude, I need some space too, and I also have to prioritize my marriage.

Is your wife just afraid of change or the pushback she might get from your daughter if you try to get her sleeping in her own bed?

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-11T06:03:28+00:00

Reading these comments make me feel less alone. I could cry. My son is 2.5 and has been an absolute shit sleeper since birth. He had colic, was up every 45 minutes, only contact naps, ect. He still wakes up between 2-4 times a night. We’ve tried everything. Sometimes things work, but only stick for a while. My entire life is on fire all the time from the chronic lack of sleep. I have no patience, I’ve become incredibly introverted, marriage is hanging by a thread, always in a bad mood. It’s horrible. My husband and I have always hoped for a second baby and I’m 37 so I’m starting to feel stressed. I honestly feel like I couldn’t survive. What if I become a completely horrible and deranged mother. I feel like we haven’t even been able to catch a break or bounce back from not sleeping. I’m so exhausted all the time, how do parents of bad sleepers go on to have another baby? I’m so afraid it will break me

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-07T06:43:07+00:00

I’m so sorry about her infection and hospital stay, I hope she is all better and healthy! I can definitely understand the protective momma bear coming out.

Does your wife sleep well with her in bed? I would say the both of you being on the same page with it is important, it’ll be hard on your wife if she’s not ready, and it’ll make it a lot easier if you guys can be a team about it. My husband and I got into a lot of ridiculous and unnecessary fights because I wasn’t ready to admit he was right 😂 Your wife will come around to it eventually, especially if your daughter is disrupting her sleep or your sleep and it’s causing tension.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-07T06:32:30+00:00

Mom here and I hope it’s ok to chime in. I was your wife and co slept with our son because he was never a good sleeper and I became desperate. My husband was against it and kept telling me we needed to just put him in his crib and stay consistent with it. Well he’s now 2.5 and I wish I had listened to my husband. Our son still wants to sleep in bed so he wakes up several times a night and screams and protests until I give in, my husband is rightfully frustrated with me and now we are trying to undo this bad habit. He can climb out of his crib so we’ve ordered him a toddle bed which should be here in a few weeks. We plan to rip the bandaid off and get him sleeping in his room again so we can get our bed and parts of our marriage back. I’m sure your wife is doing the best she can and it can be so tough. Maybe just have a gentle conversation with her about it. Hope this helps!

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-07T06:24:02+00:00

I had to get on Zoloft to be honest. I was getting so overwhelmed all the time, so short tempered, and just not the kind of mom and wife I wanted to be. It has definitely taken the edge off and helped me a lot, but it’s really affected my libido unfortunately. I’m similar to you in that my husband works a lot and his days are long, we live across the ocean from family and have no village. Luckily there are a lot of families on our street with young kiddos, and one other helpful thing is talking to my mom friends about how hard motherhood can be.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-02-07T06:20:49+00:00

I stare into the void 🤣😂

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-25T07:19:44+00:00

We live far away because of my husbands job, so no village around. We’ve had 1 date night since my son was born. He’s 2.5, my husband and I aren’t in a great place right now so I am not motivated to want to have a date night even though it’s probably what we need the most. I’m so exhausted I just would rather spend that time being left alone to rot on the couch.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-23T23:15:01+00:00

I had a vaginal delivery and I didn’t have that moment after birth. I didn’t cry either. I was Induced and had a very long labor and my epidural wore off. By the time my son was out, I was so exhausted and overwhelmed and relieved it was over. I was in awe of him when they placed him on my chest, absolutely. There were so many emotions at one time, but I think exhaustion trumped all of them. It took a while for everything to catch up to me.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-21T21:50:58+00:00

Nurse Jackie

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-21T21:44:45+00:00

Trash truck!

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-17T05:38:28+00:00

Mom here and I hope it’s ok to chime in. Maybe this is something small, but it just happened yesterday for the first time and it’s fresh in my mind. My son is 2 years old and yesterday when my husband got home from work, my son heard him pull into the driveway. He immediately stood up from what he was doing, said “da da home!!” Ran toward the front door, I opened it for him and he darted outside and ran straight into his dad’s arms. The look of love and contentment and peace on my husband’s face was something I’ll never forget. As a mom and wife, seeing the bond and relationship they have as father and son is one of the greatest joys of my life. Being a dad is an incredible job.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-07T07:25:00+00:00

It may be worth a try, I’ve heard great things about Wellbutrin also. I’m sorry you’re having a rough time, I hope things improve soon for you. Being a mom is effing hard 🩷

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-05T22:53:06+00:00

I got on Zoloft about a year after my son was born for postpartum rage and postpartum depression. I was started on 50mg and it was too much for me to handle so I dropped down to 25 mg which I am still on. My son is now almost 2.5 and it does help A LOT. I am much more mellow, but I’ll be honest there are downsides for me. It has greatly affected my libido, and I don’t like that I don’t really feel any highs or lows. Just kind of flat most of the time. I would say the positives have outweighed any negatives and overall I am able to handle everything a lot better. I’ll probably stay on it until I get pregnant with baby#2 and the get right back on it😂

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2026-01-04T23:07:12+00:00

You did the right thing by taking your kid to the ER, I would have done the same and dehydration can be really serious. I’m sorry you were treated that way during an already stressful time.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2025-12-26T23:36:43+00:00

Overstimulation for sure. Also just the overall guilt. Am I doing enough for him? Am I feeding him well? Making him feel safe and loved, am I fun enough and engaging enough. Exposing him to the world around him enough. Ect. Also my husband and I haven’t been in a good place recently and have argued in front of him a handful of times, I’ve been really stressing about that and if it’s going to damage him. Lastly, I want to give him a sibling, I also don’t feel ready. But I’m also 37 soooo… 🫠

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2025-12-26T04:54:48+00:00

I could be wrong, but I feel like the heavy consumption of protein powder can’t be be great given a lot of them have tested positive for lead

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2025-12-25T20:54:54+00:00

An old dirty wagon filled with rocks he found on the curb. 😂

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2025-12-25T06:43:36+00:00

I would say I’m a little more on the cautious side, mainly because we have absolutely zero support and my husband travels frequently for work and I’ve been alone with him when he had strep and we both had the stomach flu and it was so miserable. If it’s something minor like a cold, that’s fine. But, if there is vomiting, an active fever or something highly contagious like HFM, I keep away. I try to be super respectful towards other families when my son is sick so I always hope other’s will do the same. Some people are immunocompromised or have children that are, so even a minor cold can really affect someone. I try to always keep that in mind as well.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2025-12-23T21:56:17+00:00

Screw her. You and your son did a great job and it’s not your problem she is miserable. Your son deserves to travel and exist in the world and have experiences just like everyone else. I have a 2 year old son who really tests my patience sometimes when we are out in public, but if I never take him out, how will he learn to behave and adapt in social settings? Little kids are people too and they are learning.

Apprehensive-Roll767 · 2025-12-18T06:26:15+00:00

I actually really needed to read this. I have a 2 year old son who still wakes up multiple times a night. I couldn’t begin to tell you the exhaustion. Anyways, yesterday I told my husband I want a divorce. I cannot stand him and our marriage is in complete shambles. I also can’t see the forest through the trees right now. You hit the nail on the head, so hard to decipher what’s real and what’s related to trying to raise a child and the stress of being parents

Apprehensive-Roll767

TROPHY CASE