It’s hard to believe I’m writing this but at almost 13 weeks pregnant, I have suddenly realized I don’t think I want to do this.
I am 40 and have no kids. My husband and I have been together a long time, more than 10 years, and never thought we’d have kids… Until about 8 months ago when I suddenly had this excited thought: maybe we should have a baby!! My husband got on board, surprisingly. I did ALL the fertility supplements, acupuncture, etc. but… When I saw a negative test after our first cycle trying, I was elated. I felt completely liberated. And still, I felt weirdly committed to this new vision, and we tried again. I got pregnant that second cycle.
My relationship is not great, but it’s been healthy enough that neither of us has left. It’s not abusive or noticeably toxic, but we have had issues especially with my partner lying, an emotional affair with a coworker, and a secret porn addiction which we went to many couples therapy over and he vowed he would stop.
13 weeks into my pregnancy, I suddenly had this dark feeling come over me and I begged him to be honest with me. After lying several times, he finally told me he’s been watching porn my entire pregnancy, and for a year before that. In therapy years ago, I made it crystal clear that porn was a non-negotiable for me, the degradation of young women and the misogyny involved have no place in my life. I know some women watch it, or are unbothered by their husbands watching it. I am very, very bothered by it, and it was very clear that this was a deal breaker for me. And he continued to secretly do it anyway, lying to me about it on multiple occasions. I know you may feel differently about porn, but it is a very, very big deal to me, and the amount of lying that goes along with it.
Basically I feel somewhat entrapped in this pregnancy, because had he told me prior to TTC that he was still watching porn, I would have ended our marriage. Now I am in a situation where I could possibly be stuck co-parenting with this person forever. I am 40 and will almost definitely not be meeting another partner in time to try to get pregnant again, if I even am able to. So this would likely be my only chance at motherhood. But when I started thinking about abortion, I immediately started to feel like myself again. I feel like an absolute idiot for believing my husband again, and for allowing a baby to be conceived in such an unhealthy relationship. I also worry if this baby is a boy, that this is the male influence I chose.
If I have the baby and stay with this man, I will be a resentful, angry mother and wife. I feel miserable imagining it. I recently left my career and have no job, and was planning to start a new career in several years once my baby was in school. So single mothering would be very difficult, with no job and no home (our house is in my husbands parents names… don’t ever do this).
Has anyone been in remotely a similar situation?? Or did I just get myself into the mess of a lifetime.