When a couple announce they're having a baby, there's usually some nerves, but an awful lot of excitement, and you generally expect it to be a celebration.
But, what happens when a couple get pregnant and only one half of them wants to go through with having the child?
One man recently found himself in that exact situation, after discovering his wife had fallen pregnant, despite her taking regular birth control after they both decided children were not on the cards for their future.
"My wife changed her mind about wanting after her first ultrasound and I respected her decision, even if I wasn't the happiest about it," the man explained on Reddit's Am I The A**hole forum. "I told her that regardless, I wasn't gonna' force her to make a decision."
With the baby due in around two months, the couple finally got around to having a gender reveal party when lockdown restrictions were lifted, and while he still wasn't best pleased with their decision to continue the pregnancy, the dad-to-be went along with the reveal party to keep his wife happy.
"Once the gender reveal happened everyone including my wife was ecstatic. She went to go hug me and I hugged her back, just not with the same energy. She looked at me with a concerned face but went off to hug some of her friends and family. Once it was over and we got everything put up she blew up at me," he continued
"She said I embarrassed her in front of her family and the least I could've done was pretended I cared. I told her I didn't really see a point in throwing a party just because of the gender but she wanted to do it so I agreed. She said that she understood that I didn't really want to have a baby but that since they were almost here that I should probably lose the attitude already."
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The man told his wife that given she knows he doesn't want the baby, she shouldn't be surprised that he was less than enthused about the party. His wife responded by telling him she'd hoped the gender reveal would change his mind and was upset that it hadn't.
Turning to Reddit, the man questioned whether he was in the wrong for not faking emotions at the gender reveal party, given the fact he's always been open about not wanting children.
"I don’t think this is really a question about who’s the a**hole, I think your world is changing dramatically in a way which you weren’t prepared for, and that therapy is almost definitely required," one Reddit user suggested.
"It’s not wrong to be freaked out, but you’ve decided to go ahead with this, and now you need to find a way to come to terms with it— ideally before the kid arrives, so you can parent your child in the fullest and best way possible."
Another added: "As someone who had kids when he wasn't prepared because my wife pushed for it, please seek help. It really eats you up and it makes parenting so much more difficult. Because whether you like it or not and whether you divorce or not, this is your kid now.
"You will have to adjust to that in one way or another, so please seek help. I didn't and six years later I still deal with the resentment over it."
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