She said: "My partner likes my children in bed by 7.30, so we can have some us time, that's fine, I totally agree with it, but at weekends for my step son it's different.

As it stood, not only were the kids upset about our baby news, they felt betrayed that we had taken them out in public to tell them. If she could only understand that I had plenty of space in my heart for all the children in my life – step or biological.Grab a copy of Heidi’s eBook about the resentment that can happen when adding an “ours baby” here! Step-family emotions can be so difficult to navigate.

We decided that we would take them to a local coffee shop for hot cocoa and a cupcake to give them the news and celebrate. First, I had mourn the fact that I couldn’t openly and freely delight in my pregnancy the way other mothers could. She wondered if my love for her would change once I had brought my own flesh and blood into the world.

Uncommon Knowledge

As I re-folded each piece of baby clothes with care, I listened for the sound of my stepdaughter’s footsteps. Hearing them would mean hiding the piles again like I often did. The little baby was christened Sophie. Tom felt confused and uncertain at first – she was a very cute baby, though he was supposed to think of her as his little sister. Was it weird for him to cuddle her lots and give her little kisses on the forehead before bedtime? The baby always cooed so happily when he did. Tom decided not to worry about it. Sophie seemed to like him a great deal, and he wondered if the little baby somehow knew who he really was. He’d grown a little taller. To most, he was still a cute, unassuming kid. None would guess he’d impregnated his own stepmother and was father to a little girl. While Tom played his game, Kate slipped in, with obviously lewd intentions. Why the name “Not Just a Stepmom?” Well, you are NOT just a stepmom (even when that role often feels like the dominant one!). You are a dearly loved child of God. I’m a biological mom, too, and the same thing applies to those of you who aren’t stepmoms! Join me here, sign up for my mailing list, follow me on social media, and discover just a little more of what that means for your life. But we weren’t out of the woods at home yet. A dark cloud had again settled over my stepdaughter when she found out she would be getting a baby sister.