Hello all To start with, I don't want the advice to simply 'run for it!' While I see the red flags, my heart is telling me to be patient.

I am dating 'Sara' who is in her mid 20's (as am I). She has a year old baby from a previous marriage. Going into this relationship, I knew that it would be different for me (dealing with a child). But I think Sara is charming, we get along, she is a nice girl with a nice heart, and overall she is pretty nice to me and a good influence. We are officially boyfriend/girlfriend too.

Sara lives with her parents. She can't leave her house too much because her parents insist that she stays with the child (because the parents watch her while Sara is at work). So I am usually the one to travel to her place. When I get there, a lot of times I feel ignored. The concentration is on the baby (obviously I accept that) but there is often little time for me.

Sara makes up for the lack of time with me in other ways, but those ways are getting less and less. For instance, we used to talk on the phone each night for 45 minutes or so. We used to email during work hours. Now Sara doesn't email much at work (she is getting more and more busy at work she says) and whenever we talk on the phone it's usually interrupted by the child.

On top of that, Sara has stress from work, lives with a ton of people in her house, has to deal with her child, etc. I feel like it's a 1 way street where she complains about her life (because of all these stressors she is rarely in a cheerful mood) and I feel neglected with my own issues. I feel like I'm making a lot of sacrifices and not getting much in return. Being that I do see the potential in our relationship and I am patient and I enjoy Sara's company overall, is there anything I can do? What would you do? It just feels like my needs aren't being met but I don't want to come off as demanding, being that Sara has a child and the child is #1.

Thank you