A woman’s predicament stemmed from her mother-in-law’s treatment of her pregnant kid. She eventually lost patience with it and made the decision to keep her mother-in-law from visiting the child. She asked if she was wrong to act in this way on Reddit, seeking guidance from the community.
The Original Poster (OP) disclosed that she was expecting their first child along with her spouse. But OP began to feel uneasy due to his mother’s excessive joy about becoming a grandma. In addition to asserting ownership and making statements like “I can’t wait for my baby to be born” or “My baby is going to be so loved,” the mother-in-law frequently referred to the pregnant child as hers. OP felt this possessiveness uncomfortable, but her spouse told her to disregard the remarks.
It was the mother-in-law’s idea to have a baby shower for OP. She gave an example of how she and her friends had agreed to attend their children’s baby showers and weddings as justification. The mother-in-law felt compelled to host a baby shower because OP and her spouse eloped. But the mother-in-law said no when asked whether OP may invite her pals. She said the baby shower was just for her pals and recommended that OP plan one for herself and her friends. Even though OP wasn’t sure, she grudgingly accepted.
The mother-in-law instructed the parents to share their nursery register with her acquaintances, so they took a long time to compile it. Everything on the registration matched the nursery they had planned, which had a garden motif. OP even expressed her want for a dessert with a floral motif. But when the baby shower actually arrived, OP was taken aback to discover that her garden theme had been replaced with a circus animal theme. She assumed that her garden plan would not have been easy to implement, so she did not protest.
She was disappointed to see that every present at the baby shower had an animal theme and had nothing from the list she had provided. Bewildered, OP double-checked her register to be sure there was a mistake. Her husband was also perplexed and wondered why his mother had done what she had when he came and saw the gifts. The mother-in-law acknowledged that she did not like the motif her daughter-in-law had selected, so she made a second register for herself to use circus animals to decorate her own nursery. The couple was stunned and furious upon learning this information.
The original poster explicitly stated that her mother-in-law would not be permitted to visit her child. High spirits prevailed, and the mother-in-law claimed the pair was preventing her from seeing her grandchild. Other family members soon began emailing the pair, accusing them of sabotaging the mother-in-law’s grandmotherly experience.
The majority of Reddit users agreed with the OP and said she wasn’t at fault. Indeed, a lot of comments advised her to take the appropriate safety measures to protect herself from her mother-in-law. Purchasing security cameras and informing hospital employees that the mother-in-law was not permitted to be close to the family were among the recommendations. Redditors brought up the fact that the mother-in-law could have had a more private, smaller baby shower for her own friends rather than taking advantage of the occasion to buy things for her own nursery.
Many readers were worried by the mother-in-law’s worrisome actions. Although it could have made more sense if she had called the unborn child her “grandbaby,” it was uncomfortable that she was treating the OP like a surrogate.