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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not want ex's mother at my 20 week scan?

183 replies

92littlecat92 · 22/05/2014 14:03

My ex left me after cheating when I was 3.5 months. Despite this I want to remain friends with him and do what I can to make things easy for him and our child to have a relationship even though he now lives over 100 miles away, with his mother. We are getting on VERY well considering how recently we have split up and are keen to keep an amicable relationship. I have invited him to come to the 20 week scan and he wants to.

However, as ex is unemployed (when we were together he lived with me and I covered his living costs) his mother is being controlling about money. She is saying she will only give him the coach fair to come to the scan if she can come to. I really do not want her there - I feel like having her there would spoil what is supposed to be something lovely.

For the nearly three years I was with her son this woman lied about me to her own, constantly belittled me and often made racist comments about me both to my face and to my then partner. When I split up with her son, she turned up to collect him form my house and shouted abuse at me in front of neighbours. She has also since sent me nasty messages but I have now blocked her mobile number.

I don't want ex to miss out on seeing the scan, but the thought of having his mother there too is making me very nervous. Would I be unreasonable to tell him that HE is welcome but that she is not?

OP posts:
MommyBird · 22/05/2014 14:20

At my hospital only 2 people are allowed in the room whilst they do the scan.

redandchecker · 22/05/2014 14:20

Whatever you do, do not let her go, not even to sit in the waiting room - the whole experience is exciting and very important and given her history of abuse towards you I wouldn't be surprised if this happened if you asked her to wait outside.
There must be some other way he can get the coach fare himself.

Only1scoop · 22/05/2014 14:21

Money for a coach....how will he support his baby?

It's an anomaly scan not a day trip out.

MommyBird · 22/05/2014 14:23

How much does he need?

Can't he trade some games/dvds in?
I'd also try and urge him to get his own bank account? Does he get any benefits?

smellyfishead · 22/05/2014 14:24

I wouldn't stress too much, most trusts only let in one person with the person being scanned, im a surrogate and we had to have special permission to have 2 extra people in the room.

QueenofallIsee · 22/05/2014 14:24

A happy upside of your very sad split is that you DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH HER! Who gives a shit what she thinks of you now? She is his problem

Tell him no, she cannot come. His money and her issues are no longer your concern. If they really give a toss then they will manage to get him there. If not, his loss. It is not up to you to allow them to ride roughshod over what you want, think and feel just because of the difficult circumstances. Besides, setting her expectations now that she doesn't call the shots won't hurt

Congrats on your pregnancy! hope all goes well for you

TitusFlavius · 22/05/2014 14:25

YANBU. What a cow she sounds.

You can always bullshit and say it's because you have been told only two people are allowed in the room, if you don't want to sour her even further. (And if you phrase it like that, it doesn't even matter if she calls the hospital to check, as she can't pronounce on what you have been told.)

bonkersLFDT20 · 22/05/2014 14:26

Have a word with the sonographer and ask him/her to say that only 1 other person is allowed in the room, and that should be the father of the child or partner of the woman.

BrunoBrookesDinedAlone · 22/05/2014 14:26

Bloody hell, of course not!!

This is a very VERY good opportunity to set your stall out, and I cannot urge you strongly enough to take it.

You have a problem brewing here. Your ex's mother sounds absolutely vile - abusive and aggressive to you. It also sounds - unfortunately - as if she is keen to be involved with your child. Ordinarily that would be great. But it's not at all great if granny is a vicious, abusive witch who will interfere, demand, make your child a battleground and ultimately cause issues with putting you down to your child.

Where there is racism involved- I assume that you are a different race to your ex and therefore your child will be mixed race? - then the whole thing becomes ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.

She's demanding to come to one of your medical appointments? Err, no. Don't bother playing nice. Hit hard and fast. Here's the kind of reply I'd be giving:

'Dear X,

As you might expect, the answer to whether your mother may come to my scan - a personal medical appointment - is no. It will be a shame if this means you can't be there, but if she is happy to blackmail you to the extent that you miss it at least it may give you some insight into her character which will be useful to you now that there will soon be a child to protect from her negative influence.

I find it difficult to believe that you would even think for a moment that I would be able to have her in the same room as me. To make this absolutely clear: this woman has verbally and racially abused me, has turned up at my house being aggressive and has had to be blocked from contacting me. I would not feel safe, let alone happy, having her at the scan.

It is clear from this that she expects contact with me and our child. This will need to be discussed between me, you and possibly a solicitor in detail before I will agree to anything. To reiterate: your mother has shown herself to be aggressive and dangerous, and also racist. I would be concerned for the safety of myself and our unborn (mixed race) baby if she were involved in our lives.

Please take this as a formal notification that I expect not to be harassed with any request for her to visit or be in any way involved with my child until a formal agreement has been reached, and it may be that it is the case that this would not be until our child is much older. In particular, I will state that I do not wish her to visit after the birth, and if she arrives either at my home or the hospital during the birth period I will call the police. I will be notifying midwives and the hospital of the history of harrassment, threats and violent language and will be requesting that she not be allowed in.

While I hope that we can maintain good relations for the sake of our child, I will not hesitate to also act if I consider that you are unable to keep our child safe from her. I would strongly suggest that you become independent from her as soon as possible, especially if her blackmailing behaviour is going to mean that you see less of the baby.

I hope that you can understand my concern and please be clear that any threatening or aggressive response to this email will be lodged with the police as the first stage in restricting contact with this person completely.

Yours...'

starlight1234 · 22/05/2014 14:28

I would let him sort it out himself.Tell him it is a medical procedure which he is welcome to attend.

You do not need to rescue him anymore. My EX mil was controlling with money . Ex agreed to pay 1/2 for swimming lessons after I paid for them she said he couldn't afford them so that was that. I had to find the other half.

Is she going to do the same for the birth if he is invited?

He needs to sort this out now so he can support his child now. It is time for him to become a man

APlaceInTheWinter · 22/05/2014 14:28

YANBU and this is the perfect opportunity to create some firm boundaries. Tell ex-dp that the hospital does not allow extra people in the room for the scan. If he still insists on bringing her with him, then the nursing staff are your friends - tell them that she is not to be allowed in the room and that her presence is stressful. They'll ensure she has to stay in the waiting room.

BrunoBrookesDinedAlone · 22/05/2014 14:29

Have read your later posts. Seriously, DO NOT try and not upset him by keeping his mother happy.

This sounds like one biggggg mistake brewing. A guy like this, a MIL form hell like this - honestly, you would be better off just losing contact with them both.

pinkyredrose · 22/05/2014 14:32

If your ex can't find money for the coach how the hell will he support a baby? Why did he move so far away when he knows his baby will be here in a few months?

You really need to put your foot down and he needs to grow some balls and start earning.

OurMiracle1106 · 22/05/2014 14:33

Its your medical appointment. You are quite within your rights to say no you do not want her there either at the scan, or before hand. Or tell him she's welcome to come to the hospital but she won't be allowed in the scan room.

There is nothing she can do. You could legally say no to both of them being present.

Is she going be like this about the birth too? If you don't now stand up to her she will continue with trying to control you.

lunar1 · 22/05/2014 14:34

Start as you mean to go on, you don't need controlling abusive people at a medical appointment.

starfishmummy · 22/05/2014 14:36

Yanbu. If you really want your ex to be there and there is no other way, could you send him a coach ticket?

I know that you shouldn't have to, but it just seems a simple solution and would probably piss his mother in law off

92littlecat92 · 22/05/2014 14:37

Would it be a good idea to pay his coachfair myself? I can afford to but am wary that this could a)set an expectation that eh can still rely on me for money and b)make his mother very angry with me

OP posts:
BrunoBrookesDinedAlone · 22/05/2014 14:38

If your ex can't find money for the coach how the hell will he support a baby? Why did he move so far away when he knows his baby will be here in a few months?

Well that's it, isn't it. He isn't going to support the baby. He isn't going to be there. There is going to be precious little actual fathering going on.

However, instead there IS going to be an aggressive, racist grandmother who sounds as if a. she is going to do her best to make the OP's life with her new baby utter hell and b. very worryingly, is going to see the baby as 'her race' and doibtless try her best to take over, interfere, and talk down the OP to her child in a horrible, abusive, racist way.

It doesn't sound as if he is actually very interested at all. It also doesn't sound as if he is any kind of man and is totally unable to stand up to this hideous mother.

So there is little positive in this for either the OP or her baby. It's not going to be 'worth it', because what should be the good bit - the father being involved, fatherly, supportive - just isn't going to be there.

Really OP, put your foot down now, at least - make it clear that she can fuck right off if she thinks she's either laying down the law OR being involved where you don't want her to be. That comment about her seeing the baby as 'all her race' is so so worrying - she's going to try and undermine you as a parent and even as family.

Stop this before it starts, really.

Writerwannabe83 · 22/05/2014 14:41

The 20 week scan isn't supposed to be "something lovely" - in fact it's usually very tense and nerve wracking. Obviously once you get the 'all ok' the loveliness can begin and you can breathe a sigh of relief that everything is ok, but whilst the scanning and analysis is going on it actually isn't much fun. I remember feeling very on edge at my scan, very nervous , squeezing my husband's hand and praying that there weren't going to be any problems. As has been said, it is a medical procedure and what medical procedure can be described as being something lovely?

I'm very close to my MIL but there's no way I would have wanted her there. It's something personal between you and your ex. If you did get bad news it's for you and your ex to deal with and hear together, not with a spectator in the background.

gotnotimeforthat · 22/05/2014 14:41

OP do not pay his coachfare!

that will be a downward spiral. You do this now then he will expect it in the future. It isn't your responsibility to pay for his travel and as much as his mother sounds like an utter cow it isn't her responsibility either. hes a grown man isn't he?

DillyBob14 · 22/05/2014 14:42

No - do not pay his coach fare - you are being manipulated too. You need to stop it now. It is not your job to enable him.

pinkyredrose · 22/05/2014 14:44

OP are you seriously considering still being this guys cash cow? If you pay his coach fair this time you'll end up paying every time. You'll end up paying him to see his own DC.

Why can't he pay his own fair can you please tell us? What exactly does he do with his money?

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 22/05/2014 14:45

"No" is a complete sentence. Is he a teenager or something?

92littlecat92 · 22/05/2014 14:47

I'm 21, he is 23. He has no money as is unemployed and before we spilt I was supporting him and he was living with me.

OP posts:
DillyBob14 · 22/05/2014 14:48

oh dear - so you used to pay for everything and he contributed nothing? Not good.

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