Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Accepting money ILs

25 replies

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 12:11

Hi all! I've nc as my sil is on here and this is pretty specific 🤦🏻‍♀️

Background- poor relationship with ILs due to past behaviour that has never been recognised or resolved. Pretty lc with them seeing them maybe once every few months.

Just had a baby (14 weeks!) and people have been sending us gifts etc from all over. All very generous. Mil has been playing at being doting granny (she has met dd 4 times) and keeps sending gifts from her friends. Last week Dh got an email from mils friend (I'm going to call her Susan to save complication!) asking for our bank details so she could send us money to get a gift for dd. This is of course very kind however (big however) Susan has acted incredibly spitefully towards myself (I'm happy to give details if people want but think things like comments regarding my family, bad behaviour at my wedding etc) and therefore dh and I had already decided Susan would not be having anything to do with dd.

Susan is mils closest friend. She and mil see each other at least once every few days and the two families are very intertwined. We know mil will want dd to be brought to meet Susan but we have actively avoided it and mil has not outright asked yet. Our plan is that when she does we will try to change topic but if she pushes it we will say that Susan is her friend not ours and that because of these things we are not interested in facilitating that.

It's hard as Susan has been very present in dhs life (a bit like an auntie) and I do worry he is just saying things to appease me, but after the way she has behaved I certainly do not want to take my baby round to meet her. I'm already struggling with having a lc relationship with mil.

Anyway dh has not yet replied but he said he would just send his bank details and say thanks. I think it's a bit rude and off to accept money/gift when we don't actually want anything to do with the person? Dh says he doesn't want to cause trouble, that he will maintain a polite distance with Susan to keep the peace.

Mil has now text demanding to know why dh hasn't responded to Susan yet and said he is being ungrateful 🤦🏻‍♀️

Aibu to just be fed up? I am sick of the lot of them. They spoiled our wedding with shitty behaviour and they were awful after our daughter was born. I refuse to have the first few months of her life spent fussing over them. I'm about one step away from nc. The only thing that keeps me hanging on is dh.

Sorry I've gone off the topic. My Aibu is that I think dh is actually being a bit rude not responding for a week (despite her being a rude cow too) and that we shouldn't accept anything from them as it looks like we are open to contact.

OP posts:
doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 12:11

If you managed to read all that then you're clearly a saint and going to heaven 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

OP posts:
PooWillyBumBum · 20/09/2019 12:38

I agree with you. Don't send bank details if you're not planning on contact. It'll just be used as ammunition by your drama loving MIL and her friends.

I'd just send back an email to say "Thank you so much for the thought and best wishes but we have everything we need. I hope you're well" or something to that effect.

This is of course assuming Susan has been unreasonable and truly vile, and you're not in fact the villain in this story!

PooWillyBumBum · 20/09/2019 12:39

Actually, scratch the last bit, even if Susan hasn't been vile I wouldn't accept the money if you don't want to see her. I'd just say no. And I'd expect DH to support...

inwood · 20/09/2019 12:41

She could send a gift card or even cash or cheque no need to give bank details!

NoSauce · 20/09/2019 12:43

Just tell your MIL why you don’t want to accept any money off Susan, surely?

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 12:44

@Poowillybumbum love the username 😂 now it's stuck in my head! Haha I always think on mumsnet we do only see one side of the story. To give examples of Susan, she refuses to say my name (say I'm Lucy, she would call me Laura) despite having known me 10 years. She was caught slagging me off at my wedding by my own mother. She then proceeded to take one of my bridesmaids bouquets and went home. At my dhs grandmas funeral (who I was very close to) she loudly asked why I had been mentioned in the eulogy DURING THE SERVICE as I was 'not real family'. I could go on 😂

OP posts:
doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 12:48

@NoSauce I think mil aware that we do not want anything to do with Susan. When I was pregnant so was Susan's daughter and they kept texting dh saying how they would all be baby friends etc. He didn't reply and mil kept nagging him until he said he was a grown man and he would do as he wished. So she does know we are not interested it just hasn't been said out loud if that makes sense. I think an honest chat has to happen even if it rocks the boat.

Mil seems to forget anything negative that she or others have done conveniently.... she was there for all of Susans antics (sometimes in partnership). Drip feed but Susan also has a husband who makes inappropriate (sexual) comments that mil always tries to justify as being 'just his way'.

OP posts:
Windydaysuponus · 20/09/2019 12:49

Suggest she makes a donation to a donkey sanctuary in dd's name.
My mil arrived with a huge box of baby items beautifully wrapped. She closed the kitchen door with just me and her in.
Fil came in and she scowled at him..
The gifts were from her friend - never met her but dh had - convinced mil was trying to pass them off as from her.
She /fil didn't get ds anything at all.
Dh needs to tell mil to keep her beak out.

TheRobinIsBobbingAlong · 20/09/2019 12:52

Based on your last update OP, I think your DH should respond to Susan and say thank you for the thought, but you're only accepting gifts from family and REAL friends Grin

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 12:53

Tbh I wish he would. He's so desperate not to rock the boat and just maintain politeness and I think he just needs to be honest with everyone about where we are.

I've never forgiven mil for all the stuff at our wedding and having had baby. But we all just tip toe around it pretending everything is fine while I avoid seeing them as much as possible. A conversation needs to happen...I don't think it will go well as I know mil will decide it's all me but something has to change or I'll be forever ranting on here.

OP posts:
NoSauce · 20/09/2019 12:54

Get DH to have a chat with his mum, she may sulk/kick off but hey ho.

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 12:56

Things can't get worse than they are I guess. I actually had counselling a few years ago as I got such anxiety having to see them and deal with the little comments etc. I don't know why I haven't gone nc. My only thing is that I guess I know mil can only affect me if I let her. And atm I'm letting it get to me too much as it involves my baby.

OP posts:
NoSauce · 20/09/2019 12:59

Would DH go NC? She sounds like she’s affecting your life in such a detrimental way OP. You don’t have to put up with this.

emzeexb · 20/09/2019 13:01

This is a genuine question.

I know you changed the name because it's outing but surely the story is outing and sil will be able to tell it's her family? Lol

I always see this name change business and so confused lol

But to answer your Q, don't accept the money

NoSauce · 20/09/2019 13:05

Maybe the OP doesn’t want this thread linking to her other posts.

Notajogger · 20/09/2019 13:07

You say your DH is concerned about being polite - it's definitely not polite to accept a gift from someone you have no intention of having anything to do with!

Agree with pp - tell her you have everything you need but appreciate the offer and wish her well. If she "argues" back just repeat it in a different way.

Really, her offer of money has nothing to do with your MIL so your DH should decline to discuss it with her if she brings it up! Just tell her "yes we've sorted it" or some such.

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 13:08

@NoSauce I think he would if I really pushed it but I kind of want him to come to his own conclusions, if that makes sense? At the moment we have little to do with them and they know little about our lives. They have become more involved (in the sense of trying to see us more etc) since our baby but I also do think dh has opened his eyes a bit too. He has spoken to them about a few things recently I had no idea about until afterwards. They pushed to see us immediately after dd was born and dh said no as we were both in hospital for a few days (both not well but mainly me) whereas once he would have asked me if they could come to keep the peace. I've still got the blame for that but at least I know he's more aware.

@emzeexb ha it's more that if she read this and my other posts she could add it all up to being me :-) tbh maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing!

@Nosauce please don't out me but you've actually given me advice on this before on here and I need to start looking at how to take it and actually make a change.

OP posts:
Notajogger · 20/09/2019 13:08

Also seeing the in laws once every few months doesn't sound particularly low contact - can you reduce it further?

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 13:09

@NoSauce meant to say thank you :-) especially to you who has read many of my rants 🙈

OP posts:
dowehaveastalker · 20/09/2019 13:10

Don’t take her money if you hate her for God’s sake.

doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 13:11

@Notajogger I would love to do that. Before we had dd it was less then it's stepped up slightly. I agreed with dh that dd could be seen as a bit of a fresh start between the two families but more and more I see that they aren't changing and I don't want my child involved in this. Think dh is too. I wanted to be the bigger person and say that the more people that love a child the better but (and this sounds awful) I don't think they actually care about her other than to pretend we are perfect families. When we visit they just have photos with her and then will chat about rubbish. They don't text to see how she is or when she was poorly in hospital a big fuss was made that mil hadn't been told immediately (strangely enough we were preoccupied!)

OP posts:
doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 13:12

The more I type the more I think why the hell am I not nc.

OP posts:
doofusdogandthecuriouscat · 20/09/2019 13:14

@dowehaveastalker I don't intend on taking it. Dh is more complex because he has past history with her since being a child and so I think is struggling to see her as the woman who has behaved in this way since. He says to me we will not take dd to meet her but then to actually say that to her/mil and say why is hard for him I guess.

I don't think I'm explaining dh well. He agrees all the behaviour is terrible, he backs me up to the hilt. But then he does say 'but it's my mum' etc. Or when it comes to Susan and family he wants to just maintain a polite distance rather than outwardly say anything to her.

OP posts:
Skittlesandbeer · 20/09/2019 13:22

Your real problem here is if you don’t have Susan’s direct details. Do you, or can you get them easily?

Woman up, and send the text yourself. Do a big swerve around your horrid MIL and wet DH. Trust us, it’s best to get the boundaries in early. Send the damn text yourself. Polite, clear, firm. Say you’ve had other similar texts from friends & extended family (in fact, make it sound like a group response to those folk) saying you have all you need, everyone has been so kind, and ask that they contribute to the local hospital neonatal unit, not everyone is as lucky as you, etc etc.

Stop wringing your hands and take the lead. Don’t discuss it with DH, just show him how it’s done. What possible bitching can they come up with if you send such a kind response?

Then continue with Polite, Clear & Firm with every interaction you are forced to have with your MIL.

CONGRATS on producing a lovely human, by the way!

Decadoma · 20/09/2019 16:45

Whatever her behaviour in the past if she has bern like an aunty in the past I'd probably give details and let her meet obce but then you can tail it off after without a big bust up. Short term pain for long term gain. You're already lc with IL so chances are you won't ever see Susan that often anyway. Is it worth risking the balance you've got with IL? Refuse and it could all blow up. Only you know whether it's worth that. Unfortunately sometimes we need to do things just to get by. I think you and your partner need to talk about the consequences of each scenario - and what consequences you can live with
(BTW the bitchy part of me loves being "nice" to a pain in the arse like that - then they have no ammunition)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page