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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Overbearing MIL?

27 replies

Melz87 · 28/03/2021 08:25

Is it usual for a MIL to keep pushing for your 5/6 old baby to sleep in their room and act like the baby 'belongs' to her during a visit? During her 3 week visit to meet her first grandchild, my usually very sweet MIL kept asking me if he could sleep in her room. At this point my son was still in his bassinet next to my bed, breastfeeding during the night. She's very experienced with babies yes and, but as a new mother - after declining politely the first time, I felt quite violated that she kept asking - at one point even saying "Why not, does that mean I'll never get to sleep with him?" It didn't help that during the whole 3 week visit she wanted to do absolute EVERYTHING, literally RUNNING to his crib before anyone else could even say they would like a turn. I appreciated her help and was more than supportive about her spending as much time with her new grandson as possible (I literally put him down for 2 naps the whole visit because she wanted to) but isn't it a bit extreme if during the course of a 12 hour day she couldn't even handle me playing or cuddling with him for more than 10 minutes before trying to take him? She seemed to think the only time I should have with him was when I was feeding him for a few minutes every couple of hours. I can't help but feel extremely anxious about her next visit. I'm more than happy for her to spend lots of time bonding with him while I get a moment to relax but surely there should be some limits - especially during a long 3 week visit. I feel that it should have been more of a team - effort approach rather than "the baby is mine during my trip" approach 🤔 To be honest, I think I feel a little traumatized - literally feel like it went from being with and enjoying my baby all the time to having him being taken away from me for 3 long weeks. I think I gave her plenty of space to be a Grandma but she didn't want to give me any space to be a Mama. Am I overreacting?

OP posts:
CarefulNoww · 28/03/2021 14:32

@WhySoSensitive

Mine is the same OP. I had mine asking if she could sleep in our bed to ‘help care overnight’ when DS was just a couple of weeks old. It never happened but I didn’t set boundaries and it just got worse.

Now I’m just a firm ‘no, but thank you for the offer’ to pretty much every request. Including manipulative messages telling me I’m ruining her relationship by not letting her hug him during a global pandemic. 🤦🏼‍♀️

WHAT???!!!! She wanted to sleep in your bed? With you?

WhySoSensitive · 28/03/2021 15:31

Yes! When I said no she suggested a camp bed next to ours so she could be close by.
When I said no to that, she said she would settle for the sofa and just try to be quick enough to get him before I woke up.

I’m not lying when I say I could write a novel of the batshit MIL.
Lovely (and manageable) person, till we had kids.

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