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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I know I am. MIL coming to stay.

103 replies

WeasilyPleased · 14/03/2022 12:12

My MIL lives in NZ which for me is a good thing as she is openly hostile and critical towards me. Last time she came over she invited several family members to our home and I came home from work to a very drunken party going on with a couple of people staying over. None of this agreed by my dh and I. She takes over my kitchen as she says my food makes her feel ill. I am a good cook.
Our first baby is almost a year old and she hasnt asked much to dh about her. I try not to talk to her and she doesnt ask to talk to me. Her dad died of Covid during the first lockdown and obviously she (and we) couldnt attend the funeral but she is coming over to scatter the ashes.
Dh says she will also stay here.
Since dd was born I've had anxiety and struggle to leave the house on my own. I'm on the waiting list for an OT to help with this.
Dh sees no problem at all about her coming. I am already having anxiety dreams about it. She won't have enough money to stay in an hotel as she and her second husband live in a shack in the middle of nowhere and he works as and when he can.
She has never really shown much interest in dh even as a child so he's very grateful for any interaction with her and obviously loves her very much. I would never interfere with that and try not to be too critical of her to him but I dislike her and hate what she put him through when he was younger.
Her not coming is not an option.
I'm going to have to suck it up aren't I? I'm dreading it.

OP posts:
Nanny0gg · 14/03/2022 15:58

I'd also ask him what you could possibly be jealous about?

mycatisannoying · 14/03/2022 16:00

Well, I think YABU.

MarieIVanArkleStinks · 14/03/2022 16:01

My husband is odd about it. He says he only sees her every few years and surely I can put up with her for that long. If I push it he gets annoyed and says he'll tell her not to come.

That's a win. Tell him to do just that.

Whatsonmymindgrapes · 14/03/2022 16:20

Hotels, air bnb, bnb, hostel, anywhere but your home.

negomi90 · 14/03/2022 16:25

Could you afford to pay for a nearby hotel for her? If you can, would that be a compromise for your mental health? I know its kind of ridiculous you paying but if its that or her staying with you, you need to pick the best option for your mental health.

DameHelena · 14/03/2022 16:34

@MarieIVanArkleStinks

My husband is odd about it. He says he only sees her every few years and surely I can put up with her for that long. If I push it he gets annoyed and says he'll tell her not to come.

That's a win. Tell him to do just that.

I agree. Stupid sulky answer, like a teenager. Call his bluff: 'OK, great!'
Crazycrazylady · 14/03/2022 16:43

I'm sorry, she does sound like a pain but for my husbands sake, once every couple of years I'd suck it up and count down the days.
I'd expect him to do it for me.

Wnikat · 14/03/2022 16:47

Going against the grain here but having your husband's mother to stay once every few years doesn't seem particularly unreasonable.

I mean, I say this as the mother of two sons, from what I read on this board I'll never be able to see my grandchildren as all mothers in law are evil.

Natty13 · 14/03/2022 16:47

People who are "openly hostile and critical" to me do not enter my home. End of. Regardless of who they gave birth to. Their inability to behave civilly is their problem not mine.

If you have tolerated this (put up and shut up) in the past I would allow it with the caveat that ANY disrespectful behaviour by her and she is out. 1 strike. Based on past behaviour your husband should be grateful you are giving her 1 more chance and if he prefers you can just say no, never again.

DameHelena · 14/03/2022 16:52

People who are "openly hostile and critical" to me do not enter my home. End of. Regardless of who they gave birth to. Their inability to behave civilly is their problem not mine.
Exactly this.
Whether it's every few years or every week. Irrelevant.

LookItsMeAgain · 14/03/2022 16:54

Your home needs to be your safe space.

Her there doesn't allow for that. Just because it's his mother does not mean that her requirements for this visit trump yours.

Also to point out, just because she is visiting, doesn't mean that she has to stay in your house. Plenty of people 'visit' friends and relatives overseas but they somehow manage to stay in different accommodation to the people that they are visiting.

Either your DH pays for a few days stay in a hotel/AirBnB/guest house/hostel or she pays for one.

lanthanum · 14/03/2022 17:05

That's a long time. If you can afford to put her up somewhere else nearby, then that might be best.
If you do have her to stay, get dh to give her some ground rules (he can use the excuse that the baby is tiring you out): no inviting extra guests, she eats what you serve or eats out (or perhaps say she can use the kitchen between 7 and 8 - or whenever you're busy putting the baby to bed anyway). Think through other potential problems so that you can pre-empt them with the ground rules.
DH needs to realise that if he doesn't set the ground rules, you may not cope. (Do you have family you can go and stay with if necessary?)

RampantIvy · 14/03/2022 17:06

Do you have family you could go and stay with while she is there?

Goldbar · 14/03/2022 17:08

In this situation, I'm afraid I'd leave and go and stay with my parents until she left.

GabriellaMontez · 14/03/2022 17:23

If I push it he gets annoyed and says he'll tell her not to come

There's your answer then. If she's openly hostile in your home she really shouldn't be staying for 6 weeks Shock

What does he think you're jealous of? Weird...

AhhhHereItGoes · 14/03/2022 17:30

Either she stays on a b&b or she doesn't come.

Is your partner actually saying he doesn't care she treats you badly?

Surely if he has a crap childhood, he would want a stable home life as an adult now?

OnceuponaRainbow18 · 14/03/2022 17:33

A few weeks in a few years- I would do this for my husband.

GabriellaMontez · 14/03/2022 17:35

@OnceuponaRainbow18

A few weeks in a few years- I would do this for my husband.
I wouldn't. But then he wouldn't ask me to have a guest for 6 weeks who was openly hostile and critical.
AssignedBlobbyAtBirth · 14/03/2022 17:41

If you agree to her staying lay down some ground rules. She doesn't invite anyone to your home without prior agreement, if she wants to use the kitchen she asks first. If someone was that hostile with me I would claim my space and tell them what is acceptable or not

Hankunamatata · 14/03/2022 17:44

Have you got family you could visit for a while?

Pay for a hotel room for her?

Spannwr1971 · 14/03/2022 17:50

She sounds like a bitch, build her a kennel in the garden.

OnceuponaRainbow18 · 14/03/2022 17:53

@GabriellaMontez

It’s not 6 weeks it’s 4-6 weeks split with staying with others, so could be 2

Movingonup22 · 14/03/2022 17:59

Can you pay to put her up in a nearby Airbnb?

Or can you go and visit someone for at least some of the time she’s here??

RandomQuest · 14/03/2022 18:00

If I push it he gets annoyed and says he'll tell her not to come
Push it then.

Iputthetrampintrampoline · 14/03/2022 18:10

I would tell your dh to let her come and you will move out with lo til she goes.and let him suck on that.