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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To want my sister to have her own bloody baby?!!! Sorry its a long one.

92 replies

lauraloola · 23/09/2008 15:39

Ok, before I write this I want you all to know that I am not a ungrateful cow although it does sound like I am....

My sister has a very good job and earns alot of money. She is older then me and is getting married in April. Her dp really wants kids at some point but my sister is not keen - The thought of her going through pregnancy let alone labour is v.scary - She is not good with pain, crying children etc!

Anyway. My dd is now 3mo and my sister is spoiling her rotten. She buys her something every week and has gone mad with Christmas presents for her even though she knows I am going to do a list so our house isnt full of massive toys.

My dp and I do not earn much money, rent a small house already too full and are only buying dd a few things for Christmas - She will be 6mo!

It really feels as though my sister is buying as if its for her own lo. She buys her things to her taste and keeps saying 'im going to buy her this....' The latest on her list is a book case - I have told her several times that we dont have space (We honestly dont) but she says 'well you will move one day for now it can go behind her bedroom door'

What would you do? Get one with it and accept the gifts? Am I being an ungrateful cow?

OP posts:
LavenderTea · 24/09/2008 12:22

Bookcase today , and two thousands books by the end of the year......ALL of HER choice.
Eeek Tricky one... I think she has bossy big sister syndrome too, and a little bit of need to feed her own broodiness.
It will probably wear off when she gets married and has her own baby. And I am sure she will-the complaining about pain etc will just be an avoidance thing, but my bet would be she will get pregnant on honeymoon.

Lemontart · 24/09/2008 12:31

Not easy at all. There could be more to this though.
My sister played the doting aunt - well off, no kids, no plans for kids, and lavished toys endlessly on mine. Very frustrating and I was a bit envious that she would give them bigger and better toys than we ever did/could afford at Christmas/birthdays/ She always went one better. I found it so frustrating and never challenged her as she was the "perfect aunt". Years on, she is now married with two children finally. Now I understand that all her "no kids for me, no pain etc" was all a huge act. She and her partner tried for nearly 8 years before she conceived and all that time she told nobody. She admitted last Christmas (when I told her we had to agree on a budget per child and stick to it) that she did it to spite me out of jealousy and also that if she could not "provide the family with grandchildren" then she would play the ultimate Aunt role instead. All about control and needing to be the best. Amazing how we went from still acting on the childhood rival siblings to adult sisters all though shared experience of parenthood.
Might not be this in your case but taught me not to judge so quickly. I thought I knew her well but was well off the mark to my shame.

ChopsTheDuck · 24/09/2008 12:47

I really feel for you, I know exactly what you mean!

We have dts. My dp's brother lives with their aunt and gran. His bro and aunt have no children of their own. The three of them are reasonably well off and totally spoil the boys.

Most of their clothes are bought by them, and they don't do returns, so I end up having to use it. Some of the things I really have disliked, such as camoflage styles. They buy shoes that haven't been properly fitted or are unsuitable. Most of it is top designer clothing, that I couldnt afford. Often it is really lovely, though I couldnt jsutify the price tags.

They buy massive toys that we don't have the space for. (we have a three bed house, and the three boys share a room). Often they are toys that are too old for them and jsut end up broken. They bought a new car seat last week because ours was squeaking. They bought blankets, their first weaning set. A wooden playhouse for the garden, their first trikes.

They went to India in the spring, brought back 7 indian suits each for them, which they still havent worn one of. (They wanted to take the boys with them, but I put my foot down).

They paid for us all to go to florida for a fortnight, so they could take the boys to see mickey mouse. They took hundreds of dollars to spend on clothes and toys for them, they bought pretty much anything they pointed at. They took them on the first trip to the cinema, and their first time bowling. They even offered to pay for preschooling.

I do feel that they are too involved and take over too much and I resent it when they take things away from us that we should be doing, especially 'firsts'.

Talking to them gets us nowhere. We once sold some new bits on ebay and they werent happy, but it didnt stop them neither!

I really have given up now, and I am grateful for a lot of what they do, so I have to take the bad with the good. It means the boys do get things and experiences that we could never afford. I do try to get dp to make suggestions now, to try to influence what they do buy, but it is mostly out of my control. Some stuff just ends up in the back of cupboards until it's outgrown and then it ends up on ebay.

ours rarely do the babysitting any more neither, not once they got to toddler and answering back stage. They just want the fun parts.

There jsut isn't really anything you can do in this kind of situation. You can't confront somebody about buying too many presents without totally pissing them off! I do sympathise with you totally. About the spoiling though, they do tend to learn taht it is coming from one direction. Mine tend to ask auntie when they want something new! They know I won't buy everything they set their eyes on. They do play up more around them, because they do spoil them, but away from them they are generally ok and don't expect it from us. As long as you reinforce your values in your home, your dd will be fine.

sagecat · 24/09/2008 12:49

lauraloola, it's a difficult situation you are in. I feel for you most over the things like xmas stocking and outfit. Since you appear to have told her clearly that you do not want her to get these for your DD then IMO I would simply hand them back to her if she does give them - I wouldn't bother giving them to charity or ebaying them - try to strike the message home but simply saying sorry you cannot accept and you have already explained why. Ground rules are essential in this kind of situation - not telling people what to buy - but as in not letting anyone take away those special times with your new DD.

Best of luck

Sparks · 24/09/2008 12:57

I agree with sagecat - you need to set some boundaries, but it's not going to be easy.

It seems to me you are doing a lot so as not to upset HER, but she does not care one bit about how she is upsetting YOU.

LadyIsabella · 24/09/2008 13:00

Hi LauraLoola, I share your pain! My younger sister is exactly the same, buying large presents for my DS's, trying to take over etc. However, DS1 is now nearly 4 and she hasn't grown out of it so I would suggest firmly telling how you are feeling but avoid what I have done, which is having a massive row and breaking all contact. I am hoping at some point we can reconcile, but at the moment it seems easier not to speak to or see her.

Dominion · 24/09/2008 13:01

I was like your sister, to a degree. I loved buying things for my niece. From beautiful clothes, to expensive toys. I did not have my own child at that time. I adored my niece. I would buy nice things in blue, that my sister never put on her daugther because she did not like blue, so I stopped that. I finally stopped buying ott presents for my niece when my sister requested I get her 5 year old dd £400 professional camera, as she liked taking photos. (This was before digital).

You could try preempt this ott present giving by demand something really expensive, and that way you will get to purchase the presents you want to spend your money on yourself.

On the other hand.

But, yabu, because when the child is so small, they dont know who buys what. They just have their needs met. So in essence your sister is helping you out. You could LET her get all these things, while you save your money for something else you need.

lauraloola · 24/09/2008 14:29

Thanks everyone. I honestly thought that when I wrote this post I would get everyone telling me that I am being v.unreasonable. Its good to know that I am not alone and there are some really good tips here.

I like the one about just giving things back to her. I have asked her several times not to a stocking but I am guessing she has bought one.

She is on half term soon from school and we are shopping for wedding things. She is also going to get dd's Christmas pressie - I will be choosing it. She has told me to leave dd with my mum so it is about buying and not about dd at the moment.

I think my best plan of action at the moment will be to speak to her dp. I get on well with him and I think he might say something to her. My mum wont as she thinks I am being ungrateful. My dad may back me up. But at the end of the day I dont think she will stop until she has her own - I keep telling her to so that she can buy for them!

I am worried about her taking away the firsts. She wants to take her swimming and has bought her 2 swimming costumes and nappies. My dp wants to do this with dd so that they have a hobby together that they can do when she is older. Ahhhhhhh! Maybe we should just move to Australia - Problem solved!!!

OP posts:
justaboutisverydull · 24/09/2008 14:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cheesesarnie · 24/09/2008 14:48

yabu and ungrateful.what if she cant have children.what if you saying all this makes her so upset she doesnt want contact with your dc.is that ok?

cheesesarnie · 24/09/2008 14:49

i think she sounds like perfect auntie btw

Scotia · 24/09/2008 15:06

I wouldn't get my knickers in a twist over the stocking thing. My mum does one for my ds - Santa leaves one here and one at granny's house for him. I don't think it's a big deal really, and he loves it. He wouldn't notice one being 'better' than the other, and he'll be nearly 5 at Christmas, so I'm sure your baby won't care eiter way.

I do think she's being OTT with all the weekly gifts though, and would be annoyed about things like the bookcase if she knows you have no room for it. You could try telling her to keep it at her house for when you visit. Same with the moses baket - tell her you're finished with it and she can keep it in her loft for when she has her own babies, or she can sell it or pass it on to someone else.

Your baby is still very young, maybe the novelty of being a new auntie will wear off a bit soon and the extravagant gifts wil tail off. Fingers crossed

thebecster · 24/09/2008 16:29

YANBU. If someone bought us more furniture, it would go in a skip (we are in very tiny flat and don't have a single inch of wall that doesn't have furniture crammed up against it already). I'd def start storing stuff at her house like Scotia says.

And not sure your lo will want to be away from you at age 4 to go abroad to Disneyland with her aunt...

Sweet that she's bothered, but she needs educating on how to be bothered in a helpful way!

nomoremagnolia · 25/09/2008 09:19

Lemontart - your sister (as she was, not is now) is exactly who I'm scared of turning into I have no nieces or nephews (yet) but I do dote on my godson a lot! It's not about flaunting money (I wish I had enough to flaunt) but I have recently decided to revel in all the things non-parents can enjoy like lie-ins and going out on impulse for dinner/cinema with DH and I do take some light relief in the jealous looks/responses from those with DC. Though I have to say it doesn't make the childlessness any easier really as I'd give up all of it in an flash.
Do talk to her honestly about the gifts but give her a chance to talk to you too.

Ally90 · 25/09/2008 09:45

YANBU

She is not respecting your wishes, I would say its not so much generosity but she is fulfilling her own needs ie buying things she likes. Bet she likes to shop?

zazen · 25/09/2008 11:01

Well I think that your sister isn't actually respectful of your boundaries... and maybe the reason for this is that you haven't told her what the boundaries are?

I know that relationships are organic and they change with time, but I think you need a sit down with your sister for a talk and listen session (if you have time!!)

I think your sister is wrapped up in her own life and only sees you and your child in her own terms -you don't exist apart from her idea of you.
Her saying that you should leave your DD behind with your Mum so that you can shop uninterrupted "it is about buying and not about dd at the moment." is very telling

as it neatly sums up her life at the moment doesn't it?

It's not about your DD it's about buying..

I would ask her straight out, but kindly at her birthday party in full view and hearing of everyone if she has a buying compulsion- a shopping addiction, as she seems to buy buy buy without even considering any of the people involved. Ask her kindly what she's getting out of buying you completely impractical and unsuitable presents even though you've told her not to.

And ask her why is she so scared of childbirth, being selfless, not having sleep, not being in control? Ask her why she's letting it limit her life? There are plenty of ways of getting over a phobia, or out of a mental rut.
I think it would be a shame if she didn't have kids just because of fear of losing control.

I'm not saying that kids are there to just fill up a hole in your life, and that's a good enough reason to have them, but it is sad that she seems to have this emptiness inside, she's filling with shopping bags.

Perhaps she doesn't realise that she's lost the plot, and is acting out of fear and loneliness. To kindly 'out' her with family there will highlight that she she has a problem to everyone who can and will help her.

She sounds like she has huge issues with control, and is terrified of not being good enough - and she has found some relief with a shopping addiction.

Be kind. And be kind to yourself. Big flashy presents are soon forgotten by little people who need to be held every day and every night by their loving mummy and daddy who is there for them through thick and thin. You are doing a wonderful job by being there for your LO, and no-one can take that love and bond away from you. You are your DDs darling mummy. Your partner is her darling daddy.

I do think your sister has a problem though. Try and winkle it out of her - in the long term the more family you have to support and be supported by, the better it is for everyone.

Good luck, and try not to take the presents seriously, or feel undermined by them - I think they are a symptom of a larger issue at work with your darling sister.

Circus · 25/09/2008 15:03

As others have said, there are clearly some reasons behind what your sister is doing, unrelated to how she wants to treat your daughter. I imagine these are unlikely to be easily brought to the surface and resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

I would suggest you try not to think of what your sister is doing as taking over 'firsts' you wanted to do yourself. All she is doing is shopping. You and your DP are experiencing all the important firsts with your DD - first smile, first chuckle, first rolling over etc. I have some sympathy with your feelings about the Christmas stocking - but clearly it won't affect your DD one way or another. At 6 months she's hardly going to notice that she's got presents, let alone have a view about which ones are better and who bought them . As we all know, the important things in life are not bought and sold.

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