MIL says baby will be ugly

[sachabloom]

Get on really well with my MIL. Always have done. In fact we're possibly closer than she is to my DH (her son)...

But this last weekend she said "I think the baby is going to be ugly" - out of no where!

No punchline, no laugh, no insinuation of a joke....

I don't feel offended but this is super weird right? My DH was really annoyed and let her know, but I was just dumbfounded!

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and/or some advice on what on earth might have been going through her head!

Funny thing is babies are designed to look like their df at birth so she is implying her own ds is an ugly fucker!!

My DHs family are quite open that some of their families babies look a bit like aliens. They definitely go duckling to swan as they have features that suit an adult more (tall, slim, pronounced cheekbones, for example). DD1 looked like that and I knew they meant she took after them, not that she was doomed to be ugly (she's not at all at 7). We would joke about her creepy long fingers or feet, didn't mean anything by it.

Is there anything like that in their family background? Otherwise you have to rehearse an answer for such comments: "why would you say such a hurtful thing?"

Just say, "lets hope he/she takes after my side of the family" and change the subject quickly.

What a strange think to say.

If she says this again I would say "yeah, you could be right here - I've always had a feeling it would look a lot like you"

How old is she op? Has she done anything else out of character of late?

If she is of the age for dementia or Alzheimer's then I would keep an eye on her. My nan who had Alzheimer's used to say inappropriate things and seemed to lose the joy in things pretty early on.

Hm you've all really given me something to think about here. My DH has mentioned several times "she never used to be like this". And as I say, I truly do believe she's not a malicious person.

I don't know how I'd mention this to him though x

Try and find out if she is forgetful of late. Is she losing weight (forgetting to eat) or is her personal hygiene being neglected. Has her home started to appear grubbier than usual. Is her writing still the same or gone a bit shaky. Sometimes these things can be slow progressing and sometimes they can come on quite fast. It can be hard for immediate family to spot.

Was your DH a particularly dodgy looking baby? Some kids take a while to grow into their features.
Still a weird thing to say out of the blue though, I agree it might be a sign of something wrong if she's not normally so insulting.