Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

How do I stop being jealous of my sil?

17 replies

Notsoyummymummy1 · 15/06/2013 18:44

Not sure if this is the right forum for this so apologies if not but here goes. My husband's sister is the same age as me and has a daughter a couple of months older than my dd (both age 1) - the father is her long-term partner. I feel so silly about this but I feel so envious of her and it's making me so miserable but I can't seem to stop myself.

She has got a degree and a fabulous job where they let her go back part time after having her daughter and she gets free child care from family members. Consequently she has money for clothes and nights out at least twice a month - her mother looks after her daughter all night and the following morning too if sil and her partner are hungover. I am always seeing pictures of her on Facebook on nights out with her millions of friends and all the comments people put on those photos comment on how gorgeous she is, what a great figure she has, how she should be a model etc. etc. My inlaws are always saying what a great mum she is and I'm always asked why I don't do xyz with daughter because it's what sil does.

I look at her and then I look at myself, I'm very plain, still overweight since my pregnancy (sil is size 8), I'm a stay at home mum because my employers couldn't offer me anything part time and the full time nursery fees were too expensive and I miss my job desperately although I know it was for the best as I wouldn't have felt right leaving dd with someone else. So consequently I can't afford new clothes or nights out and even if I could I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving dd overnight. Although I love my dd and love having time with her I do miss proper non child related adult conversation. My friends were pretty much all from work and they've slowly drifted off. I go to mum's clubs and some of the mums are nice but they're not true friends, they're not going to invite me out so I do feel pretty lonely most days. DH is wonderful but we seem to argue so much about stupid things (lack of money mostly) since dd was born.

I get so tired too - my dd often wakes up at night (sil's daughter never does apparantly!) and although I know I'm so blessed to be a mum and should be grateful, I can't help comparing myself to sil unfavourably and feeling down about myself and my life. Would be so grateful for some practical advice about how to deal with this and get a grip on my feelings and turn them into something positive. No judgemental comments please - I'm doing enough of that myself!! Thanks xxxx

OP posts:
Walkacrossthesand · 15/06/2013 18:50

Do your in laws offer to look after your DD while you & DH go out? She is their GC as well as her cousin, after all. And you don't mention your parents - are they around? Have you felt able to mention your feelings to DH - what's his relationship like with 'golden girl'?

headlesslambrini · 15/06/2013 18:51

I bet if you asked her, she would be jealous that you are a SAH mum. Trust me, I went back to work full time, then term time when DS went to school and I feel like I missed the whole bit. I consider myself lucky in many ways but I am so jealous of others who got to stay at home.

BobblyGussets · 15/06/2013 18:54

Poor you Op! You are just having a hard time adjusting to being a new mum and parenting a young child. It's a slog and it wasn't my favourite bit of motherhood to be honest. I missed my job and the money and status that went with it.
You don't need to beat yourself up comparing to your Sil. You PILs sound like absolute fuckers if they are comparing you openly and saying , "why don't you do it like SiL?". That's really horrible. You obviously don't get as much support from them as SIL does. You just sound like you need some TLC and some appreciation from your partner and in laws.
Please don't compare yourself to her and in this instance, stop torturing yourself with Facebook, that way madness lies.
Hope you feel better soon.

AnotherLovelyCupOfTea · 15/06/2013 19:01

oh dear, must be tough having such a comparison held up like that.

Tell your dh that you neeed to go back to work. He can shoulder half of the cost of childcare, which might make him feel inclined to ask his family members (same family members) if they could maybe help her a bit less and help you a bit!??!!

at the moment all the sacrifices for parenting are yours and everybody else around you sails onwards and upwards unaffected by parenthood. I completely understand why you feel pissed off tbh. It's not fair. The world aint fair. so often childcare is a woman's problem and in your case this has been the case. ok, your sil has escaped this cross mothers often seem to bear.

I think the only way to claw back yourself is to INSIST that you are going back to work and if that is financially problematic, it might make your dh think about things.

maybe don't say that you're jealous of his sister but say that looking at her continue her career makes it so much harder to sacrifice your own.

lowercase · 15/06/2013 19:09

Stop wasting energy thinking about what others have, and divert your resources to what you have.
You have asked for help to stop being jealous, then put down a condition ( no judgy comments )
It is a judgement of the situation that will bring a new / real perspective.
Could be that your in laws are trying to suggest things that they think will be good for you?
Stop looking at Facebook, it's hurting you and your relationships.
SIL does not have millions of friends, that's a wild exaggeration.
You say she gets free childcare from family, but you don't want to leave your DD?
So, that's dishonest of you to compare that, it is your choice.
Work out if you are comfortable with your choices, and if you are not, put your energy into changing it.
You say none of the mums will invite you out, why can't you invite them?
When I have feelings like this, I say a little mantra to myself, 'bless them - change me'
I have pointed these inconsistencies in your post to show you that you have a distorted perception of the situation.

AnotherLovelyCupOfTea · 15/06/2013 19:31

fuuuuck. lowercase. you're scary and you're good. I want you to tell me why I don't have a job. can't job hunt.

Buswanker · 15/06/2013 19:32

A friend of mine (I know it's your SIL but hope this helps anyway) always bought her children nice things, expensive clothes and went on costly days out a couple times a month. She could be a bit showyoffy and I often felt bad I could never do the same with my own children, we buy cheap or secondhand and I budget carefully. Expensive days out are for birthdays only.
However one evening after a bottle of wine she got a bit tearful and said she wished she could spend more quality time with her children like I do and be more a patient like I am and she feels guilty and buys a lot for her children for this reason
I am not patient at all I and I feel bad I don't spend time doing more with my children anyway.
The point I am trying to make is we all compare ourselves to other people and really we should not.
Maybe your SIL envies you in a way you don't realise.

Yika · 15/06/2013 19:40

Life goes in phases and things change. Your SiL may have the better situation now but who knows, in the future the tables may be turned or you may both find yourselves in more similar circumstances.

Is there anyone you know who's in a worse position than yourself? To keep some perspective, don't focus exclusively on your SiL but think about the wider context. You are surely better off than many.

And then if there are still things that you want to change in your own situation, try to think creatively about how you could approach that.

Notsoyummymummy1 · 15/06/2013 20:40

Thanks all for your kind comments.

WalkAcrossTheSand - yes my inlaws do offer to look after our dd too and they do visit us regularly. They don't favour one GC over the other - it's just that sil asks more often than we do because we don't have the money to go out. Dh gets on with his sister (as do I) but does feel like she takes advantage of their parents and does get fed up of hearing how we should be like sil. My parents are wonderfully supportive and help as much as they can - I'm very lucky. Mum works full time though and Dad had health problems so they can't provide childcare during the week.

headless lambrini - that's an interesting point, I never thought she might feel like that. She has commented on what a rush it is in the mornings and how she misses her daughter. Maybe there's no easy answer for any mum.

Bobblygussets - (love the name!) - thanks for the understanding - I guess it is about adjusting and letting go of the life you had whilst watching others seem to get theirs back. My inlaws aren't that bad, it's not done maliciously but they certainly don't appreciate that people have different parenting styles - although my fil did once have me in tears saying he couldn't understand why I don't have as many friends as sil! You're right about Facebook - it's just lots of boring people showing off, I think I need to quit it for my own sanity!

Anotherlovelycupoftea - dh earns enough to cover the bills but that's about it - his wage couldn't cover childcare as well. Sil's partner's family provide most of her childcare - my inlaws could offer me one day a week as sil gets but I wouldn't be able to find childcare for the rest of the days. I think you're right though - going back to work will probably be the best answer in the long run to get some balance back in my life. I'm probably just not SAHM material in the long term.

lowercase - you are right about needing to focus on myself not her and I'm willing to accept that my perception has become distorted although I didn't literally mean sil has millions of friends - it was just to illustrate that she is extremely popular! I guess the problem is that my decision never felt like a decision - I didn't want to leave dd in a nursery full time but had the option been there for part time family childcare been there and I had been able to work part time I would have jumped at the chance. My point was that on this score sil has been extremely lucky. You're right though I have to look at changing the things I'm struggling with but it's not easy.

Buswanker and Yika - your comments have been very helpful and thought provoking and remembering what you've said will really help me try to get a more positive outlook so thank you xxxx

OP posts:
Spiritedwolf · 15/06/2013 21:17

Really, don't compare yourself to your SIL, I am certain that as she's human, there's a whole bunch of stuff that she's not thri lled about in her life too. If you were happy with your life and situation, you probably wouldn't be looking at her life through rose-tinted specs. So lets forget about her for the moment and think about your life.

I'm going to pick some stuff out of your original post that you don't seem to be happy with, none of it is a judgement from me on your situation - for example I'm happy being a SAHM - I'm just reflecting back the thoughts you've expressed.

You felt that circumstances forced you to give up a job you enjoyed. You feel that you are overweight. Money is tight which means you don't have much disposable income and you've had disagreements with DH about it. You miss adult conversation and feel you've lost touch with your friends. You are feeling tired because of broken night sleep and don't feeling you are getting much family support.

On the positive side, you've become a mum to a great wee girl who you get to spend loads of time with. You aren't keen to leave her in childcare so are lucky you don't have to. You have people you are friendly with at groups. Your DH is wonderful despite the silly arguments.

It seems to me you need to review the work situation, which is at the heart of several of the things that you are unhappy about. You express resentment about losing the old job because it wasn't your plan, what you would have choosen. But you also have recognised some of the benefits of being at home with DD instead of having her in childcare.

You have a few choices here theoretically. 1. You can work fulltime and have DD looked after full time by someone else (Nursery/Childminder/Family/DH) 2. You can work part time and have DD looked after part time. 3. You can work part time hours mainly around your DH's work hours so that there is minimal need for external childcare - this could be from home or out of the home. 4. You could be a SAHM and find other ways to fulfill the social needs that work used to.

What would you choose ideally? Then figure out if there is a way of managing the household income around it. (All the cc cost don't need to come out of your salary)

I suppose I'm wondering - given your reluctance to leave DD - whether actually being a SAHM is actually the best choice for you (if you could get a couple of evenings out a month with adult company) but you are so caught up with the fact that it wasn't the plan, that you were forced into it by circumstances and wouldn't have choosen it before DD that you can't see that you've changed since DD arrived and being a SAHM suits you?

If not, and you are desperate to regain a professional life again, then you have to accept that someone else will need to look after DD whilst you are working! SIL doesn't get the time at home with her DD that you do. You have spent so much effort at looking at what she has that you've assumed that she has it all on top of what you've got rather than recognising that you have things she doesn't. You can see if other employeers could do part-time hours, or higher pay than your last job. Maybe DH would like to have some more time with DD and both work part time?

I can't believe you are jealous of SIL's hangovers... Hmm it seems like she hasn't really grown up. But if you want baby-free nights out, then you have a DH to look after DD don't you? You could get back in touch with your old workmates and ask if you can tag-along on their next night out, or organise your own. You could ask your mummy friends if any of them fancy a night out. You don't have to wait for someone else to come up with the idea. Other ideas - evening classes to learn something you've always wanted to.

As for your weight. Are you eating healthily, getting some exercise? How about doing an evening class at your local sports center after DH is home so that you can have adult company and exercise. Or if that's too pricey, then see if anyone locally (mumfriends, through MN or FB, etc) wants to do Couch to 5k with you, or even just start with a walk yourself.

In terms of tiredness, make sure DH is doing his fair share with DD - its easy if you are at home in the day to end up being the default parent in the evenings and weekends too, but this should be shared between you.

In terms of money - besides looking at the work situation - have you and DH sat down and looked at all your income and outgoings, made sure there aren't savings to be made (utility bills, unused subscriptions etc) and made sure that you both have equal disposable income? Would you consider doing something freelance/self-employed from home in the evenings? Something like selling books/beauty products/er... adult toys Grin etc through parties could give you a bit of cash and some grown-up company.

My main point is to concentrate on your own life not your SILs - otherwise you'll just get bitter and begin comparing your DDs (as you have already done with sleep) which is unfair on them. I suspect that she has not/will not always have a kid who sleeps through the night but even if she does she might find other aspects of parenting tricky - toilet training, tantrums etc.

I really doubt her life is perfect, I imagine that maintaining the great job, partying, slim figure, perfect mother in the eyes of her parents act etc takes a lot of work and stress to achieve.

As for money, anytime I'm in danger of being jealous of the way others spend their money, I remind myself that I don't see their credit card statements or what they are missing out on to achieve it.

Concentrate on creating a life that makes you happy, I doubt its identical to your SIL.

BerylStreep · 15/06/2013 21:28

One of the most stressful aspects of when my dc were small was getting decent childcare. We went through the mill with disappearing nannies, hateful day nurseries, and paying ££££

My PIL looked after my SIL's dc, and it would piss me off to hear them moaning about how exhausted they were looking after poor X's dc, when we really really needed a bit of help and it wasn't forthcoming. On reflection, it would have been lovely to have spent time at home with the dc.

Honestly, it gets better once they are a bit bigger. Could you look at getting a different pt job to give you another outlet?

Spiritedwolf · 15/06/2013 21:34

My Dsis and BIL used a mixture of family, part-time hours and a childminder because full time nursery was too expensive.

You've got the offer of one day from PIL, that's a start and if you were just working part time hours to begin with then you'd just have to find a childminder to do a day or two.

Spiritedwolf · 15/06/2013 21:36

Taking a more long term view, aren't there 15 hours or so free from age 3? A combination of these and your PIL might be enough to have decent part-time hours.

PoppyWearer · 15/06/2013 21:38

No advice, just sympathy, I get the constant comparisons with SIL from PILs and it drives me insane.

I have developed a thicker hide with DC2 and recognise that SIL has made many parenting choices that have made life easier for her (strict routine, controlled crying) that I just could not have done and would not have made me happy. Likewise DH and I chose to pay for childcare whilst I remained a SAHM and cannot afford the nights out and exotic holidays she enjoys because she gets free childcare from her DPs.

We all make our own choices and have to live with them. Try to get some distance and work out what really matters to you, and then change it for yourself, not for what your PILs think.

Good luck.

ubik · 15/06/2013 21:51

Op

If you want to feel better my SIL is immensely successful she is stunning and has 3 houses. She flies off to exotic places fir filming, is really good at her job and has a husband who looks after their daughter while she is away.

I have 3DC, am rather average in most respects, we are frequently skint , live in an ancient flat which has mice, can't afford to do it up.

But I am not jealous of SIL because what's the point of that? It's not going to change my life, only I can change that.

The childcare thing would piss me off though - you bedcovers to start asking fir some babysitting so you can go out. Also is there anything you have always wanted to try? Do you have any interests?

Forget about your SIL - focus on your life.

jessjessjess · 16/06/2013 01:17

It must be very hard to see that - but it's a mistake to compare your insides with other people's outsides, as it were. She may not have what you perceive to be your problems but she will have some of her own.

What about trying to bond more with your SIL?

Notsoyummymummy1 · 17/06/2013 21:59

Thanks all especially spirited wolf - you should be a therapist! Thanks for taking the time to give such a full reply

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page