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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

Mother in-law disaster

43 replies

Firsttimewinner · 17/03/2019 20:22

Hi everyone...

So... here goes... we've been staying with DH parents... they said that they have a second home that is my DH inheritance... so reluctantly... I moved in on the promise that as soon as it got too much we could go... that didn't happen... even when I was I months pregnant and crying saying I will not cope with them and a baby, they won't leave me alone...

He is no longer having the house... we will be renting from them (so it's put us backwards another 2 years rather than helping as we moved in thinking we would be in the property ladder! That was agreed)

Anyway... I feel resentful that I have spent the first three months of my child's life in this house... because; they have made it about them! They expected my child to be in their living space every night for 2- 3 hours at a time... this was when D'S came home from hospital and they go moody when he wasnt... I use to sit upstairs in the bathroom crying because I didn't want him to be with them for that long every single day! They would make me feel uncomfortable when I would sit in there with them so I had to leave... when D'S would cry for food (I was breast feedimg) she wouldn't give him back... she'd walk around with her finger in his mouth laughing at his little cry and it killed me... when I eventually got him back to feed him she wouldn't leave me alone to breast feed... and then want him back after... my milk dried up and the health visitor kept saying you need to relax... how could i woth that going on? So i had to stop which killed me... but when I put my foot down and didn't let him be in there with them as he should be with his mum and dad especially at 2 fucking weeks old, she'd moan at my husband and he'd moan at me saying "ARE you going to let them see him today?" Like no... you'd rather have your wife upstairs balling her eyes out while they establish their bond with their Grandchild before we have???

Anyway... she would have her friends come round... without telling me expecting my son down there for them to view... and when I said no he's sleeping and I need to sleep as well... she walked around the house like a victim, slamming doors, moping around then when that didn't work shed get aggressive and bully her way in pushing past me and literally jumping in my seat as soon as I got up... if she had just let me know in advance that people were coming round instead of just inviting people who i don't know round (this was before my best friends have met him as wrll) I might have been a little more in agreement... but then she did it again with her other friends... and of she hadn't have been so interfering i.e. knocking on the door every 5 minutes I might be a little less anxious about leaving the room

Then when it came to choose the house, after we'd spent nearly every day going for viewings when he was 2 weeks old... they found this tiny house and when we said we didn't like it, she basically said we had no choice but to live there and called my husband a bully because he said that it wasn't what we were looking for... she was the bully that day and there after... they have not once asked how id feel raising my son there.. they just said it's a nice starter home... a nice little house for our little family... we had a home before we moved in there... rented... but was our home and no ties to any one... now we're going to be renting from his mum and dad and will be controlled through this... she makes out like she's rescued us?????? She hasn't at all... we were happy where we were making our plans to get a mortgage... fair enough it would have been hard work... and that's why my husband wanted to move in because he thought he would have his own house... then the plan changed over night and we still don't know why even now...

I hate that I have to stay in our room to spend time with my son... if I come out of there with my son, they're there taking over... I'm constantly late for things as I'm literally shoved to one side while I'm trying to get him ready... they literally stand and push me out the way and stand where I am making the bottles and I make a point in saying... I was standing yhrtr doing his bottles... and they still just stand there

When I stayed in the same room as my son with them (as it should be at that age) they started taking him into their room and shutting the door...

We move house in 2 weeks but I just can't forgive my MIL or my husband for doing this... I have had major anxiety in this house and at times struggled to bond with my son because of this...

I am not respected as a mum or his wife and I cannot forgive the time that has been lost battling to have my son, the tension for when they don't have their grandson... and to be honest I don't want her touching him after all this... I stay with him for a little while but they just look at me and make me feel that uncomfortable that I have to leave... I don't leave my baby with my own mum for any longer than a toilet break so why should it be any different just because I live in their hiuse...

I feel like I am trapped in resentment and it's just got a hell of a lot worse now I'm more confident as a mum and know that my baby wants his mum and she won't accept that and won't give him back... even when I say, he just wants a cuddle from his mum... I can literally see her skin crawl because I am his mum and he doesn't want anyone but me at that time...

We move in two weeks but all I keep thinking she's going to expect "her time" with him the night before we go, and she expects that she'll be looking after him while we move... but the way that she's treated me and her own son, she can think again! Xxx my baby is 10 weeks old... still new to the world and she needs to remember thay when she's screaming at him because he won't look at her because he's focussed on his dad and there's a crazy lady trying to get him to smile when he just wants fuvking feeding...

Far too much has gone on for me to forgive, at a crucial time and the most important time of our lives... and she has just ruined it but trying to stamp her authority over us

I am not her daughter... she is not my mum... I do not treat her with Illness... just respect... it's her house her rules, but when it comes to my son, it's my son and my rules above all else!

I guess I'm just ranting but literally I feel poorly with all this... I'm upstairs in my bedroom the whole time I'm in this house... or I'm dragging dear son out or just driving around so I don't have to go home... I go to baby groups as well but they don't last all day...

DH has been supportive but doesn't understand my emotions behind all this... he'll be happy to let them have him for 3 hours at a time but at that age? That young? Before we have our bond... no way mate and yet, despite the fact that I've cried to you about this... and you still go off and give him to them anyway... just tells me where your loyalty lies... and now we have to move into a house that they own???? Where does it end? What next? Are they going to put the rent up for not seeing them every week or whenever they want?

I will never get this time back... I have wanted children for a long long time and have never been in the position to do it... I have dreamt of becoming a mum long before I met my husband and it wasn't supposed to be like this...

How can I move on from this resentment? How can I forgive my MIL and my DH? And how can I rebuild a bond with my baby at 10 weeks old in this new house that isn't even ours... and how can I let go of the fact there is a high possibility that we will still be controlled in thay house?

Sorry for ranting... I really needed this xxx

Please be kind... I'm really really feeling it at the mo!

OP posts:
adulthumanwolf · 17/03/2019 20:27

Why didn't you just go back to private renting?

sollyfromsurrey · 17/03/2019 20:29

Out of interest, are you from an Asian family? It doesn't really matter but I just wondered for context.

gamerchick · 17/03/2019 20:30

Can you maybe pack a couple of bags, take your baby and go to your mother's for a bit?

This is your husbands problem to solve, until you have him onside and having your back this will just go on forever.

You're vulnerable and can't see the wood from the trees. I wouldn't be putting up with another night never mind 2 weeks.

Singlenotsingle · 17/03/2019 20:33

There was another thread very much like this recently. What's the matter with these grandmothers? Haven't they got a life of their own? I adore my dgc and see them 2/3 times a week, but always because their dm asks me over, and I wouldn't want to LIVE with them! Shock

ComeTheFuck0nBridget · 17/03/2019 20:35

Oh gosh, this sounds so awful you poor thing. I don't have any practical advice but just wanted to extend some sympathy and validate your feelings that this is just not on at all Thanks

Singlenotsingle · 17/03/2019 20:35

Try it out in the other house, but if you still get too much interference, you'll have to rent privately, won't you?

LLOE7 · 17/03/2019 20:37

So sorry you are being treated like this OP. Thanks

glenthebattleostrich · 17/03/2019 20:43

Can you move in with your mum for a bit? There is no way I'd be moving into a house they own. They've already shown how little they respect you, they won't respect your space when you move. It will always be their house.

If I were you I'd go stay with another relative until you find a rental. Your husband has the choice of going with you or saying goodbye to his marriage.

Foxmuffin · 17/03/2019 20:45

I think I’d decline their offer of a house, which wasn’t what it was portrayed to be anyway and find a private rental. She sounds like a control freak and will feel entitled if you’re living in “her home”.

657user · 17/03/2019 20:49

It sounds awful. Pack a bag and take your son out of there.

WhoKnewBeefStew · 17/03/2019 20:49

Leave your MIL and your dh... work out your benefits, stay with friends for a bit and then rent, just you and your dc. Fuck that! Your MIL is batshit and your dh needs to stand up to his Mum, but as you’ve said, he’s proved his loyalties lie with his dp

WhoKnewBeefStew · 17/03/2019 20:50

Oh and there’s no fucking way I’d be renting off them. Private rent

Redken24 · 17/03/2019 20:51

Seriously just pack a bag and leave.

DNMummy · 17/03/2019 21:08

Having lived with the in-laws for 4yrs, 3 of which were with 2 babies - I sympathise! I had PND with ds2, my son wasn't a good sleeper. Looking back I realised that it was because of built up resentment and differences of opinion during pregnancy that caused the stress and anxiety which I passed on to baby. NOTHING is worth putting your mental health at risk. DH was caught in the middle but I still feel that he didn't always prioritise us when he should have. When ds2 turned 6months we moved out, it was like a weight had been lifted. You are being robbed of a time which you should be revelling in joy! Like others have said if the price to pay for happiness is going back to rental accom, so be it!
Mil is an overbearing dragon who needs to be shown that she can stick her money! Call her bluff and put your foot down. If DH is only child (??) then she will have no choice but to compromise. It is a sad situation but for the sake of your own welfare manipulate your circumstances to your benefit! In laws should fix up or be given a wide berth. Wishing you well! x

bionicnemonic · 17/03/2019 21:14

If you and or your husband decide to stay in the house please consult a solicitor to make sure that all the paperwork is in order and as you expect.

lunar1 · 17/03/2019 21:20

Get yourself back into private rental. If you move into this house they will have a key!

ahtellthee · 17/03/2019 21:24

Rent privately. Life is too short for this

Cherrysoup · 17/03/2019 21:24

Will she expect to come into the house whenever she wants because she owns it? Can you stop your dh from giving her a key? Honestly, OP, I would go and live at your mum’s and tell your dh you want to rent privately and save for your own mortgage. Your mil sounds like a complete nightmare. Flowers

Firsttimewinner · 17/03/2019 22:30

I can't reply individually for some reason... or I don't know how (I'm new to this posting...) but I'm not from an Asian family...

I've literally begged to get a private rented... even when I was pregnant... at the midwife appointment... I stormed out of a few because DH would keep adding the time on to how long we were staying there in the midwife appointment...

I've said to DH if I even have a sniff of control, I will be moving and I've set that boundary for myself... it's up to him if he comes or not... but I will be going... alone or not...

I don't get on with my Mother because she's just as controlling as I left when I was 14... but we get on as long as I don't spend too much time with her...

My DH keeps saying he's sick of it and sick of the atmosphere but I'm like... you go to work... go to football... go to the gym... at least you have a fucking break... I'm here all the fucking time... if I'm not in driving around or in town or somewhere not binding with my baby... how can I bond with my baby if I'm driving around for hours or I'm out fucking shopping... even when I go to baby massage class the instructor loves a hold of my baby and I'm like is thete anywhere I can go without someone taking him from me????

It makes me so sad that I'm the only one in this family who appreciates that the bond between mother/father and child is so fucking important... I didn't have any emotional contact when I was growing up (dad was a junkie / alky and my mum was abused by him physically/emotionally/ sexually) we all were and I've had a lot of counselling and understand thay it would be difficult to raise a child with emotional warmth when you haven't experienced it yourself so it's crucial that I have this time... but I'm not going to get it back... and I resent it... really really resent it!

If I go private then that might take even more time so I just agreed to this but I have enough savings to go rented so I have a feeling that thay is going to happen... right now, I just need to get out!

OP posts:
Bookworm4 · 17/03/2019 22:37

This woman sounds crazy, who expects to take a new baby from his mum for hours on end, stops you feeding him. If I was you I'd pack myself and baby up and leave. Your DH either puts you first or you dump him. His mother sounds completely unbalanced.

jinglet · 17/03/2019 23:03

I'm so sorry OP. You sound so, so angry and frustrated and rightly so. Having just gone through it myself, I can't help but think that you might be suffering from PND- please be kind to yourself. Your baby is 10 weeks old- everything will be okay.

Aquamarine1029 · 18/03/2019 03:19

Your husband is a fucking useless mummy's boy. I assure you that will never change.

CantStopMeNow · 18/03/2019 04:11

I have enough savings to go rented so I have a feeling that thay is going to happen... right now, I just need to get out!

I don't know why people ever think it's a good idea to move in with family/in laws once they're adults and have established their own lives.
Of course there will be issues as you're basically living in a houseshare type of situations except that they have more power and control.

I would move into the 'new' house for now to get some peace from them but start looking for private rented asap.
They will use their status as landlords to try and exercise power and control over you and no doubt emotional blackmail too.
Keep a chain on your door when you're in because i bet they'll use their own key to come in whenever they please.

Once you've got your new private rented place your husband can decide whether he wants to come with you or remain under his parents thumb.

Birdie6 · 18/03/2019 04:14

You're moving into this other house in 2 weeks - that's a good start anyway. You'll have your baby to yourself then , and you can get back your space.

I know you feel that you'll never get back that time which MIL has taken from you , but from 2 weeks time you can re-establish that bond between you and your baby. Honestly, it's not the end of the world that you've missed some time with him. My DH adopted his first child at 3 months of age and his and his wife's bond was just as close as it was with their biological children. Nothing is impossible when the love is there.

Keep a little countdown in your head - 14 days, 13 days, until you move. Then you can see how life changes. You certainly need to talk straight to your husband about his mother's behaviours . Then move forward together. Best wishes to you.

MrHaroldFry · 18/03/2019 04:25

OP, I'm sorry you have been put through this. However, please consider that now is the time for new beginnings.,you can't change what has happened, but you can change your future.
It will be tricky but try to keep a reasonably cool head for two weeks and then you will be under a different roof. Your son's bond with you will be solidified and you will be able to relax much more.
Then you can make plans to move at a time that suits you and be free from family control.