Have you ever had friction with your mother-in-law?
If so, you’re not alone. In fact, there’s a thriving Reddit community for people in your position: r/JUSTNOMIL , which has 1.8 million active subscribers.
One woman’s post on this subreddit detailed a story where she excitedly shared the news of her pregnancy on social media.
Seems fine, right? Not if you ask her mother-in-law.
“I forgot the part where I needed permission to post on social media about my own child.”
So begins the mom-to-be’s post .
In short, she’s 17 weeks pregnant and found out, via gender reveal, that she’s having a boy. She shared the happy news with close friends and family.
She then posted a pic of a blue onesie on social media.
“Within the first minute of it being up, my partner said he hadn’t told everyone yet so I asked him if he wanted me to take it down. He said no.”
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“Que to his mum messaging me saying her family shouldn’t have to find out through social media.”
“Now she’s messaging me telling me that my poor [husband] is stressed about work tomorrow so I should’ve waited.”
So apparently, there are rules now.
The mom-to-be is pretty upset about this, stating that she should be able to announce news of her baby how she wants to.
There’s also some frustration with her hubby for not telling his side of the family, and inadvertently causing this whole mess.
“It’s your moment to be excited. Take it and enjoy it. Don’t let her ruin it.”
“If she keeps up the madness I’d put her on an info diet or blackout but that can be more stress than it’s worth. My sister gets all of her information from my mom when I’m pregnant because she cannot help but pick a fight with me,” wrote one commenter.
While that sounds like a weird reaction, that commenter explained what the sister did last time.
As she said, “Nobody has time for that mess. With my first pregnancy announcement she decided to tell me she might be pregnant too… and it was all a made up story. People get strange with announcements about babies.”
Not everything needs a phone call.
Numerous commenters pointed out that one of the functions of social media is to share news like this.
“My MIL called us today to tell us that my BIL’s dog had passed away in the night, ‘so we didn’t have to find out on FB.’ I’ve met the dog twice. Yes, it is sad for them but it wasn’t phone call worthy either,” wrote one.
Congrats to the mom-to-be!
“Tell her your husband was fine with it. And if she has an issue she should call her son, not you. Set those boundaries right now. Because if you don’t she will be so much worse when the baby comes,” wrote a commenter, who added, “Oh and congrats!!!!”
What do you think?
Comments were overwhelmingly sympathetic, which perhaps isn’t too surprising for a forum dedicated to difficult in-laws.
Do you agree with the mom-to-be, or is there merit to what her MIL is saying? Let us know your thoughts and share your stories in the comments section!
