Reddit comes together to warn a mother about the toxic behavior she’s experiencing from her mother-in-law and husband. The mother, who gave birth to her son five weeks ago, shared on the forum that her MIL has been camping in the living room since then: inviting people, with the room being messy and not helping newborn. The only contribution she makes is cooking dinner.
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“I didn’t say anything because if I opened my mouth my husband would start scolding me and say his mom is there to help and I should be grateful,” the Reddit user wrote. “I ignored her and focused on my son.”
One evening the new mother was in her room breastfeeding. Her MIL and husband were having dinner and she thought they had set aside a plate for her. “When I was done with my son, I walked out of the room and saw my husband and his mother watching TV,” she wrote. “I asked about dinner and my husband said it was ‘probably’ on the stove. As I walked towards the kitchen, his mother loudly said she didn’t save any food for me.”
When the Reddit user asked why, her MIL replied that she thought she wasn’t hungry. “I lost it and screamed that I was feeding my son. OF COURSE I was hungry, I was actually starving! She shrugged and said it wasn’t her fault I didn’t ‘show up for dinner’ but she knew damn well I was with my son and hadn’t eaten in hours!”
Her husband responded by asking her not to raise her voice to his mother. Then the two bonded with the Reddit user, which resulted in her going to her room, packing a small bag for herself and her son, and heading to her mom’s house. At the door, her husband berated her, saying she was “childish” and should be thankful her MIL is there.
“He said I should be ashamed to talk about her like that after she literally put her life on hiatus so she could help ME.” He later texted her called her “crazy” and told her to go home come. She declined. “He lost it and his family has accused me of keeping his son away from him and punishing him for ‘eating’.”
Reddit rallied around this new mom and offered some firm advice on what to do next. “I seriously think it’s time to consider a divorce,” one person wrote. “You can’t say anything about his mother staying there – huge red flag. It’s your house as much as his.” Another added, “NTA, but think twice about staying with someone who always puts their mom before you AND their kid.”
Many, many people pointed out the many red flags being waved here, both on the part of the man and the MIL. “His mother is beyond reprehensible. she is a mother She knows exactly what you’re going through and she’s still cruel. If you starve yourself, her grandchild will starve, but she’s too busy being a bully to you to think about it.”
Many people also reiterated how important this mom’s food intake is — and how reckless it was of the duo to ignore her needs. “NTA, for all the reasons your husband is married to his mother, MIL not helping you, etc., but you also need to be properly nourished to be able to produce enough breast milk and food for your son,” one noted. “By not making sure you’re fed, they’re also affecting how well your son is fed, and that makes things a lot worse.”
What do you think this Reddit user should be doing?
A birth is different than in the movies, as these beautiful photos show.
