Loving gran or monster-in-law? New mum fed up with MIL’s over-the-top antics

Becoming a mother for the first time is life-changing, and while it’s unlikely to ever be beaten as a key moment in a woman’s life, becoming a grandmother is a huge milestone too. It can spark a lot of excitement within the family, as new grandparents clamour to spend as much time as possible with their new grandchild.

But a new mother has sparked an online debate after saying she was sick of her mother-in-law calling up every night to see her eight-week-old baby daughter. “Me and my OH [other half] had a baby girl eight weeks ago and because of the coronavirus his parents haven’t seen her since she was two weeks old,” the mother explained on the hugely popular online chat forum Mumsnet.

“I completely understand that it’s a shit situation but they FaceTime us to see the baby every single night! I’m beginning to get really annoyed with the constant FaceTiming, but my OH gets really angry and defensive when I ask if we can have a few nights out!”

The mother said that every time they call up “they always make judgemental comments about me and my parenting skills”. She added that she’s never really got on with her partners’ family and his sister bullied her for three years.

“The day I had our DD [darling daughter] within two hours of her being born my OH had already invited them to the hospital to meet the baby when I asked him not to as I wanted to save the moment at becoming a first-time parent and spend it bonding as a family!” she added, explaining her mother-in-law marched in and took the baby out of her arms as soon as she walked in.

Perhaps not surprisingly the post was met with much outrage from other forum users, with one writing: “Not unreasonable at all. I’d start ignoring the facetime calls.”

Another commented: “I agree with the others, your husband can do the facetime calls if he wants them so much. You could go and have a meal or a shower in peace while he does it. Moving forward he needs to have your back and not let them get away with bullying you.”

While a third said her mother-in-law acted very similar when she had her first baby, writing: “Your MIL sounds like a nightmare. Mine was very similar when I had my first baby. Very OTT [over the top] and intrusive. Made several comments on how I should do things differently, constantly turning up unannounced with her friends and generally acting like the baby was hers and as if I was some sort of carer! Nut jobs.”