My mother-in-law stormed into the ward after I gave delivery and started ranting at me and my new baby. I couldn’t stand it any longer and resolved to do something.
My connection with my mother-in-law was not good from the start. She said out loud that she didn’t think I was “good enough” for her child. She kept telling me I was wrong about a lot of things, like how I cooked, cleaned, or even dressed.
She likes to talk about my husband’s ex-girlfriend and say, “She was a real homemaker, not you.” Sometimes she would even call my husband at work and tell him that I was “too cold” to his family.
Things got worse when I became pregnant. My mother-in-law didn’t appear happy about her future grandchild; instead, she started looking into things. She asked my husband a lot of questions and hinted that I had been pregnant by another man.
She said things to family that made them think my pregnancy was “suspicious,” and at dinners she made fun of the thought that the kid might look like the neighbor. Those words really upset me, but I didn’t say anything for the sake of my spouse and the kid I was carrying.
The day I had been waiting for finally came: I delivered birth.
Our daughter is beautiful. I was tired on the ward, but I was also really happy. For the first few hours, my husband stayed with me. Then he left for a short while to get my things. I convinced myself that things would be different and that my mother-in-law would be heartbroken when her grandchild came.
But she was there when the door opened. There was no smile, no flowers, and not even a simple “congratulations.” She started her attack right away with the opening words:
She yelled with happiness, “I knew it!” “This baby isn’t my son’s!”
I tried to say no in a calm way:
That’s a lot of trash. Look at her; she has her father’s nose.
My mother-in-law made fun of me with contempt:
A nose? Is that real? Anyone could have the same nose. You are a liar and a woman with a broken heart. You messed up our house and made my son sad!
I froze and hugged my baby close to my chest. But instead of stopping, she cried, “Look at yourself!”
even louder. Do you believe you are a mother? You don’t even look like a bride-to-be. You look dirty, oily, and have black circles under your eyes. And this—she pointed to the baby—this is a mistake that will make him lie like you!
I lost it when she made fun of my daughter. I couldn’t stop myself from doing something that I’ll always be grateful I did. I’m telling my story here, and you can determine if I was right.
Her words were like a knife. I could talk about anything else, but not my new baby. People were already making fun of her just a few hours after she was born. I felt something inside me break.
Even though I was in pain and weak from giving birth, I made myself get out of bed. I punched the button for the nurse and said, “
— Get this woman out of my room. And never allow her back in.
As soon as the door closed behind her, I called my husband right away and told him everything. I made a clear decision that day: this “grandmother” would never be in my daughter’s life.
