What is my MIL thinking??!

[lcl]

your mil sounds exactly like mine and i always wanted to vent this. my mil does not have a daughter so i speculate that is why she is like she is. (bought leopard print lingerie for my husband to give to me, buys clothes like hot pink sweater although i'm very conservative too and don't ask her to buy me things, also very controlling, etc)

[McQ]

My MIL doesn't have a daughter and DH is her only child so I'm right there with you. The worst thing she bought me was a 3 pack of thigh-highs. Nasty granny thigh-highs at that.

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[MKH76]

Oh, oh, me too!! I have a crazy mother-in-law too!! Who has taken it upon herself to decide that she will come spend an entire MONTH with us when I go in for my C-section in March. I know I will need the help with a 19 month old and a newborn, so I don't object too much.

My MIL called the other day to say she has mailed me a box with Christmas stockings already made up for DH, DS and me. I gently reminded her that I play Santa in my house (actually it went something like "oh, you won't believe how much I am nesting these days, I already wrapped all the Christmas presents and stuffed all the stockings, just in case anything changes with any of our schedules" Dh is a military guy, so things change rapidly around here)

Also, when DS was about 6 weeks old, we flew to Florida, where she insisted we stay in their house (she bought at pack and play, swing, stroller, highchair!!) We were getting DH christened at our home church and she asked if she could pick out his special outfit. I let her, thinking it would be nice of me. Then we flew back home when DS was 7 mos old to attend a wedding and say goodbye to everyone before heading to our current duty station (Alaska) and she decided by herself that she would get Josh an outfit for the wedding (I hadn't even planned on taking him, babies don't belong at weddings...she said she was going to watch him!!) So I compromised and said he would wear the outfit to church that weekend since he wasn't going to the wedding. Mind you, it was completely not my style. Knickers and a ruffle shirt, I kid you not, she was even looking for knee socks to go with it. (Gasp!!) Lucky for me, Josh decided to poop completely through the outfit on our way out the door. So he wore his khaki pants, white collared shirt, and blue sweater vest that I had originally picked out. Hee Hee Hee. I love my little guy.

Wow, I feel much better, so to vent on your thread, but hope you got a giggle. BTW, I get cards all the time from MIL signed by my son and it drives me crazy. I could go on all night. Maybe it's the turkey hormones mixed with the pregnancy hormones that are making me feel evil tonight!!!

[KMommie]

Whew! Boy oh boy, could our MILs be twins?! Several things sound so similar, like buying everything so she has "one of her own" at her house... and buying the sooo not your style clothes for the grandchild! MIL likes to buy these ugly clothes with gaudy embroidery for DD, not only is the inside all scratchy against DD's skin, but they are THE WORST in terms of changing diapers and getting over DD's head! I'm so glad to know I'm not alone...what would I do without venting to you guys?!

Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[starrynight]

I'm feeling very thankful for my mil right now!

Your mil sounds a little off the wall. That is just too kooky about the card.

[jesseandgrace]

I can't believe this. That is CRAZY! I thought my mother in law was bad when she held the baby and said "I wish DH was still this size so I could have him on my lap!".

[julesjlb]

Wow, reading these have made me feel better about my MIL, but I'm still kind of ticked at her. My son is 1 month old. I asked her the week after he was born if she could watch him today b/c I have a doctor's appointment. She said sure and was really excited about it. Well, at Thanksgiving she asked me if I need any babysitters in December. I said, just Wednesday when you are going to watch him. She checks the calendar and says oh i have to work 7-4 on Wed! Then she shouts to the room full of relatives, "who can babysit on Wed?" My DH's aunt (who is sooo odd) shouted oh i can. I was so mad that my MIL forgot and then that she asked this room full of people. Only my DH and I can decide who babysits as far as I'm concerned. I told my DH's aunt that I had to check on the time. I then asked my mom who said she can watch him and sent aunt an email. Now I am reluctant to ask MIL to watch my son but this will not go over well with DH. Arrgh!!

[deborah_r]

Are you going for an OB follow-up appointment? If so, you can probably bring your baby with you. At both of my follow-ups, my doctor was like "where's the baby" and "oh, no baby?", so I don't think they mind. (My son was in the waiting room with my DH both times) And my OB officially has NO bedside manner. If you have an infant carseat you could keep him in there. I think most doctors would just assume you wouldn't want to be separated from your baby at this early stage, especially if you are breastfeeding.

[julesjlb]

I actually had an appointment with my gastroenterologist. When I got there the receptionist said, "Where's the baby?" . . . LOL. He was home with my mom. Thanks for responding. I have an OB/GYN appt in Feb. and DON'T want to ask MIL and my mom will be away. I asked my sister-in-law, but if she can't do it I'll probably bring DS.

[KMommie]

Ooooh, that would make me so mad! Actually, MIL and FIL told us from the beginning that they would only babysit in case of emergency or let them know in advance and they would work their schedule around us. Well, I happen to know WAY in advance Kiki needs a sitter MONTHS from now... so I asked them---of course they don't have any plans, BUT they tell me, "You do have a back-up, don't you, just in case our plans change? Can your mother watch instead if we can't at the last minute?" Okay, MY mother WORKS full-time, you guys are retired. She loves to watch Kiki, so she TAKES A VACATION DAY every other week to watch her. It's so inconvenient for her to try and change her schedule at the last minute (she also happens to live about an hour away). Once, when Kiki was sick, my mom planned to take a day off to watch her and the night before, my MIL had the nerve to say, "Tell your mom to stay home, I'm free, I'll watch Kiki." Ummmm, my mom took the day off from work already, do you think I'm going to have her stay home, waste a day of vacation time and NOT see Kiki just because your social calendar is open???"

Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03