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5th April 2024
08:38am BST
Becoming a mum for the first time means you'll embrace a lot of new traditions, including having a baby shower.
The popular trend may be new enough to Ireland, but it's a lovely way to mark a new chapter of your life.
A baby shower is typically thrown for mums-to-be, weeks or months before they give birth to their baby.
However, one grandmother has sparked controversy after hosting a baby shower for herself.
A mum-to-be explained to Reddit that her mother-in-law keeps referring to their baby as her own.
She said, "My mother-in-law has been referring to the baby as "her" baby this entire time. She will say things like "I can't wait for my baby to be born." "My baby is going to be so loved." This rubs me the wrong way for reasons I cannot explain, but my husband tells me to ignore her."
The mother-in-law insisted on throwing a baby shower for the mum-to-be, but wouldn't let her invite any of her friends.
She explained that the baby shower was for her friends and the mum-to-be could have a separate one with her circle.
"I asked if I could invite my friends, and she said no, that this was for her friends, and that if my friends wanted to throw me a shower they could. I reluctantly agreed."
However, things were completely different when she arrived at the in-law's house.
"At first, I thought that maybe the floral theme was just too difficult, so I rolled with it until it was time to open presents.
"Every present was some sort of circus animal. Onesies, blankets, toys - nothing on my registry. I was a little confused and even went so far to check my registry to make sure I hadn't goofed up and changed everything."
She said she was completely confused by the gifts, but tried to be gracious.
Things took a bad turn when her husband showed up towards the end of the baby shower.
He instantly questioned everything and that's when his mother admitted the baby shower was actually for her.
"She smiled and said, "I didn't like the theme you chose for my baby. I'm going to decorate my baby's nursery at my house with circus animals, so I created a registry for myself."
The couple were understandably furious by her actions, but many family members said they were selfish for calling her out.
Fellow Reddit users said she was acting incredibly unfair and that she was also being too controlling.
The mum-to-be added, "I lost my composure and told her that she would not see MY baby and to stop calling the baby hers.
"My husband told his mom that she's delusional if she thinks we're going to allow this. She started crying and said we are just withholding her baby from her."
Do you think the mother-in-law was in the wrong?
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