Mum fuming over ‘overbearing’ mum-in-law’s nickname for newborn

Other mums were quick to tell her she needed to grow up.

A mum was left fuming over her "overbearing" mother-in-law's nickname for her newborn  - and turned to the internet for advice. The woman took to Mumsnet to ask if she was unreasonable for being upset whenever her husband's mother would refer to their newborn as "my baby". But she didn't quite expect the answer she received. Many commenters insisted that the woman was delighted to be a grandmother and  it was simply an affectionate nickname...and that the original poster may be overreacting. The woman's post began:

"My mother-in-law was an only child so she's used to getting what she wants and this has carried on throughout her adult life. "She has two children and was quite a strict parent. She and my husband's dad got divorced about 10 years ago when the kids are all grown up. "She's living quite a luxurious lifestyle travelling about a lot but gets annoyed when my husband doesn't ring on at least three times a week to say hi. "When we got married my husband made a point of living in the same area as her so she wouldn't get lonely....... "Anyway me and her son got married a couple of years ago and we now have a baby. And she constantly refers to my baby as our baby. "This annoyed me a bit as I grew up with a lot of children and it's my first baby so it's a big deal for me! "Yes she is the grandmother and it's her family too so I brushed the our bits off thinking I was being silly.... "But am I being unreasonable to get annoyed when she starts saying "my baby my baby" when she's talking about... well my baby not hers?"

Some people were quick to point out that "saying 'my baby' doesn't necessarily mean she thinks your child is hers", while others told the mum that it wasn't something worth losing sleep over. One person said:

"Saying 'my baby!' doesn't necessarily mean she thinks your child is hers. "Me calling my nephew 'my little sausage' doesn't mean that I think he's a) mine, or b) a sausage."

Someone else wrote:

"It's annoying but doesn't actually do any harm. She sees me as 'hers' and they are an extension of me so basically hers too."

Another person added:

"Think you're being over sensitive. I call my niece 'my baby' but I don't genuinely believe she is mine, I'm not considering laying any claim to her, and I'm not disputing she is in fact my sister's."