A seven-month-pregnant Reddit user shared her frustration over her mother-in-law pressuring her to make decisions about her unborn baby's breastfeeding routine. She also described her sister's experience, in which her mother-in-law insisted that she arrange an ear-piercing ceremony for her baby despite her objections. The post, shared on Nov. 11, drew 34 comments as of publication.
The woman began her post by writing that she was seven months pregnant and already tired of having to defend decisions about her baby before the child was even born. Recalling a discussion with her mother-in-law, she said the older woman brought up her husband's cousin, who was still breastfeeding her 2-year-old.
The woman added that her mother-in-law told her to rest so that her bleeding would not start and her milk supply would last for two years. She said she planned to return to work and, if it worked for both her and the baby, continue breastfeeding once or twice a day after six months. “I don’t even know what things will look like once my baby is here. Why am I already being compared to someone else and told how long I should breastfeed?”
She then described a disagreement her sister had with her own mother-in-law, who wanted the sister's baby to have an ear-piercing ceremony in a crowded place. “Her MIL insists it has to happen during the ceremony and keeps arguing about it. I feel for my sister. She said what she was comfortable with for her own baby, and somehow that became something she had to defend.”
The woman questioned why, in some families, even simple decisions about their own children seemed to require everyone's approval. She concluded by writing, “The exhausting part is having to explain yourself over and over when you’ve already made it clear what you’re comfortable with.”
One commenter wrote, “Stop explaining. Stop engaging. Seriously. Your MIL doesnt have any say in what you do with your baby. I would stop sharing information with her in regards to how you want to do things. Your husband should tell his mother to stop offering advice. When she doesnt stop, he says "mom, I asked you to stop offering advice and here you are offering advice, so we are leaving." And you get up and leave.”
Another commenter wrote, “I’m Indian and I don’t give a f--- I give my husband a chance to say something and if he doesn’t I shut them down. Given that my in laws never really poke a nose in our business, I think experience can differ based on what kind of family you’re married into.” A third user wrote, “Tell your PARTNER to tell his mommy to mind her own business - she is not a third person in your relationship and she is not a third parent to your child. It is his responsibility to handle his side of the family. Let him know that if he does not do so, immediately, you will, and he probably will not like the way you do it.”
The Daily Dot could not independently verify the claims in the post. The commenters’ identities have not been confirmed.
