What to Know
As if dealing with the period of time between giving birth and learning how to care for a newborn isn’t hard enough, having unhelpful in-laws and an equally unhelpful husband can feel ten times more overwhelming. So when a TikTok user, Camille, shared in some of the worst ways her in-laws failed to help her postpartum, she was met with supportive comments and advice on what to do next.
Spoiler alert: everyone wants Camille to find a new husband and, by extension, new in-laws. Because not only did her in-laws visit and make things harder for the mom postpartum, but her husband didn’t make anything easier on her himself. Was it his parents present that made things worse for the couple? Sometimes tells me his actions, or lack thereof, are all on him.
Her husband isn’t helping her postpartum either.
@camille.webster Forgot to mention, in the afternoon my MIL and husband lie down outside in the sun for the duration of the toddler’s nap (2-3 hrs) while I clean the house and take care of the newborn. That’s where she is right now. Seriously what would you do in this situation?? #aita #inlaws #holidaydrama #postpartum ♬ original sound – Camille 🌙
In her first video about her in-laws postpartum, Camille says that she is two weeks postpartum and she already has a 21-month-old at home. Since the video was made over the holidays, she explains that her in-laws are in town for the holidays from out of the country. She explains that the original reason her in-laws came was to allegedly help her and her husband with their new baby. But, she admits, no one is actually helping her, but instead using her requests for help against her.
Camille says that she needed extra sleep in the morning from getting up alone multiple times with her newborn. When she attempted to sleep in and have her in-laws care for her toddler, they failed to properly take care of him and let her get her sleep. You know, like a mom who is two weeks postpartum absolutely needs. Instead of keeping the toddler in the living roo,, Camille says that her in-laws allowed him to repeatedly go to her room and talk to her.
Later, Camille’s husband sent her nasty texts about not paying enough attention to her toddler son. She says her mother-in-law also “yelled” at her for sleeping in until 9:30 a.m. Ma’am, you are a literal guest in this house, but OK. Camille also says that her in-laws arrived with the intention of helping with the kids, but their early morning gym routine was not to be interrupted.
“I mean, maybe I’m being crazy and I’m just expecting too much from them since they’re not my parents,” she says in the video. “But, like, if they’re here to be helpful, then why are they yelling at me?”
Now, people want the new mom to leave her husband too.
@camille.webster Replying to @Verity graf ♬ original sound – Camille 🌙
Camille posted an update to thank people for supporting her, and she shared what happened on Christmas after the Christmas Eve debacle. On Christmas morning, she slept until 7 a.m., at which point her husband demanded that she get up for Christmas. However, according to Camille, she was under the impression that the English tradition, with the family at least, was to open gifts later in the day. By the time she went downstairs shortly after this, her son had already opened gifts without her.
She says she confronted her in-laws and got into an argument with her mother-in-law, who made it “all about her” for most of the day. Camille also says that her husband wanted her to apologize to his mother and he tried to “pacify” everyone, but, she admits, things are “not looking good.”
Under her update, people commented to urge Camille to slowly and quietly put plans into motion to leave her husband. Many believe that his behavior with her postpartum and with his parents is indicative of larger issues between them.
“No one can convince me this isn’t emotional and psychological abuse,” someone commented.
Another user wrote, “Girl, I’m gonna hold your hand while I say this…Once you’ve seen the masks drop, you can’t unsee them. You’ll notice more and more negative patterns. I hope you choose you at every turn.”
