We've all heard our share of overbearing mother-in-law stories, but one woman's recent Reddit post might just take the cake. In it, the new mom says she was absolutely dumbfounded when she woke up in the hospital shortly after giving birth — only to discover that her MIL had attempted to change her daughter's middle name while she was sound asleep.
The story was first shared back in January by u/lovelyantoniaxo
But apparently, it's still making waves in the popular subreddit community, r/AITAH.
The cringey tale comes from a 26-year-old new mom who says she married her college sweetheart just over two years ago and recently gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in October 2022.
In the months leading up to the birth, the entire family was excited
Sadly, though, the OP (original poster) was not able to celebrate with her own parents who died in a car accident when she was just 15 years old.
After their passing, her grandparents raised her, and ever since meeting her now-husband, his family has been a great surrogate family to her, as well.
As for her mother-in-law? That's always been been a pretty great relationship until recently.
"She was there for me through my ENTIRE pregnancy," the OP explained. "It was going to be her first and only grandkid because my BIL and SIL doesn't want any kids, and me and my husband only want 1 kid."
So naturally, the grandma-to-be was super excited.
During the pregnancy, the subject of baby names came up a few times
And each time, the OP was pretty clear with her intentions.
"Ever since I was little I've said if I had a daughter she would have my Mom's middle name, and if I had a son he would have my dad's middle name," she relayed. "Surprisingly, we were having a daughter. My MIL was so excited she even helped me pick out my daughter's name (Stori Noelle James)."
Noelle, of course, was after the OP's mom, and her MIL seemed happy and excited about the name choice anytime they talked about it.
(Or so the mom-to-be thought … )
When the OP finally went into labor, her husband was right by her side
But so was her mother-in-law, who met them at the hospital since the OP wanted her there as an extra support person.
"Everything was going well until it didn't," the new mom said, explaining that she had to have an emergency C-section at the last minute when she failed to dilate as expected.
Twenty minutes later, she met her daughter who was born healthy and beautiful. But because she was feeling drained, the OP decided to rest once she was wheeled back into her hospital room. In the meantime, her husband went home to grab a few things, and her MIL agreed to stay in the hospital room and look after the baby while the new mom napped.
Unfortunately, that's when all hell broke loose
"Shortly afterward, I was awoken by one of the nurses on my team and she said, 'Sorry, to wake you but I heard you expressed concerns about changing your daughter's middle name.'"
Confused and shocked, the new mom asked the nurse what she was talking about. But before the nurse could even reply, the OP's MIL jumped in.
"Well, I just thought since I've been the one that's been here and supporting you that she should have my middle name," the mother-in-law said.
As you might expect, this didn't go over well
"I was confused and so shocked and literally couldn't get any words out so I simply said 'WHAT,'" the Reddit poster recalled.
And that's when things went from bad to worse …
"[My MIL] looked me directly in my eyes and said, 'Well, she's not even here to support you so what sense does that make?'" the new mom shared.
"I immediately started to shed tears because that really hurt me to my core to hear this," the poster went on. "My mom was the best mom anybody could ever ask for, I miss her DEARLY every single day. She would have been the best grandmother to my daughter."
"I dried my tears and looked up at her and told her to, 'Get out and don't come back, I can't believe that you would say that knowing my mother is dead.'"
From there, the family drama only continued
Her husband was just as shocked and dumbfounded by what his mother said as she was, and apologized for everything that happened. But later on, the poster's brother- and sister-in-law reached out, and it was clear they didn't agree.
According to the poster, both told her that she was wrong for kicking her MIL out of the hospital "when all she was trying to do was make me more comfortable."
Her SIL also said, "If you ever call my mother a b-tch again, you won't be alive to raise your daughter" — a statement that totally shocked the poster, since she had never used those words.
"It was clear that my MIL fabricated the story," the new mom shared, adding that her husband quickly clarified things for his brother and sister, telling them what really happened instead.
After that, both siblings immediately apologized, and the poster did her best to forgive them. She even let them come over to meet the baby a few days later, which she described as a "lovely and beautiful sight to see."
But believe it or not, this story isn't over yet
Just 30 minutes later, the OP's MIL apparently showed up at her house uninvited. This immediately rattled the OP who scooped up her baby and quickly went upstairs to avoid an altercation.
"My husband opened the door and told [his mother] that she's not allowed around our baby until my wife is comfortable," the Reddit poster shared.
But that just sparked more drama, as her MIL began to "cause a scene" on their front step.
Eventually, the MIL left but the OP says that she continued to send rude text messages and phone calls in the days and weeks that followed.
Finally, she had enough and cut off all contact with her MIL. But while most people (including her husband) have been supportive about it, one of her friends recently questioned her decision, which now has the OP second-guessing how she handled things.
In the comments, Redditors quickly calmed the OP's worries
"Umm, this woman tried to change your child’s name behind your back and when confronted replied, 'Well your mother’s dead anyway,'” one person reminded her. "And THEN tries to barge into your home against your wishes. And THEN torments you, a brand new mom, even stooping so low as to insult your mom in the process."
"This person would have to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to see my child," they concluded, telling her that she is in no way the a–hole here.
"You mean climb Mt Everest during the worst storm ever, without guides and without equipment," someone else added.
Many people couldn't believe the MIL's behavior
"MIL clearly knows no boundaries," one person wrote. "I would make it very clear that until she knows her place, stops spreading lies, and sincerely apologize for being out of line and creating the situation … [otherwise] things will remain as they are."
That said, the same person did question whether cutting her off entirely was too harsh.
"I would leave that door open as she is also the only grandmother your daughter will have," the person continued, "but she needs to be a positive influence and not a negative one."
However, many other commenters respectfully disagreed with that take.
"'That will be her only grandchild' — MIL should have thought about that before she tried to pull that BS stunt," someone else replied.
"Just because your daughter will be her only grandchild doesn't mean she's entitled to be a grandmother," one person declared. "She lost that privilege when she went behind yours and your husbands back and tried to change your daughters name, her behavior and lies since you delivered baby."
Overall, the vast majority of commenters said the poster had done the right thing
"Protect yourself and your child," one person urged. "She tried making major life decision for your child whilst you were unconscious and vulnerable she thought she could manipulate the situation to her advantage."
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