'Mother-in-law hijacked my gender reveal party – what she did was outrageous'
'Mother-in-law hijacked my gender reveal party – what she did was outrageous'
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A gender reveal party should be a time for new parents to celebrate the impending arrival of their baby. Not all parents have a gender reveal party, but for those who want to know whether they're having a boy or a girl, it can be a fun way to celebrate the news – as well as congratulate the parents-to-be, who should be the centre point of the event. One pregnant woman, however, didn't have that experience at her gender reveal, however, as her mother-in-law completely stole her thunder and made the happy news all about her.
The woman said her gender reveal party was "fine" until the time came for her and her husband to pop the balloon containing coloured confetti that would tell them the gender of their baby – blue for a boy, pink for a girl. When blue confetti rained down, the dad-to-be's mum "threw herself" at her son and began crying, talking about how having a grandson was the "happiest day of her life.". The mum-to-be was gobsmacked and said she felt pushed aside, especially considering she was the one carrying the baby. In a post on Reddit, she said she tried to laugh it off and told her mother-in-law she was the one "having this baby".
She said: "Do you know what this woman says? She looks at me, wipes her fake tears, and goes 'Oh sweetie, you don't understand. This is just such a special moment for our family'. OUR. FAMILY. Like I'm not included in this equation. Like I'm just some incubator for her grandson.". The woman tried to turn to her husband for support but was told it "wasn't a big deal" and that his mum was "just excited". Without anyone to support her, the mum-to-be "shut down" and sat in silence while her mother-in-law "acted like the mother" of the baby.
Commenters on the post were firmly on the mum's side, with many of them saying she should make sure her mother-in-law doesn't take over any other parts of the parenting process. One person said: "I would tell your nurses at the hospital to not let her in the delivery room as I'm sure this will be an issue then as well.". Another added: "You need to talk to your husband about how you feel and your expectation for how he can back you up when this happens again." A third stated: "This is why I find gender reveal parties to not be a good idea. Too much drama.".
