Pregnancy is a beautiful journey that brings families together. It is also a time when hormones run wild and exhaustion takes over your entire personality. Most people are more than happy to give an expecting mother a lot of extra grace. But there is a very sharp line between needing some extra support and suddenly developing severe main character syndrome. One mother in law on Reddit recently reached her absolute limit when her pregnant daughter in law tried to hijack the entire family vacation.
The Original Poster is a fifty four year old woman with a fifty seven year old husband named Rick. They share three kids together. The oldest is twenty nine year old Kurt who is married to a twenty eight year old woman named Becky. The mother in law makes a very specific point to mention that Kurt is technically her stepson but she is the only mother he has ever known. For years she and Becky had a genuinely wonderful relationship. Everything was totally fine until Becky got pregnant with a baby due in November.
Once the pregnancy test came back positive Becky completely transformed. She started acting incredibly difficult and expected the entire extended family to immediately bend to her will. Her favorite new excuse for making wild demands was reminding everyone that she is the mother of their grandchild. The entitlement grew so large that when Rick and Kurt were having a private conversation about finances Becky actually chimed in. She boldly started making suggestions about exactly what money her in laws should start saving up for her new baby.
The controlling behavior quickly bled into the family dinner table. The mother in law hosted a lunch and thoughtfully cooked chicken specifically for Becky because pregnant women are not supposed to eat cold cuts. Instead of saying thank you Becky actively complained about the cold cuts sitting on the table that nobody was forcing her to eat. She also whined about the wine being served to the rest of the adults. Becky decided she did not want her husband drinking during her pregnancy but Kurt absolutely never agreed to that rule.
The real explosion happened over the upcoming family summer vacation. The older couple owns a second home that they recently tore down and completely rebuilt. The gorgeous new house features three entire floors of living space. The whole family has been waiting years to enjoy this new property and they finally booked their inaugural trip for July. The two youngest siblings Tim and Cassie are twenty three and twenty one. Naturally they want to do normal twenty something activities on their vacation like going to amusement parks or scuba diving and having a few friends over to the house.
When the younger siblings were casually discussing their fun summer plans Becky threw a massive fit. She got incredibly upset and declared that because she is pregnant the trip should not be all about drinking. Keep in mind nobody said it was all about drinking but the family was obviously not going to ban alcohol from their own vacation home. Becky then took it a step further and announced that next year’s trip will absolutely not include any get togethers because she will have a small child. Tim hilariously shut her down by telling her not to worry because she does not have to participate in any of the fun.
Not satisfied with being shut down by her brother in law Becky called the mother in law directly to complain. She demanded that the family respect the fact she cannot participate in all of the planned activities. The mother in law held her ground. She calmly explained that there were plenty of things Becky could do and she needed to stop worrying about what the younger kids were doing. Becky then demanded the mother in law officially limit the drinking and the parties for everyone else.
The mother in law flat out refused to ruin her other kids vacation. She explained that any gatherings would happen outside on the back deck away from the pregnant mom. She even generously offered Becky the upstairs front bedroom so she would not be bothered by any noise. Instead of accepting the compromise Becky complained that she would have to walk up a flight of stairs. Then she crossed the ultimate line. She accused her mother in law of caring less about her simply because Kurt is technically a stepson.
Bringing up the stepson dynamic was a massive low blow that was entirely untrue. At the end of the exhausting conversation the mother in law gave Becky one final option. She suggested Becky and Kurt could just get their own rental property nearby so they could have total control over their own space. Predictably Becky played the victim and accused her mother in law of trying to exclude her from the family.
The mother in law finally delivered the harsh truth Becky desperately needed to hear. She bluntly reminded her daughter in law that she spent many nights out drinking when she was twenty one years old. She finished the conversation by stating that the world cannot revolve around her just because she happens to be pregnant. The internet unanimously agreed that the mother in law is absolutely not the ahole here. You cannot demand an entire family sit in total silence for a week just because you are expecting a baby. Have you ever dealt with a controlling family member on a group vacation? Sound off in the comments below!