An unreasonable mother-in-law strikes again!

In this story from Reddit, a woman asked readers if she’s doing anything wrong by demanding some quality family time right after she has her baby.

Read on and see if you think she did anything wrong.

AITA for not letting my mother in law stay the night at our house right after I give birth?

“I (28F) and my husband (27M) are expecting a baby soon. My parents live close by, while his mom is a few states away. I have a good relationship with his mom, but we aren’t very close—it’s mostly polite conversations when she visits.

I’m happy for her to visit as soon as the baby is born. Since it’s hard to predict the exact date, we plan to call her and my sister (who also lives out of state) when I go into labor. They know they’re welcome to book a flight right away or wait until after the birth. Whatever works for them.

She has a rule.

I recently told my husband I didn’t want anyone staying overnight at our house for the first few days after birth. He seemed surprised but supported me, and we agreed to let everyone know.

I told my mom first, explaining family is welcome to visit all day and into the evening, but I wanted the first few nights to bond as a family and adjust without overnight guests. This is our first (and likely only) baby, and I want to treasure those moments.

Sounds reasonable…

I also explained that while I appreciate people wanting to help, having guests—even well-meaning ones—can be overwhelming. I have a lot of social anxiety/a low social battery and expect to feel exhausted and vulnerable after birth.

Not to mention both our mothers have no problem telling us what we are doing wrong and how we should be doing things. (My mom to me and his mom to him).

I suspect it might be hard having people over all day when I am that tired and emotionally vulnerable right after giving birth, but I understand grandparents wanting to be around the baby right away and having some time to ourselves at night felt like a good compromise.

My mom understood and offered for my mother-in-law to stay at her house, which has a comfortable guest room. We also offered to pay for a nice waterside hotel, giving her two options.

You know what’s coming next…

When my husband explained this to his mom, she became upset and said if she couldn’t stay with us, she wouldn’t come at all. This response threw me off. We’ve always hosted her before, even though having guests makes me anxious. I’ve never said no because she’s family and I feel I should get over my anxiety, but I feel the first few days after birth are different.

My husband is supportive and says it’s my decision, but I know he wants her to come. I want that too—for her to meet her grandchild and for my husband’s sake. But her reaction has left me feeling anxious and panicked about labor all of the sudden.

I’m torn. If I give in, I worry I’ll feel overwhelmed and resentful, affecting the experience and weeks left leading up to it. If I don’t, I’m afraid it will hurt my relationship with her and disappoint my husband (even though it’s her choice not to come).

Does anyone have advice? Are the first few days after birth a good enough reason to stick to what makes me comfortable, even if it upsets her? I’m trying to find a solution that works for everyone, but I’m struggling.”

Here’s what Reddit users had to say.

This reader said she’s NTA.

Another individual agreed.

This person weighed in.

Another reader shared their thoughts.

And this individual spoke up.

It’s always about the mother-in-law, isn’t it…?

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.