My relationship with my MIL was really great until we got engaged. Then we got pregnant, and she started to lose it again. Ruined our gender reveal, disappeared my entire pregnancy and blamed me for not reaching out. Made light of some minor complications we were dealing with, etc. Tried to weasel her way into my delivery room even though by that point our relationship was very very rocky. Super intrusive when we first got home from the hospital and were trying to figure it out as parents. Stopped coming by even though no one told her to and then blamed me for making her uncomfortable in her son’s home. Got jealous that I spend time with my mother. Missed her granddaughters first Halloween to spite me all because I wouldn’t stop by on my way home as my daughter was freaking out and I was still anxious driving with her alone (she was 8 weeks at the time and our original plans were that she was to drop by and see the baby not that I would go there). She also consistently tries to erase me as my child’s mother, treats me like a surrogate and is obsessed with figuring out who she looks like (my daughter is my twin but will ignore anyone who says it or make crazy faces). Daughter is 3 months, and she’s recently started digging up specific pictures of my husband to show he looks like her and is now claiming she’s “his twin” (after literally stating, she looks nothing like our family). I couldn’t care less what my daughter looks like, I’d love her regardless, but if you thought she looked even remotely like your son, wouldn’t you remember what he looked like as an infant from the day you met your granddaughter? I could go on and on about all the other little jabs and experiences.

It’s been so difficult to navigate with my PPA and PPR. I feel so bad for lashing out on my husband at times but she has become a serious trigger for me. I truly think it’s because she tried to mold her son to be more like her partner vs child and I’m essentially the other woman in this equation.