New mom told by mother-in-law not to breastfeed in her own house—her response left MIL baffled
There are many things that should be considered completely normal and natural, but are still not acceptable to everyone. For instance, a lot of women are still guilt-tripped about breastfeeding in public. Similarly, a woman, u/Ill-Hall-2593, was shamed for breastfeeding her baby inside her own house by her mother-in-law. At one point, she had had enough and decided to respond to those rude comments. She asked the Reddit community if her reaction was too strong.
"I recently had a baby and have been breastfeeding her regularly. My mother-in-law came over on short notice while I was doing chores around the house," the woman began. The mother-in-law picked something from their garden, chatted with the couple, and decided to sit down and watch the news on their TV. "I ended up watching TV a bit later too, and I was tired. My baby started getting fussy. I pulled down my top to start nursing her," she continued. The mother-in-law immediately looked in her direction and gave her an annoyed look. "She huffed and said, 'Really? Around me? I'll just get naked too and have it all hanging out, huh?' and rolled her eyes at me."
However, it wasn't the first time something like that had happened. Previously, the woman had come in for a day and made a similar comment. At that time, the mom simply took her baby to another room. Her husband bought her a cover, but the baby doesn't like it when it is used. "This time, I just had enough. I didn't have it 'all hanging out,' and I was doing it pretty discreetly, not facing her." The woman was "tired" and wasn't "thinking" when she pulled off her top and stood in front of her mother-in-law. "'I'll feed my baby when I want in my house.' She just stared at me, and I added, 'If you don't like it, you can leave.'" The mom sat back down, and the mother-in-law mumbled, "I can't believe this girl," before she left the house.
"My husband was there and afterward said I didn't have to go that far. He said mother-in-law texted him angrily," the wife revealed. She wondered if she was wrong for what she did. People shared their support for the woman in the comments. u/_ByAnyOtherName_ suggested, "Mother-in-law can just put the cover over her whole head while the mom feeds the baby. She won't be able to see anything. Problem solved." u/infinityynovaa commented, "Totally with you on this! It’s your home, and you shouldn’t have to deal with that kind of negativity. If she can’t respect your boundaries, she needs to back off. And your husband needs to step up and support you. It's important for him to have your back in this. You deserve to feel comfortable in your own space!"
u/speculativeinnature remarked, "You shouldn’t have to be apologizing for feeding your baby in your house. In fact, you can do that anywhere, except maybe your mother-in-law's house. Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world and is hardly the same as getting naked for goodness' sake. Your mother-in-law is acting like a child, she chose to enter your home, you can do what you want and your husband should be supporting you."