In law issue... childcare

Surely they cant be that bad if they raised the man you love and who is the father of your child? I dont understsand all these posts about DIL's hating inlaws,I have been a DIL for 44 years and I love my MIL dearly.That is not to say we haven't had issues in the past BUT she's a wonderful GM to our children and GGM to our grandchildren.I thinkyou need to sit down with your husband THEIR son and discuss this its his child too and he must have some say in how he's raised.I have a SIL and a dil and I would be horrified if they thought like this about me ESPECIALLY if I had a terminal illness .

Hi Paddyann
Thank you for your reply.

Firstly i dont hate my in laws. I do not respect them so much or like them due to their emotional blackmail re house purchase on same road. Is it unreasonable for me to feel resentment especially as DH knew exactly what house we wanted but were both pressured because of mils illness. Does terminal illness justify such conduct? I refuse to be manipulated again re my sons childcare. Again dh and i agreed that a nursery would be best. He even paid into work childcare vouchers whilst i was pregnant off his own accord. Thus demonstrating our joint parenting approach. Suddenly he has changed his mind.

Maternityleave…….Read your original post and the reply to Paddyann back to yourself.

I think you will find you have made your mind up and answered your own question.

I would have thought that the one time you would want to be close to your family was if or when you were dying.

That's not manipulation, its human need.

I wonder how you would feel in that situation?

Best of luck

Namsnany
Does closeness with your loved ones at time of death not include regular weekly visits? Days out initiated and organised by me to ensure mil, fil and dh have fond memories? That i can then share with my son when he is older? Does closeness mean forcing house purchase or child care arrangements? Causing son to be torn? I have not made my decision as to how far i will go to ensure my childcare preferences are respected.

Namsnanny
Maybe i don't fully understand the “human need” aspect. Thank you for sharing your views.

It is not necessary to live on the same street to be able to share time together. We lived over 100 miles away from my GPs when GF was dying and we still saw them regularly.

If this is how the ILs behave, I wouldn't let my child alone with them for an hour, let alone an afternoon. They are trying to destroy their son's marriage by inserting themselves into it.

YANBU, OP. Sometimes people manage to grow up to be decent human beings in SPITE of what their parents did, rather than because of it.

You say you moved there because of MIL having a terminal illness - but she is intending to look after your child ? So she has had a miraculous recovery .

Yes I wonder how she will manage daily childcare whilst being so ill?

* my respect for in laws has gone and my dislike grown* It certainly shows in your post You make you husband sound very weak, is he? Or is he trying to deal with a dying mum and a worried upset dad, is he trying to juggle balls to keep both families happy ?
How can a dying lady offer five afternoons childcare?
You gave in over the house and are a very angry lady because you did, you sound as if you are determined to never get railroaded into anything again
I think you have made your mind up and your baby will not be going to the parents afternoon care, I can understand this but do be prepared for big injuries to your marriage, as your husband tries to appease his parents. He is torn into two, although of course his loyalty should be with you and his son but the fact his mum has a limited time left has pulled him unless of course he’s a mummy’s boy who has always done what his parents expect and never really ‘left’ them only you know that
Stick to your guns but be kind not angry in how you do it

IMO it is unreasonable of any parent/parent in law to think it is their right to have a grandchild in their care on their terms. It is the sole responsibility and decision of the parents to decide who looks after their child.

Grandparents had their time of raising a family and presumably raised capable adults who now have the right to dictate how their children are raised and cared for.

If OP's MIL is terminally ill then one has to ask if she is fit to have the charge of an 8 month old baby.

Thank you for ur replies.
Just to make things clear:
Dh sis is at home. No job (has good financial investments), children, marriage etc. Therefore readily available to care / mother my little one. His other sis is around the corner with adult children. So again available. So mil being ill is not going to impact their care offer.
I just feel torn with saying no and doing what i want v mil being ill amd denying her access.
I think my concerns are because i really CANNOT deal with the challenges that will come with them looking after my child. Eg. Food preferences, naps, routine, going out (mil will take him to friends houses, i may not know friends etc) i will have signed up to a lifetime of these issues with a dh who cant say no. ??. I just about cope and get by now. If push comes to shove i may leave work. Also what happens if we fall out with mil?

Also if i share this with dh he will find answers fir it all. If he insists too much, i will leave my job and return to work when our child goes to school. This will keep dh and i together without causing war.

Well I guess that you have your own answer in the last post. Perhaps you need to sit down calmly with your husband and say just that. Your preference is nursery or you stay home with your child. Perhaps that would be for the best anyway. It does seem that you have been put into an impossible position.

How ill is this mother in law if she’s out visiting friends etc I was reading it as if she’s on her death bed ? Also you say i m signed up to a lifetime of these issues I thought she was terminally ill so wouldn’t be around all that much longer ?
Let’s get to the bottom of this you don’t like your mother in law, you don’t trust her, and you don’t want your son with her, that’s basically it, isn’t it?
If you and your husband can’t agree about the nursery then that is a big problem and perhaps you do need to be a stay at home mum until mother in law dies
Are they really that bad how come they raised a son you obviously love and at least two other daughters you clearly trust What is so bad about them?

Sad for them sad for your husband and obviously annoying for you are you sure it’s not your anger at the buying of the house that is eating away at you, were they decent in laws for the other 13 years ?

It sounds to me that the op is angry at being manipulated by this family. They are in the same road, other daughter and family with the in-laws, another sister just around the corner. Sounds a bit much.

Hi
I dont like his sisters. They are in the same league as his mother. Mil tried to stop our wedding until 3 days before the ceremony. Again her illness led this. Yet on wedding day she “adored” me. So not it has not been a pleasant 14 years.
Mil has not been on her deathbed. She has cancer and is in and out of treatment. I have a good job. A nice little local earner and it will sadden me to leave now cos of in laws and dh. ☹️?

I don't think you want anyone else's opinion quite frankly. You've made your mind up and that's all there is to it.

I doubt you would change your mind .

How can a terminally ill woman look after an 8 month old 3 days a week, have visitors, visit people and go out on day trips?

Your DH sounds like he can't say 'No' to her but doesn't have a problem saying it to you. Buying a house you didn't want but felt bullied into buying is massive.

Stick with the childcare at nursery. It will probably hit the fan but at some point she needs to hear the word no!

I think you seem to have been mostly ok with MIL until you felt manipulated into moving to a house you didn’t want. Anybody would be resentful of that and of course that has eroded trust. Before you were pregnant did MIL have a habit of manipulating you/ using emotional blackmail or is this new behaviour.

What is terminally ill? That can be living for a few weeks or a few years which is a big difference. I think you need to have a very frank chat with your husband and decide if you can compromise eg maybe allow 1 afternoon a week at MILs or whether you stay at home and care is not needed. If you can afford to do that it may be a better solution then you will not miss any baby milestones. They grow up very fast.

Sorry I hadn’t read previous post which says she has always been difficult . In that case don’t give an inch she sounds a nightmare

Your issue is with your husband, not with your in-laws. He seems to be making all the decisions, whereas those about work and childcare are between you and your employers. Are you able to change from three full days a week to working every afternoon, or have you not discussed it yet with your employers? Child care is very expensive, and you may have to use all your wages to cover it, but it seems that , to you, money is not the issue.

You certainly resent your in-laws, and I think if you are in the financial position to stay at home while your child is young you should do so, and bring him up yourself. This is a decision to be reached by you and your husband, who seems to want his parents overly involved in the upbringing of his child; you have to insist that it is what suits you and the child, not his family, which must come first.

I blame your DH. He should put your needs first and stand up to his mother and sisters. I am sorry you bought a house in the same road. I was in a similar position when I was first married. MiL used to dominate all our weekends and as we were both working we had no time to ourselves. I was desperately unhappy. Fortunately we moved hundreds of miles away but I had 4 years of hell.
Demanding MiL’s are very difficult to deal with unless your DH takes a stand. Try to stand firm about the childcare. It is your decision. Talk to your DH, choose a moment when you are both in a good place, don’t make it an argument and explain exactly how you feel if you don’t your marriage will suffer.

Compromise! Is that possible? On the grounds that if MiL is terminally ill it would be an added stress to have a daily commitment to child care. So a regular afternoon or two with grandparents/ auntie and the rest of the time at day care. Baby will get best of both.. social development & fun with other ch at nursey and family bonding & fun with extended family. Both needs are met. Your baby will always be closer to you than aunts/ grandparents as long as you can be a good enpugh parent and shelve your dislike. Do not be jealous of the love they have for your child..be pleased! Kids will be confused by tension between the people they care about so tread carefully. Be reasonable and clear but concede some ground. You will be behaving maturely and sensibly.

Husband is the problem I m afraid if you don’t like any of his family the move was a major mistake (pregnant or not)
I think you have completely made up your mind none of the in laws will be looking after the baby so it’s now between you and your husband, and to be honest this doesn’t bode well if you haven’t untangled him from his family in 14 years what chance now, I think you’re between a rock and a hard place you either learn to get on with them and make compromises or move away with or without your husband