Mum-to-be's 'harsh' rule for in-laws goes viral

A pregnant woman has delivered a 'harsh' ultimatum to her 'controlling' in-laws. Photo: Getty Images
A pregnant woman has delivered a 'harsh' ultimatum to her 'controlling' in-laws. Photo: Getty Images

An expectant mum has laid down the law to her parents-in-law, after the name of her unborn baby sparked a heated debate.

Any major family event tends to be ripe ground for ruffling a feather or two, but when this mum’s relatives began weighing in on her baby’s name, she put her foot down.

Taking to Reddit the pregnant woman explained that early in the pregnancy, her and her husband decided to name their baby ‘Keiran’, after an arduous process of elimination.

Her in-laws however, had other ides.

READ MORE: Mother-in-law wears wedding dress to bride's big day

They began to call the baby ‘Findlay’, their preferred name, ignoring the couple’s requests to stick with the name they had chosen.

“Every time we see them, they shout "Hi, Finlay! Grandma/grandpa loves you so much, Finlay!" at my stomach at every opportunity,” the woman wrote.

“This has been going on for about 3 months now, and both my husband and I have voiced several times that we really don't appreciate it.”

Now in her third trimester, the fed-up mum issued an ultimatum: use our name or don’t talk about the baby at all.

The woman decided to put her foot down after months of the behaviour. Photo: Getty Images
The woman decided to put her foot down after months of the behaviour. Photo: Getty Images

“I finally snapped and told them they are not to speak to me about my son until they can either call him Kieran or something less personal such as "the baby" or "the bump.",” she explained.

The grandparents-to-be were ‘really offended’, and even accused their daughter-in-law of ‘ruining their experience’ but she stuck to her guns, and the family unti has been frosty ever since.

Online reaction

The woman was met with overwhelming support online, with people praising her decision to establish boundaries before the baby arrived.

“Naming a child is a very special thing, and it is decided between the parents, not outsiders,” one woman wrote.

“If they can't respect that, then they can't respect you.”

“I'm glad you actually said something to them. It's your kid so your rules!” another said.

READ MORE: Husband moves dates to avoid family holiday with his mother-in-law

“You are carrying the kid. You get to call him what you like. They are wrong,” was how one user summed up the situation.

Navigating the complexities of new parenthood and a new family is never easy, but would you be able to put your foot down like this?

It’s not the first time parents have raised eyebrows with some seriously bad behaviour.

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