Some people consider themselves very lucky for having an incredible relationship with their in-laws.
However, others are left scratching their heads as to why they can’t create a normal bond.
One woman shared how her mother-in-law calls her son ‘that baby’ or ‘boo boo’ because she hates his real name.
Writing on Reddit, the mother said: “We named our son after my FIL (first name) and my deceased BIL (middle name). Both names are very normal/common…so much so that no one should ever have much of an opinion of them.
“Well, MIL and FIL have been divorced for 14 years.
“She hates him, of course. She has only seen our son a handful of times due to COVID but I noticed at one visit that she only referred to him as “that baby” or “boo boo”.
“This has also been the case when speaking with her. She then shipped him a present to our house and it arrived addressed to “Angel Baby.” I brought it up to my husband and the next time we saw her he tried to bait her into saying our son’s name and she wouldn’t do it.
“So…my son is now almost 10 months old and has never once been addressed by his name by MIL. She apparently can’t bear to utter the name of her ex-husband even when she’s referring to an entirely different person.
“I want DH to call her on it but I’m not sure if this is a fight worth picking. She’ll just pretend like we’re crazy in response, I’m sure.”
The mother added: “we discussed the names that were chosen far in advance of my son’s birth with MIL. She voiced that she wasn’t pumped about FIL’s name being used but that it was fine as she understands that DH very much loves his father.
“Also, she was touched that DH wanted to honor his brother by giving his son his name.”
One Reddit user commented: “Your MIL sounds like a piece of work. You’re the parents, as long as the name won’t harm your kids social life or job prospects in the future, the decision of the name is up to you. She gets no input.”
Another wrote: “As a grandmother of 9 I can tell you that I only call my grandchildren by their given names whenever they have pushed boundries beyond limits. It’s not because I have anything against their names as it is just what many grandparents do.”
A third added: “I didn’t refer to my son by his name until he was around 1. I don’t know why it felt almost weird to call him his name instead of a pet name.”
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