It’s such an exciting time when you get to share your pregnancy news with the world. But what happens when between the time you quietly tell your immediate family and the time you announce publicly, someone close to you finds out they’re also expecting?
It can be a really lovely bonding experience to be pregnant alongside your sister or best friend, but what about if it’s your mother-in-law?
One woman has posted to Reddit about a rather bizarre announcement followed by an even weirder apology and well… we just don’t know what the future will hold.
It can be great to be pregnant with someone close. | Image source: iStock
Surprise pregnancy announcement
“We originally wanted to wait to have children until we were both more stable,” the woman wrote in her post, “But surprise! I found out we were pregnant in July, and even bigger shock, it was twins!”
The woman explained that they’re in their early twenties and although the timing wasn’t perfect, they are over the moon to be expecting two children, which is just as they had seen their lives working out… perhaps not all at once.
The couple wanted to keep things quiet for a while, but that didn’t quite go to plan either.
“DH (darling husband) let it slip in late July to FIL, who told MIL, who told the whole world,” she said, adding, “By the time I knew everyone back in DH’s small home town knew we were expecting.”
“Now here is where I think I might be crazy,” she continued. “Please tell me if this is a coincidence or if this is a sick grab for attention and control?”
Cropped shot of an unrecognisable woman hiding a pregnancy test behind her back in the bathroom
The mother-in-law surprised everyone at her mother’s birthday. | Image source: iStock
A third baby on the way!
She had officially announced her pregnancy two weeks ago, and the family got together on Zoom to celebrate the grandmother’s birthday. Since the news was fresh, everyone took the chance to ask the woman about her pregnancy, but the mother-in-law appeared to be visibly bothered everytime someone brought up the pregnancy or started discussing baby names.
“So then when GMIL was opening presents MIL announced she had GMIL’s present and wanted to show everyone,” she said.
“It was a positive pregnancy test.”
Confusion ensued, given the mother-in-law is 41 years old with grown adults for children, and she was instantly fielding questions from all directions.
“She proceeded to say it was an ‘oopsie baby’ and she wanted this since the house was so empty now and DH and I were so far away she wouldn’t really get to enjoy being a grandmother,” she said.
After the Zoom party, the mother-in-law sent an apology message on Facebook for “stealing the moment.”
“I don’t even know what to do, I wasn’t having a moment,” the woman wrote, “it was GMIL’s birthday, and now this bitch is blowing up social media with pregnancy announcements and baby registry links.”
She asked if it’s possible her mother-in-law intentionally fell pregnant after discovering her son and daughter-in-law were pregnant.
It’s entirely possible
People pointed out that it wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened.
“Yeah she did (get pregnant intentionally),” concluded one person. “My sister-in-law did the same thing when her sister and I were both pregnant. She wanted the spotlight on her, so at 17, she stopped taking birth control without telling my brother in law. She got pregnant and my niece was born just a couple of months after she turned 18.”
Another said, “I mean it’s totally possible either way. It’d even possible it was planned without you in mind. I hope it was either unplanned or she planned it for her own enjoyment of wanting another kid. Because if she didn’t that is the dumbest spiteful thing to do and I fear for that kid.”
A few people suggested it could be a good thing…
“My mom and I got pregnant around the same time,” wrote one commenter. “I’d say just watch her and the future to get a better grasp on it. Who knows maybe it could be a bonding moment! Now if she did do it on purpose then ya that is super odd and weird.”
This article was first published in KidSpot and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
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