Fourth Of July Fireworks, Scared Dogs, And A Screaming Baby Creates Permanent Rift Between New Mom And Her Sister-In-Law

The problem has been brewing for a while but the Fourth Of July incident made their relationship worse

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• February 10, 2023

It's not pleasant or easy to confront someone when they've hurt your feelings. However, when strong feelings such as those are bottled up, they eventually become the foundation for resentment.

A bitter emotion like resentment may lead to the ruin of a relationship. It's exactly what's happening to this new mom and her sister-in-law.

The events that hurt OP's feelings happened during and after her pregnancy. OP felt slighted when her SIL didn't congratulate her on her pregnancy and didn't extend any well-wishes when OP gave birth to her daughter.

Their relationship has been strained since then. Then the Fourth of July family barbecue rekindled the silent war and added a new point of contention.

The whole dinner was short notice, so OP didn't have enough time to make arrangements for their dogs. So, along with their 4-month-old baby, OP also brought their dogs with them to her in-law's house.

OP brought the dogs to the backyard to keep them away from other people. She was with her baby when she heard her SIL's husband setting off fireworks in the backyard where the dogs were.

The dogs were freaking out by the time OP got to them. She and her husband spent a few minutes wrangling the 60-lb dogs to the safety of the garage.

OP immediately heard her daughter screaming and crying as soon as she got back inside the house. Her SIL was just watching the baby cry, and OP had no choice but to grab the red-faced infant from her SIL.

OP calmed her baby down within a few minutes

Her SIL refused to interact with her for the rest of the night

A year later, her SIL brought the incident up again and told OP it was the reason why she never warmed up to OP's kid

She's completely ignoring OP's baby now and OP doesn't feel like apologizing for soothing her baby after her SIL ignored her crying for so long

OP did what any mother would do and put her baby first over the petty feelings of an adult

OP's SIL is looking for any excuse at this point to explain away why she's such a terrible aunt

OP should treat SIL's choice to distance herself as a blessing in disguise because she is obviously not reliable or trustworthy

OP replied that her SIL is basically pulling any excuse she can think of to make it seem like it's OP's fault why SIL can't form a bond with the baby

Is OP's husband aware of what's happening with his side of the family?

It looks like SIL tried to sway OP's husband to her side but he knows better than to trust her flimsy excuses

What SIL needs is above what a spa or a weekend retreat can provide

They're trying very hard to convince OP that this is her fault but these Reddit comments should help her remember whose fault it really is

One of OP's comments shed some light about her fraught history with her SIL

Her SIL is actively ignoring all of the olive branches OP offered

She attempted to figure out why her SIL is treating her so differently from how she used to when they first met but never got any clear response

OP's husband put an end to his sister's attempt to place the blame on OP and it looks like OP needs to give up reaching out to SIL

Could SIL be jealous of OP's life? I understand OP's frustration of not knowing what she did wrong to receive such awful treatment.

However, some bad people don't need a reason to be awful to you; they just are. With OP's full life, it should be easier to ignore SIL's issues with her.

Chelsi