Jenna, a first-time mom, was having a tough time juggling her newborn and keeping the house in order. She worked hard to make sure her baby was fed and the home was clean. On top of that, she had to run errands and cook dinner every day.
Her husband, John, thought it would be a good idea for his mom to move in and help out. When Jenna heard this, she felt a wave of relief. She knew that raising a child often needs support, and her mother-in-law seemed like a great choice.
Unfortunately, Jenna didn’t realize that having her mother-in-law around would create more problems than it solved.
In the first few days after moving in, her mother-in-law began inviting friends over. Instead of helping, she just added more stress to Jenna’s already busy life.
Jenna was super busy taking care of her baby. Between changing diapers, breastfeeding, and getting him to sleep, she hardly had a moment to grab a bite to eat.
Her mother-in-law was supposed to handle dinner, so Jenna thought she wouldn’t have to spend much time in the kitchen. But one night, after putting the baby to bed, she went downstairs only to find there was no food left for her. Her mother-in-law casually said, “Well, you didn’t come down, so we figured you weren’t hungry.” Those words hurt more than her empty stomach.
Things got even worse when John didn’t say anything about his mom’s comment. Instead, he told Jenna to clean up and wash the dishes, claiming she wasn’t doing anything at all.
Feeling really upset, Jenna decided it was time to stand up to John and his mom. But instead of listening, they accused her of being lazy and started yelling at her.
Jenna couldn’t stand the way they were treating her anymore, so she packed a few of her clothes, grabbed her baby, and headed over to her mom’s house.
But even there, John called her on the phone non-stop, demanding that she apologize to his mother.
He couldn’t understand how much his mom’s presence and his own lack of support were affecting Jenna.
Jenna felt really sad and thought there was no escape from her situation until she remembered her father-in-law, who was always practical and sensible.
When she reached out to him, he had no idea what was happening but was super supportive and told her to get ready because he was going to take her back home.
Once they got to Jenna’s house, they found John and his mom sitting together, watching TV and laughing.
When John and his mom spotted his dad, they both got really serious.
His dad looked at his wife and said, “This has gone too far. You’ve caused a lot of trouble, and it’s time for you to go home. You can’t stay with John and Jenna anymore.” His mother-in-law didn’t say anything back.
Then, he faced John and told him he needed to be more understanding of his wife, especially since she had just had their baby five weeks ago. Feeling embarrassed, John nodded in agreement.
In the days to come, things seemed to settle down.
When Jenna’s mother-in-law came over, she really did help out at home, but her visits were short. John started to be more involved and supportive, stepping up to take care of their son and pitch in with chores around the house.
Jenna was grateful to her father-in-law for bringing back her peace and quiet.
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