There's a lot of things I'm laid back about, but MIL referring to DS and LO as "her babies" drives me crazy. She does it with the dogs, too, but I really don't care about that. I want to be nice and mention not to do that, but every time I hear it I'm just trying to settle myself so that I don't scowl at her and snap at her, lol.
How have you handled this, if it bothers you?
watermelon / 14206 posts
@mrbee: Almost none. She's watched DS here and there, but my parents watch him more often.
pomegranate / 3872 posts
My mom will say stuff like, 'how's my baby?' And I'll say 'I'm fine.' She laughs cuz we get along and corrects herself. If MIL said it I'd probably try the same joke. 'Oh your son's fine' haha 
watermelon / 14206 posts
@JerricaBenton: I have said that before to her, and she just says, "oh you know what I mean, haha."
pomegranate / 3872 posts
@Dandelion: maybe if you just keep saying it she'll get the hint!
watermelon / 14206 posts
@JerricaBenton: I think I'm gonna allow myself to just snap it at her when I'm in the hospital and call it hormones, lol
coconut / 8234 posts
@JerricaBenton: I do the same thing to my mom. Now she asks, "how's my (nickname she calls LO)?" @Dandelion: That's what my mom said the first time and then I told her she had her own babies, this is her grandbaby.
pomegranate / 3872 posts
@Dandelion: oh definitely! That would be more effective! I've only snapped at my MIL once and that's the one issue that hasn't come up again lol.
pomelo / 5820 posts
Ugh my FIL and step MIL do this all the time. They love to take videos and pictures of him and post them on Facebook (another rant right there) with captions like "our baby is getting so big!" Drives. Me. Nuts.
clementine / 826 posts
It drives me CRAZY, esp when the outlaws refer to my DS as "Our (DS' name)"... They are his great grandparents!!!
pomelo / 5720 posts
Defintely drives me crazy when my MIL says it but I choose to ignore it, like so many other things she does that irritate me to no end 
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
My mom does this occasionally and it's annoying but not enough for me to correct her or say something g
@mrbee: exactly! My mom does a lot.....
coconut / 8475 posts
eh, to be honest, it NEVER bothered me.
Them saying "my baby" does not negate my motherhood. They mean it in a well intended way and I receive it that way.
nectarine / 2466 posts
zomg! That makes my blood boil!!! "My B" "My princess B" I seriously want to gauge my eyes out when MIL says it. She lives out of country for half the year. Every single picture I post on FB she shares ( don't get me started on sharing my photos ) and then puts the caption as "My B" or whatever. So, onetime she wrote a comment on one of my pictures asking "how is my b doing." I wrote back "MY b is well." She's never referred to her as 'My' since. We will see what she does in person as she's back in town in 2 weeks.
pomegranate / 3791 posts
Luckily my mom always catches herself and says, "I mean YOUR baby...I know he's not mine, I just love him so much!" But if she didn't correct herself I'd probably say something like, "You mean MY baby, I didn't carry him/her around for 9 months and go through labor for nothing!" and laugh.
coconut / 8430 posts
My MIL calls my LO "my love" and it makes me so mad. That was my nickname for her and now I can't stand it! 
watermelon / 14206 posts
@Smurfette: still??? You're a saint for dealing with it for so long lol.
pomegranate / 3393 posts
@MrsB2012: can you set your photo settings so they can't be shared? This would annoy me so much more than the my baby thing!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Dandelion: my MiL says kiss my baby for me and I just assume she's talking about DH.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
My mom does this and I ignore it, but it does bother me. It just doesn't seem like a big enough deal to bring up and it makes her happy so whatever. I just let it slide.
nectarine / 2466 posts
@MoonMoon: No, you can't block them from sharing pictures The only thing you can do is make is so only friends you have in common can see it. So I always do that, she hasn't figured it out yet though She doesn't know only like 3 people can see it when she shares it.
nectarine / 2358 posts
I'm guilty of this, I call my 6 week old niece "my baby" and my close friend's baby that, too. Oops. Their moms don't seem to mind, my friend has even said, "do you want to hold your baby?". Well, not anymore he's almost two! 
pomelo / 5258 posts
My MIL did this. Then one day DH made the mistake of asking his mom what it was like to give birth to two red heads (he meant himself and LO). OMG I went off. Pretty sure I gave birth to LO!!! MIL never said "my baby" again.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
@Dandelion: it hasn't happened in a couple months but DH won't let me say anything cause then his sister will create drama.
honeydew / 7463 posts
My MIL calls me "My [first name here]". And THAT drives me crazy. She always wanted a daughter and I want to yell "I'm not yours! you're not my mom! My mom is my mom!" I never have, but that's because it doesn't bother my mom, lol. If it did I'd say something.
So, I'm sure she'll say "my baby", "our baby" or "my [baby's first name]. Her friends all do this on Facebook with their grand kids and my MIL has been longing for a grand kid to compete with them, lol. I'll try to let it slide but if it gets to be too much I might say something but I don't know what!
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
My mom calls Sadie her baby all the time. I never gave it a second thought. But I actually like it. To me, Sadie is her baby too. Maybe not the same way she's literally my baby, but Sadie is special to her too. She is a small part of my mom. I never had a close relationship with my grandma, so I'm glad my mom is so invested in her, and loves her so, so much.
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
@photojane: Yeah I feel this way too. I never took it as anyone trying to claim they birthed my child. Probably depends on your relationship with the person. Maybe if you're already annoyed by them...
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
@Dandelion: don't blame it on hormones! She will think you're temporarily sensitive to the subject and begin using it again once you're "not so hormonal".
I'd just straight up tell her you don't like it!
papaya / 10570 posts
My MIL does this and it bothered me all through pregnancy - like made me want to tear her face off - and then as soon as the intense hormones dissipated (after the baby blues bit) it stopped bothering me! So weird!
honeydew / 7586 posts
@photojane: @travellingbee: @CupQuakeWalk: I feel the same way! I love that my mom has such a close bond with B. When she says "my baby" it's a loving term of endearment, not a claim of parenthood. Someone loves my child as much as she loved her own children, how could that be a bad thing?
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