‘When my father-in-law came for a maternity visit, he crawled into my bed next to the baby’

Image: Getty Images

After a violent birth you are not exactly waiting for sticky maternity visits. Especially not if they come to bed with you uninvited.

Marloes (31), mother of Abel (2) and pregnant with second:

“In the days after Abel was born, my boyfriend and I camped with him in our bedroom. The delivery had been intense and I could barely stand. To give the family a chance to see the baby, I had them come into our bedroom. Abel, who had also been through quite a bit, lay safely in the bed between me and my friend. That way no one could touch him without being asked.

Cozy in the maternity bed

My father-in-law came to visit on the second day. When I stumbled to the bathroom, he saw his chance. He dove like that, hop, into my bed to lie next to the baby and on top of the maternity pads. My friend was shocked, but didn’t dare to send his dad away. They have a pretty complex relationship and he didn’t want to turn him down.

When I returned from the toilet, my father-in-law stayed in my place. I was waiting like a zombie with trembling knees, but apparently he didn’t feel called to get up. I asked him kindly but urgently if he wanted to get out of bed now. Then I had my friend change the whole bed.

Also read: ‘Are you going on a maternity visit? Don’t forget these 9 golden rules’ >

Locked

I have rarely been this angry and it has changed my relationship with my father-in-law. I’m going to give birth again next month. I already put a lock on the bedroom door. That room is off limits to my father-in-law.”

This article can be found in Kek Mama 06-2022.

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