12 November 2023 , 10:30
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When you have a baby, you'll likely be on high alert and you'll want to oversee everything that they do, eat, drink - the list is endless. And if you have a loving support system of family and friends, you'll want them to be on the same page as you, and consult you if they're going to do anything different to your usual routine.
One woman was left "p***ed" when she realised that her mum had taken things into her own hands when it came to her grandson when she tried "an old remedy that they did when my grandma was young to relieve constipation in babies", rather than consulting her first.
She took to Reddit to fume about what her mum had done, admitting she "couldn't be trusted" to watch her three-month-old son anymore. She wrote: "My husband and I are renovating our house, so my mum watched our son for us for two days because it was unsafe for him to be at home. We're doing the work ourselves and can't afford to hire help, and she lives over two hours away, so it was easier for him to just stay with her.
"He's exclusively breastfed, but she ran out of pumped milk, so was formula feeding him. His belly did not react well to the formula and he spent the whole night screaming. When I asked her how he did the first night, she said he was 'just a little fussy'.
"My grandma suggested that my mum put corn syrup in his bottle to help him poop, and instead of asking me or looking up the risks, she just did it. This is an old remedy that they did when my grandma was young to relieve constipation in babies but is not recommended because it can cause botulism (let's not even mention that he could've had an allergic reaction since he's only THREE MONTHS OLD)."
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
The new mum told her own mother that she "didn't appreciate" the fact she'd not been "asked first", and the side effects hadn't been considered either. She then got "really defensive", telling her daughter she was "overreacting" about the situation, even saying that she knew more about being a parent because her daughter had "only been a mum for three months."
The woman continued: "She then told me 'At least I told you!' She also argued that she was doing me a favour by watching my son for free and that if he's in her care, she ultimately has the final say about what to do and I need to trust her judgement and not be ungrateful. I told her that I can't trust her to watch my son anymore because she is too comfortable exposing him to new things without my consent, and just admitted that she's comfortable hiding things from me by saying 'At least I told you.' Am I the a**hole? Was this an overreaction? HELP."
In the comments, people reassured the woman that she'd done nothing wrong, and she should be able to trust whoever she leaves her son with. One wrote: "Not the a**hole at all. You know what your baby needs, and you told that to your mother. She didn't listen to you and brought your baby in danger.
"When you told her what she did, she showed no remorse and doubled down instead. And then she even admitted that she wouldn't be above lying to you about such things. I'd not leave your son in her care in the future anymore, she obviously can't be trusted with him."
Another fumed: "F**k her for this. She needs to apologise. What an entitled 'mum' diminishing you as a new mother. This is exactly what I'm afraid of with my mum. That remedy could have killed your baby! She needs to learn! Cut her off till SHE comes around. Even then, don't let her watch the baby. Show her the side effects of corn syrup for infants!"