MIL Insists Baby Is Wearing the ‘Wrong Size’ Clothing & Won’t Leave Mom Alone About it

Let's admit it: We all love us some good mother-in-law drama whenever we catch wind of it. (Well, as long as it's not our own!) And one woman's MIL story on Reddit is getting people fired up. In it, she recounts what happened the day her husband's mother started making unsolicited comments about her baby's clothing — or, more specifically, what size she should be fitting into by now. And let's just say … it led to a seriously awkward interaction.

The Reddit poster prefaced things by saying that she typically gets along just fine with her MIL.

While the MIL can be opinionated and even a bit pushy at times, it never really boils over into anything all that major, and because the poster is naturally non-confrontational, they've never gotten into an argument.

Until now, that is.

The trouble apparently started on Father's Day, shortly after her husband and daughter got back from a visit with Grandpa.

She explained that her in-laws split up several years ago, which is why her mother-in-law hadn't gone out to celebrate with her son and his father. Instead, she stayed behind at the house, where she's been staying for an extended visit. 

When the poster's husband returned from a day out with his dad, he and their daughter were wearing matching T-shirts they'd been given by Grandpa. But that, apparently, got a few comments from Grandma.

"I noticed [my daughter's] shirt was fitting loosely and I checked the tag and saw it was size 18m ([she] wears 12m currently)," the mom explained in her post. "I made an offhand comment about 'Oh, I guess I’m going to have to wash your 18m clothes, you'll be fitting them soon enough!' and MIL starts with comments about how DD should be in 18m clothes now."

The mom was immediately annoyed that her MIL was throwing any bit of shade about her daughter's clothing size.

So, she attempted to point out that while her daughter could technically fit in them, they're still a bit big, and most of her 12-month clothes still fit. 

No biggie, right? Wrong.

Instead of letting it go, the MIL "insisted" that it was time to size her baby up in clothing size -- which immediately ticked off the mom.

"We go back and forth a few times," the mom shared. "I point out that [my daughter] sizes out of brands A & B fairly quickly because they're made small, but that brands C and D fit large and she'll fit them for awhile. Nope, she needs to size up to 18m clothes."

At that, she dropped the conversation and hoped that would end it.

But apparently, the conversation was not over after all -- and even came up at dinner later that night.

Once again, the mom had to state that her daughter still has 12-month clothes that still fit her just fine, and once again, her MIL says it's time to size her up — and that "we don't want her clothes to fit too tight and be uncomfortable."

Clearly, she was not letting this one go easily.

The whole thing made the mom second-guess herself, and she even "caved" to the point of getting out some 18-month clothes.

She thought she'd give some a wash and have them in her daughter's drawer so they'd be at the ready once it came time. But it didn't take long for her to realize that was a big mistake. (HUGE.)

Just as she was folding them to put away in her daughter's drawer, her mother-in-law appeared out of nowhere.

"She kept holding up clothes and saying 'See? She'll fit into this much better,' and 'She's in size 18m now FOR SURE,'" the poster recalled. "I held up a romper and compared it to [my daughter] as she sat next to me and noted how it was a bit big still, just to prove a point."

But to that, her MIL responded with defiance. 

"Well they make kids clothes to shrink a bit, it will fit after it's washed," she said back. 

"She then goes on again with how she shouldn't be in clothes that are too tight and uncomfortable, and she should be in 18m clothes," the mother went on. "I point out that DD is in a 12m outfit right now, and she just retorts with 'But 18m would fit better.'"

By this point, the mom was ready to lose it.

"I wanted to scream, 'NO IT WOULDN'T! SHE FITS PERFECTLY FINE IN 12M CLOTHES RIGHT NOW! STOP PUSHING THE ISSUE! IT'S NOT YOUR CALL! YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE WHAT MY KID WEARS!'" she wrote. "DD has lots of clothes and is always well dressed for the weather/season. It felt like she was trying to say I don't dress my child properly."

The whole thing has led to a lot of tension, but now, the mom is wondering if she's being too sensitive about it.

A lot of people jumped in to assure the mom that she was NOT in the wrong on this one.

"No, you're not overreacting," one person wrote. "Your MIL is trying to 'win.' And if she wins on this one, she'll keep pushing. She's being silly."

One commenter said the mom needed to fight back a little.

"You need to stand up to her and tell her firmly that she needs to drop this issue," someone else wrote. "She is your child and you are more than capable of dressing her and that you do not need nor want her advice on this. She needs to respect your choice and trust that you will phase her into larger sizes and out of smaller ones as she grows. And your husband should 100% back you up on this and want his mother to trust and respect your judgement about YOUR daughter."

Others encouraged her not to say anything that might make the situation more tense.

"I don't think you're in the wrong to be annoyed. I would be, too," one person wrote. "But engaging in the conversation isn't going to get you anywhere. You're validating her input by discussing the merits of your position. Don't JADE (justify, argue, defend, explain) when you want a conversation to end. Just refuse to participate."

"If this isn't a regular occurrence then I would try to let this one go," someone else added.

Still, that's not to say she should forget about it -- it just shouldn't be her hill to die on.

"In the future you can always remember this situation and try to shut down further disputes earlier on," they continued. "You know and dress your kid way more than she does and definitely know what size clothes she fits best in. Sounds like MIL just wants to have her opinion be 'correct' and have you acknowledge she is right. In that case you can just say thanks and try to move on!"

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