Navigating postpartum life is so tricky. It helps having people in your corner, especially your mother. Unfortunately so many new moms don’t have that, and are forced to contended with almost unthinkable situations during this delicate time.
One woman on Reddit shared that her own mother put her in such a position when she made an offhanded comment about her body.
AIO for canceling lunch with my mom after she made a “joke” about my postpartum body?
byu/Apprehensive-Pay8254 inAmIOverreacting
In the forum r/AmIOverreacting, the mom divulged that her mother dropped off something and found her in leggings and a tank top. The original poster also shared that she is three months postpartum, and is struggling with her body image. Her mom, knowing this, still felt the need to say: “Well … at least you still sort of have a waistline. Not for long if you keep snacking though!”
The daughter was in shock when she said it and them promptly canceled the lunch they were meant to have together. The mom retaliated by telling her she was “dramatic” and she was “just trying to motivate” her. She also told all of her aunts that she backed out over “nothing.”
Now she wants to know if she’s wrong for canceling.
“Based on the fact that your mother is now telling other people about a canceled lunch, it sounds like she is trying to get ahead of you telling the truth,” one Redditor responded. “Most families don’t keep detailed tabs on who has spent time with whom most recently. By going out and telling the aunts that you canceled a get-together, which they probably didn’t even know about, sounds like she knows she said something wrong and is trying to cover her tracks.”
And a few gave her advice on how to deal with her.
“[Your] mom’s a mean girl,” assessed another commenter. “Every time she insults you, say ‘That’s mean and unacceptable. Please leave now.’ Keep repeating it until she leaves. If you are out with her, ‘That was mean and unacceptable. I’m leaving.’ Be calm (but feel free to roll your eyes dramatically when she insults you as though she is a dumb, small child). Do this every single time.”
Approximately 27% of Americans over the age of 18 are estranged from at least one family member, according to a study from Cornell University. With parents like this out there, who could blame them?
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
