12 Times When Your In-Laws Just Need To Back The F*ck Up

So yes, technically your partner's parents wouldn't be your in-laws if you weren't married, but this is the '50s anymore and the "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage," way of life is long gone. People are having babies before they get married; people are getting married and not having babies at all; people are having babies without a partner in the picture; people are having babies and never getting married.

So, your potential in-laws or future in-laws or your partner's parents that will never technically be in-laws, should have no business inserting themselves into your romantic relationship and/or your co-parenting relationship. What you and your parenting partner decide works best for you is exactly what you should be doing. No, "When are you getting married?" talk. It's not beneficial and it puts marriage as the end-all-be-all for parenting and/or romantic relationships. It isn't. Trust me.

I know, I know. Everyone wants to have a say in what that precious little bundle will be named, especially your parents. There are family names to consider, after all. However, in the only two people who should be making the decision to name your baby is you and your parenting partner. If you're down to listen to some suggestions, I say more power to you. However, your in-laws need to know that suggestions shouldn't magically turn into demands.

I get that friends and family members are quick to ask about your baby's sex so they can plan accordingly. However, you don't need to know the gender of a baby in order to buy them things. You can go the gender neutral route, or you can say the hell with gendered clothes and toys and just buy whatever you think is goddamn adorable anyway. I can tell you that being assigned male at birth didn't keep my son from loving the hell out of his pink stuffed animal puppy.

The only people I allowed in the labor and delivery room when I was bringing my son into the world was my partner and my two best friends. No parents allowed. Sorry mom, and my partner's mom, but them's the breaks.

I have found that soon-to-be grandmothers are quick to insert their, "This is what you should do when you're in labor," wisdom, usually based off of their own experiences. Sure, sometimes it can be helpful, but it's your body, it's your decision and modern medicine has changed pretty significantly since our parents were pushing babies out of their vaginas and/or having them cut from their bodies.

If your in-laws just don't understand why you want a home birth that's, you know, there problem. If your in-laws think that getting an epidural means you're "taking the easy way out," they can tell someone else about it because you need and should do what's best for you.

While we have a long way to go in the way of #NormalizingBreastfeeding, it's substantially better than it was for our mothers, or our mother's mothers. So, it's not entirely surprising that so many of our parents, in-laws included, don't understand breastfeeding in public without a cover or breastfeeding for an extended period of time. Too bad, so sad. Again, it's your body so it's your (and, to a certain extend, your baby's) decision.

My pseudo mother-in-law couldn't understand why I was breastfeeding for longer than two or three months, and would consistently ask me why I felt the need to continue. Eventually, I simply told her because that's what I've chosen to do, and we left it at that.

Again, no one gets to decide this but you (and your baby will probably have somewhat of a say, as well). Whether it's your partner or your partner's parents, you and you alone should choose whether or not you use your body to sustain another human being. If you don't want to, you don't want to and no one (including the parents of your partner) should judge you or shame you for using formula.

I've had a few, um, heated conversations with my partner's parents about what is and isn't appropriate for our son to play with. For example, one afternoon while visiting grandma my son put on some of my necklaces and played with them. My partner's mom said he had to take them off because, "He's a boy, and boys don't play with jewelry." I quickly corrected her, and told her that my son can play with anything he wants as long as it's safe. Our society's obsession with gendering every little thing was not going to keep my son from being happy and playing with something as harmless as a necklace.

My partner and I live far away from both our parents, so I understand that it can be hard for grandparents to spend that much time away form their grandkids. However, we're a family of three so traveling is expensive, whether we take a plane or drive clear across the country. We want to have our kid visit his grandparents as often as possible, but sometimes it just isn't possible and we could both do without the impending guilt trips when we call and let our parents know that we won't be "coming home" for the holidays.

Everyone seems to have their own idea regarding discipline, and what is or isn't appropriate. My partner and I are attachment parenting, and we don't believe in spanking our child. We talk to him, not down to him, and we get on his level and have calm conversations (even though he is a toddler) because he is still a human being and he still deserves respect. I tell my son "sorry" when I make a mistake, and I give him as much body autonomy as he can handle while making sure he's physically safe.

Not everyone agrees with this style of parenting and that's OK, but when it comes to disciplining or not disciplining my son, my partner and I are the only ones who any kind of say. My kid's grandparents have no business spanking my child or telling me that I need to spank my child. They're job is to spoil him (and, thankfully, my kid's grandparents are really, really good at that).

I know that our parents — and especially our parent's parents — lived in a different time when gender stereotypes were far more prevalent and sexism insisted on keeping women at home with the children, and men out of the home and at work. While I can't imagine how different the current family dynamic may seem to so many parents of years past, I do expect those parents to respect the fact that things are different, and progress has been made and mothers can and do return to the work force (if they want and when they want).

So, there's no reason for your in-laws to have anything to really say about whether or not you return to work after you have a baby. That decision is yours (and your partner's, to a certain extent, as I believe financial decisions for the family should be made together) and there's just no need for any kind of outside input.

I am thankful for the support and guidance I have received from my partner's parents, and I really do consider them a part of the family even though I am not married to their son. After all, my partner and I have been together long enough, committed to one another in the same way, and are a family regardless of whether or not we wear rings and signed a piece of legal paper.

Still, my thankfulness ends when my pseudo in-laws overstep their bounds. Thankfully, this happens very rarely, but when it does both my partner and I are quick to remind both of our parents that we aren't the children anymore. We're the parents, taking care of our own child, and they're the grandparents now; they get to spoil the sh*t out of our kid and, when we give them that friendly reminder, things usually go back to "normal."