While in the maternity ward, Sophie found out her mother-in-law had moved in with them.
The new grandmother quickly sidelined the young parents from their own son.
Back home, Sophie noticed the baby bath she bought and the pack of nappies were banished to the balcony.
“Oh, I’m so thrilled you will have a baby boy. I’ve always dreamed of having a son named Edgar! Hope you’ll name my grandson that!” her mother-in-law chirped on the phone.
“Margaret, we’ve already decided on a name. He’ll be called William. William John sounds perfect,” Sophie explained, taken aback by the suggestion.
“You never listen to me! Why William? So many are named that. I thought of such a strong, beautiful name, and you dismiss it? Selfish, that’s what you are,” the mother-in-law snapped, hanging up.
Her irritation rose as Sophie thought, “She named her sons Jack and Oliver, but couldn’t think of anything better than Edgar for a grandson.”
When she recounted the conversation to her husband, Jack just chuckled, “Remember your dream? What fish did you see in it?”
***
Sophie and Jack had been married over ten years but still had no children.
First, they focused on their careers and buying a house, then traveled the world.
As they neared their thirties and considered starting a family, things proved not so easy.
Visits to doctors, examinations, and treatments followed. Everything seemed fine, but pregnancy didn’t happen.
On their twelfth anniversary, the couple acknowledged they might remain childless. Jack quickly brushed away a tear, saying, “Seems it’s not our fate to be parents. But I love you and want to grow old with you anyway.”
Exactly a month later, Sophie had a vivid, strange dream. She dreamt of entering the bathroom and finding a massive fish in the full bathtub.
“Jack, look who’s here! How did this happen? You never go fishing!” Sophie shouted to her husband… then woke up.
It was morning. As they got ready for work, Sophie shared her dream with Jack, who just smiled, “Maybe I should take up fishing, since you’re dreaming of fish!”
At work, over tea, Sophie shared her dream with a couple of colleagues.
Marjorie grinned mysteriously and winked at Sophie, “Oh, Sophie! You’re going to catch yourself a little fish for life.”
“What do you mean?”
“That dream’s about pregnancy. Mark my words!”
Sophie sighed. She’d given up expecting anything. But when she calculated, she realized it was day five of her missed period.
The next morning, she was stunned to see the two bright lines on the test.
The pregnancy progressed nicely, with only mild nausea at first. But then, her mother-in-law became her main source of distress.
***
Margaret was a proactive woman, eagerly waiting for grandchildren. As soon as she learned her daughter-in-law was pregnant, she started advising Sophie.
“You need at least fifty nappies. Flannel and cotton. I hope your iron works! You must wash and iron them at the highest temperature.”
“I hadn’t planned on using nappies. You can just buy baby grows and bodysuits with nappies nowadays.”
“What are you on about? You’re having a boy! No plastic nappies! It’s a greenhouse in there! Only muslin! I’ll teach you everything so you don’t ruin my grandson’s health from birth!”
“Alright, but I want to choose the nappy color and design. I don’t like them too bright or with prints,” Sophie conceded.
“We’ll pick them, don’t worry,” her mother-in-law assured.
A week later, Margaret arrived with a large bag of nappies: “Thought you shouldn’t be catching germs in stores! Can’t manage without you? Look at the quality flannelette!”
Sophie unfolded each nappy, disappointed they were bright with large ducklings, teddy bears, and googly-eyed cars.
“Well, if they’re already bought, no point arguing over them.”
At the maternity ward, Sophie learned her mother-in-law moved in for “a week or two to help with the newborn.”
Too exhausted from the difficult delivery, Sophie couldn’t argue.
“Help will be useful initially,” she reasoned.
“Oh, why hold him like that? Here, let me show you,” her mother-in-law said at the discharge, meeting Sophie.
The new grandmother quickly sidelined the young parents from their own son.
Back home, Sophie noticed the baby bath and nappies she bought were moved to the balcony.
“I’ll teach you how to properly bathe the child! You must put a towel at the bottom of the tub, not those contraptions! Won’t want to dislocate limbs in my little Edgar.”
“His name is William,” Jack reminded.
“Well, you’ve named him for yourselves, but he’s Edgar to me! Let’s go for a bath, Edgar! Must steam the room, don’t want you catching a cold!” Bustling about, she cranked the hot water.
When the bath was ready, Margaret whisked the baby away, nudging Jack to close the door as she went to bathe the baby.
The boy cried while grandmother quickly soaped him with baby soap. Post-bath, she swaddled him tightly in two nappies.
“It’s warm in here,” Sophie tried to protest.
“Warm for you, but he’s little, he’ll feel cold. Don’t remove the cap or unswaddle him. Let him sleep like this!”
That night, Sophie and Jack hardly slept. The baby couldn’t rest on damp muslin nappies, waking them with cries.
They got up repeatedly to change and re-swaddle him. Constant interruptions left neither parents nor baby with rest.
By morning, the laundry basket overflowed with nappies, and Sophie and Jack could compete in terms of whose under-eye circles were darker.
Baby William had developed a rash from grandma’s prescribed warmth.
“It’s not a rash!” Margaret insisted, examining his skin. “Must be something you ate upsetting my little one!”
“I’m only having chicken and couscous!” Sophie protested.
“Maybe your milk doesn’t suit him! Formula would be better,” Margaret argued.
“No! I’ll do the feeding myself,” Sophie stood firm.
Tuttutting, her mother-in-law departed. But from then on, she stormed into their bedroom at dawn when the baby cried, taking him from Sophie.
“Mama can’t soothe you! Let grandma try her Edgar. Oh, I’ve got a dummy for you!”
The baby spit it out, yet grandma insisted, over Sophie’s objections, to get him used to it.
First weighing showed the baby losing weight.
“It’s because she keeps taking him from me, claiming to soothe him better than he can supposedly get from my empty breast!” Sophie realized and resolved to assert her motherhood.
Next morning, her mother-in-law barged in as usual, “Go cook or do laundry. I’ll handle grandson! He’s no use hanging at your empty breast!”
“No, thanks! He’s still eating,” Sophie replied firmly, clutching her baby.
“What’s there to eat!” Margaret hissed, eyes stormy. “Let me carry him!”
“He’ll get enough,” Sophie assured calmly, “then you can hold him.”
Once Sophie banned her mother-in-law from taking the baby, he soon started gaining weight.
Margaret sighed crankily, complaining Sophie was just torturing him.
“We’ve had enough of grandma’s care,” Sophie decided and asked Jack to tell his mother they were coping well and it was time she returned home.
Upon hearing from her son, Margaret was offended, “Wanted to stay a few more months! What about Edgar?”
“We’ll visit you,” Jack comforted her.
Indeed, nearly every weekend, they’d visit Margaret, who’d eagerly take her grandson from Sophie.
“Go on, rest while we bond!” she’d wave Sophie and Jack away. As goodbye drew near, she’d clasp him saying, “Leave the baby, he’s happy here!”
“And what will you feed him?” Sophie joked once.
“I’ll find the best milk! Not your runny stuff!” Margaret boasted.
“Time to go now, mum,” Jack interrupted, sensing trouble if Sophie and his mother continued.
Outside, Sophie said to Jack, “Seems she missed caring for you and Oliver?”
“We were mostly at grandma and grandpa’s,” Jack admitted.
“It shows. But we didn’t have our child for her. She’ll have to accept being a grandma, not a mum.”
