While in the maternity hospital, the daughter-in-law found out that her mother-in-law had moved in with them.
The new grandma quickly took over from the young parents when it came to their own son.
At home, Christine noticed that the baby bath she’d bought and the pack of diapers had been banished to the balcony.
“How wonderful that you are having a son. I’ve always dreamed of naming a boy Casper! Maybe you will name my grandson Casper?” Christine’s mother-in-law chirped excitedly over the phone.
“Mrs. Vera, we’ve already chosen a name for him. It will be Stephen. Stephen Andrews sounds excellent,” Christine tried to explain, surprised by the suggested name.
“You just never listen to me! What Stephen? There are so many of them. I’ve thought up such a strong and beautiful name for my grandson, and you just turn your nose up at it? I see what you’re like. Selfish,” the mother-in-law snapped and hung up.
“She named her own sons Alexander and William! And now she thinks Casper is the best she can offer for a grandson,” Christine grumbled to herself.
When she told her husband about this conversation with his mother, Alex just laughed:
“Remember that dream you had? What kind of fish did you see there?”
***
Christine and Alex had been married for over ten years, but they still had no children.
They were initially focused on their careers and buying a house, and then they traveled a lot.
When they reached their thirties, they started thinking about having a child, but it turned out to be more complicated than they expected.
They went through numerous doctor visits, exams, and treatments. Everything seemed to be fine, but pregnancy still eluded them.
Marking their twelfth wedding anniversary, they reluctantly admitted that they might remain childless. Alex, brushing away a tear, said:
“It’s not our fate to be parents. But I love you and want to grow old with you, come what may.”
A month later, Christine had a remarkably vivid and strange dream where she walked into the bathroom and saw a massive carp in a tub full of water.
“Alex, Alex! Come see what we’ve got here! How did this happen? You’ve never even gone fishing!” she shouted to her husband… and then woke up.
By morning, as she rushed to work, Christine shared her peculiar dream with Alex. He merely chuckled:
“Perhaps fishing should be my new hobby, given that fish are already in your dreams!”
Over tea at work, Christine recounted her dream to a few colleagues.
Tammy Smith smiled knowingly and winked at Christine as she said:
“Oh, Christine! You’re going to catch yourself a little fish! For life.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a dream about pregnancy. Mark my words!”
Christine merely sighed. She hadn’t hoped for much lately. But when she thought about the timing, she realized she was five days late.
The next morning, she stared in disbelief at the test with its two bright lines.
Christine’s pregnancy progressed smoothly, with morning sickness being her only issue for the first three months. But once that passed, her mother-in-law started to make her life difficult.
***
Mrs. Vera had been eagerly waiting for grandchildren and immediately began advising Christine as soon as she heard of her pregnancy.
“You’ll need at least fifty nappies. Both flannel and thin ones. I hope your iron works well? You’ll need to wash them and iron them on high heat on both sides!”
“Actually, I wasn’t planning on using nappies. Nowadays, you can just buy little tops and bodysuits with diapers.”
“What are you talking about? You’re having a boy! No plastic diapers! It’s like a greenhouse in there! Only cloth ones! I’ll show you everything, or else you’ll ruin my grandson’s health from the start!”
“Okay, but I at least want to choose the color and pattern of these nappies,” Christine conceded. “I don’t like overly bright or fancy prints.”
“We’ll pick them out together, don’t worry,” her mother-in-law assured her.
A week later, Mrs. Vera cheerfully handed Christine a large package of nappies:
“I thought there was no need for you to go around shops, catching germs! I did just fine without you! Look at this beautiful fabric!”
Christine unfolded the napkins one by one, disappointed to find them all bright with large ducks, teddy bears, and toy cars.
“Well, they’re already bought. No use arguing over it.”
While still in the hospital, Christine learned that her mother-in-law had moved in “for a week or two to help with the newborn.”
Exhausted from the difficult childbirth, Christine didn’t have the energy to argue.
“Some help will actually be handy at first,” she reasoned.
“Oh, you’re holding him so awkwardly! Here, let me show you the right way,” her mother-in-law said, meeting Christine upon discharge.
The young parents were swiftly sidelined by the eager new grandmother.
Back home, Christine noticed that the baby bath she bought and the pack of diapers had been relegated to the balcony.
“I’ll show you how to bathe him properly! You need to put a mat at the bottom of the tub, not those odd bathing gadgets of yours! You’ll dislocate poor Casper’s limbs!”
“His name is Stephen,” Alex reminded her.
“Well, you may call him whatever, but for me, he’s Casper! Time for a bath, Casper! Make sure the bath is well-steamed, or he’ll catch a cold!” fussed the mother-in-law, turning the water to maximum heat.
Once the bath was ready, Mrs. Vera picked up the baby and, scolding her son for leaving the bathroom door open too long, went to bathe the newborn.
The baby cried while the grandmother washed him quickly with baby soap. After the bath, she wrapped him tightly in two nappies.
“But it’s warm in the house,” Christine tried to object.
“It’s warm for you. He’s little, he’ll catch a chill. Don’t take his bonnet off or unwrap him; he should sleep like that!”
The night was restless for Christine and her husband. The baby couldn’t sleep on the wet nappies, waking them with his crying.
They had to repeatedly get up, unwrap, change, and rewrap him, keeping everyone awake.
By morning, the laundry basket was piled high with nappies, while Christine and Alex sported impressive dark circles under their eyes.
Baby Stephen had developed a rash from his grandmother’s insistence on warm wrapping.
“That’s not a rash!” Mrs. Vera insisted, staring at the irritation. “You’ve eaten something, and now my little angel is suffering!”
“I’m already surviving on just chicken and rice!” Christine protested.
“Maybe your milk isn’t right for him! I’d feed him formula,” the grandmother insisted.
“No way! I’m going to feed him myself,” Christine stood her ground.
Her mother-in-law clicked her tongue dismissively. But from that day, she would burst into the parents’ bedroom at the crack of dawn upon hearing the baby’s cries:
“Mom doesn’t know how to soothe you! Let grandma cuddle her Casper. Look, I brought a pacifier!”
Though the baby spat out the pacifier, the grandmother, ignoring Christine’s objections, persisted in trying to get him to accept it.
The first weigh-in showed the baby was losing weight.
“It’s because she keeps pulling him away from my breast all the time, claiming she can soothe him better than any so-called comfort from my supposedly empty chest!” Christine realized and became determined to reclaim her motherhood.
The following morning, Mrs. Vera, as usual, threw open their bedroom door:
“Go cook and do the laundry while I take care of my grandson! It’s pointless your empty chest is dangling in his face!”
“No, thanks! He’s still eating,” Christine replied firmly, holding her son close.
“There’s nothing there for him!” the mother-in-law shot back, eyes blazing.
“He’ll find what he needs,” Christine said calmly. “Once he’s finished, you can hold him.”
As soon as Christine forbade her mother-in-law from taking her son, he began to gain weight.
Mrs. Vera only sighed irritably, complaining that Christine was simply being difficult.
“We’ve had enough of grandma’s supervision,” Christine concluded and asked her husband to tell his mother that they were managing fine and it was time for her to return home.
After talking with her son, Mrs. Vera was offended:
“I was planning to stay a couple more months! What will my Casper do without me?”
“We’ll visit you,” Alex reassured her.
And indeed, nearly every weekend they visited Mrs. Vera. She would snatch her grandson from Christine the moment they arrived and showered him with kisses.
“Go relax while I enjoy my grandson!” she would wave off Christine and Alex irritably. When it was time to leave, she would press him close and say:
“You go on, and I’ll keep the little one. He’s happy with me!”
“And what will you feed him?” Christine playfully asked one day.
“I’ll find him the finest milk!” Mrs. Vera declared happily. “Better than your insipid offering!”
“Well, mum, time for us to go,” Alex interjected, sensing the tension building between his wife and mother.
Walking out, Christine confided to Alex:
“Sounds like she didn’t have enough time with you and your brother.”
“We lived mostly with our grandparents,” Alex admitted.
“I can tell. But we didn’t have a son for her sake. She’ll have to accept she’s grandma, not mum.”
