A woman says her brother and his new wife are now seething at her after she brought her baby along to their childfree wedding, despite the fact that she didn't actually bring the tot into the reception. According to this new mum, the wedding was being held quite a distance away from where she and her husband live, and so they decided to make a three-day trip of it.
Initially, they'd had a babysitter lined up, but found themselves in a bit of a bind after they cancelled on them the day before they were due to set off, on account of a family emergency.
They were unable to find another trusted babysitter at such short notice and so began trying to contact her brother to explain the situation but heard nothing back. She did manage to get through to her mother, who said she'd speak with the bride and groom-to-be and get back to them.
Unfortunately, four hours passed and her mum didn't get back to them. Time was getting on and they knew they had to make a decision sharpish.
As the family only has one car, she knew she couldn't just leave her husband and child behind without any means of transport. Furthermore, they'd already put quite a lot of money into the wedding trip. Feeling they had no better option, they just took the baby with them.
Taking to Reddit, where she goes by the username u/throwaway-plusone, the stressed-out mum recalled: "The next afternoon was the wedding, and my husband and I planned to swap time out - I'd go the ceremony and part of the reception while he stayed with the baby, and he could attend the second half the reception while I stayed with the baby.
"When the ceremony was over and we were heading inside to the reception, my husband had the baby inside in her stroller. I joined my husband and went to say hello to some family members, and went with him to congratulate my brother and new sister-in-law. Husband said his hellos and congrats, then went back to our room with our child."
She continued: "I left the reception area a few times to bring my husband some small plates of food so he didn't have to wait for his turn to eat.
"On one of my trips back, my brother spoke with me about it being a child-free wedding and his wife was upset that my husband had the baby in the lobby and that I kept leaving the reception.
"I told him they can't be too upset because we didn't bring the baby into the wedding area or the reception."
Throughout the reception, her sister-in-law's family members and bridesmaids kept repeatedly accusing her of 'trying to steal her thunder' by bringing the baby along.
Her sister-in-law also questioned her about why she 'didn't just leave them at home' and point blank refused to accept her explanation.
Although the anxious wedding guest does feel she couldn't have done anything else, the incident did cause tension at the wedding and she now wonders if she did the right thing.
One supportive fellow Reddit user deadpanned: "Babies should be self-sufficient after three to six weeks, and require minimal care. After 12 weeks, your baby should be preparing twelve-course tasting menus for his/her three Michelin-starred restaurant and handling all of the household budgeting and maintenance.
"Or, at least, that’s what must happen on her sister-in-law's home planet, since here on earth, a baby needs a caregiver."
Another commented: "I wonder if her sister-in-law thinks a baby is like a cat that you can leave a few bowls of food out and a litter box and it’ll be fine. She and her husband did the best they could in a s*** situation to honor their obligations and ya know, not abandon their child."
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