Christmas rant

So we hosted Christmas at our house this year as my partners brother was spending Christmas with the in laws this year. It made most sense as MIL is alone so I wanted to take the burden away from her with cooking all on her own (even though we don’t get along and she never tolerated me). It also made it easier for our little boy as he could open his presents and play without rushing him out the door.

Baring in mind, this has been the plan since November, MIL decides do call an hour before dinner was meant to start (she lives 45 minutes away) and tries to cancel on us as she claims transport will cost her £100 as it’s Christmas Day and no transport available. She tries to guilt trip my partner into going to pick her up however he told her straight up he can’t leave me with the dinner and getting myself and our little boy ready on my own so he won’t be coming. We checked the price of transport and it was £35 not £100. She then tries to say she won’t be coming and is just a plain nuisance as always to the point my brother in law paid for her transport to come as we had everything pretty much ready.

She then arrives with nothing, not a single present for us (which I’m never fussed about as previous years she always got me pyjamas that were way too big) however she didn’t bring our little boy anything. On the other hand we had something for her and my partners cousin who also came. My boy just watched her open her present and didn’t get anything. Even though he did get lots of presents in the morning from Santa, it really broke my heart that she didn’t even think of anything small for him. Last year she got him girls clothes and never got him anything for his 1st birthday or any other occasion. She also constantly asks me when his 2nd birthday is and it annoys me because she should know? She spent the entire Christmas Day on her phone and maybe said 2 words to my boy, which is normal procedure with her. She then tried to teach him how to scroll on TikTok and ignored me completely when I asked her to stop. My partner had to say it for her to actually listen

On Christmas Day she worked a night shift so she left from ours straight to work and then decided to show up back at our door at 8am! She claimed transport is too much for her to come home so she will stay with us until 10pm before her next night shift. My partner explained we had plans and we are going out as a family to which she said was fine and she’ll stay alone for that time. At this point I’m annoyed as she just slept on the entire sofa meanwhile me and my boy stayed either in the kitchen or played upstairs to not disturb her. It then came to us leaving as we were invited to my mums for the afternoon and we stayed for quite a bit as we were all playing games etc. My boy also adores his grandparents and they also have a lot of time for him so he never wants to leave.
When we came home she was already gone, she didn’t shut the front door properly so we only had to push it a little to get in the house and she left all the lights and tv on for god knows how long.

This morning she proceeded to text my partner how it was a mistake she came and she feels disrespected as he constantly chooses his in laws over her and how dare he left her for the day alone. Even though she was told we had plans already. She said she expected him to take her to work and he just didn’t come back home on time. This was also never discussed about anyone taking her to work so we had no idea and also we are grown adults that do not need to be told when to come back to our own home?

She’s such a manipulative human being and trying to guilt trip my partner that it’s unbelievable.

This is a long one but I just had to rant about this because what is wrong with this woman??

in our community

Is it bad of me to think this or no?

My husband has been abroad for work (1 day and exploring for 1 day) for 2 and a half days which means I’ve had both kids (1 year and 4 year old) for 2 and a half days plus cooking, cleaning, taking them to clubs, bedtimes!
He came home late afternoon and said I’m so tired, I just need to chill. I said can you wash up whilst I sort kids dinner out, he said he’ll do it later which means he won’t do it and I’ll end up doing it so I said no do it now please otherwise I’ll end up doing it and he said well you have been home and I’ve been away so you’ve just been relaxing.
Don’t know what planet he is on but having the kids alone for 2.5 days is not relaxing. I was stressed!

When he was away, I did miss him and wanted him to come back but now he’s back, I want him to go away again😂
Is that bad?

Feeding

My son is coming up to five months and I just started giving him oatmeal and rice cereal. When can you start trying veggies or fruits? I only give him the oatmeal or rice cereal once a day right now which is what the paediatrician had said to do. I’m just curious to when anybody tried anything else with their kids cause my son eats a lot of formula and he’s VERY curious when I eat.

Really bothered by this

A friend posted this and it really bothers me because that is exactly how she parents her kid, and it's rather unfortunate because when our kids hang out together, her kid has a meltdown at least 5x within an hour. We have know them for years and it's only gotten worse. My kids will concede to hers, because they don't want to see their friend crying, but it sucks because they give up so much of their toys and enjoyment to keep the peace. We aren't hanging out as much anymore but it's rather sad to think she doesn't intervene more in her child tantrums and just let's it slide

My 2 year old won’t eat nothing but snacks

Is this normal ? He won’t even try anything I eat .. he really only like pizza fries and spaghetti… nuggets and snacks bananas some other fruit but like anything else he won’t eat if try but I don’t want to force him I’m just I feel like bad I mean he isn’t losing weight I breastfeed mostly still

Is this normal

Let’s say you’re at a softplay with your 2 year old, and some friends & their toddlers.
You buy your 2 year old a kids meal - chicken nuggets, beans, and chips. They’re very happy with it and have almost eaten it all.
They’re sat at the table, fork in hand, consistently eating, and have one chicken nugget left.
Your adult friend comes over from behind you, picks up the last chicken nugget, and eats it.
There was no indication that your child wasn’t going to eat it, and they didn’t ask. They just took it with no warning and ate it right in front of you and your toddler.
How you reacting?

Shift worker daddies - advice please?

My husband works shifts (6am-6pm days or 6pm-6am nights) so when he’s on shift we either get about an hour or 2 before he goes to work or an hour or 2 when we gets home with him.

I don’t think people who aren’t married/have babies with shift workers fully understand the impact of feeling like a solo parent sometimes.

Does anyone have any advice? I do have parents who can help but I struggle to leave my baby with others as I always feel like they don’t understand the need for tracking wake windows or feeds and our baby will not sleep unless we black out a room or go for a car drive . Everyone seems to think ‘if he’s tired he’ll drop off’ - no he’ll just get overtired and have to then pay for it during his night sleep. So I feel like it’s just easier for me to do it all myself.

When my husbands off work he is great but I do take the mental load of telling him what to do or even reminding him of wake windows etc because he’s not here and forgets routines. He’s also being tested for ADHD currently so there’s that on top of shift work.

Just looking for advice on how to stay sane/keep routines or share loads with shifts workers?

Thank you ❤️