It’s no surprise that the first few weeks after giving birth to your first baby is no easy feat. There’s so much to do for the baby that it can be hard to remember or have time for basic household chores like cooking and cleaning. That’s typically why family and friends are so apt to bring new parents a meal or help them do some chores around the house.
The thing is, those things typically aren’t asked for. Sure, people can volunteer to do those things for you—and that’s extremely generous of them—but this isn’t an expected rule. However, one couple decided to make it a rule—literally.
When this couple had their baby, they decided that anyone who wanted to visit had to follow a list of regulations. They sent the list out to all their friends and family. Here’s what it looked like:
Some rules include -up to date on ALL vaccines
-if you feel anyway sick don’t visit let us know a week beforehand so we can arrange a day/time
no smokers
no phone calls or visits between 7:30pm-10pm -you can only stay an hour -no picking up the baby without consent -no Advice -no perfume/deodorant no is no we won’t explain why
no pictures to be taken or posted on social media
if you visit the first time you will be expected to give mom (me) a gift card and a gift for baby from our approved list
before you ever come no matter how many times you will be given a list of an ether food or groceries to bring with you AND a chore for a list of your choosing
no more than two visits a week per person
The list starts off pretty standard—we can totally get behind wanting visitors to be up to date on vaccines and not smoking. But as the list goes on, it gets more and more out of hand.
The list was so out of hand, in fact, that the family’s sister-in-law told them she was too broke to do any of these requests. Because she wanted to meet the baby, she volunteered to clean the whole house! However, the couple said no—if they bent the “rules” for her, they’d have to bend them for everyone else. Needless to say, the sister-in-law never got to visit.
The couple posted their story on Reddit’s popular thread, “Who’s the A**hole?” It doesn’t take a genius to determine what the majority of people who responded had answered with.
“You’re the a**hole. Your rules went from 0 to 60. Like smoking and vaccines, yeah. But gift cards and chores? The entitlement is strong with this one,” someone wrote.
“That ’list’ of yours is ridiculous. Anyone who wants to see the baby must bow at your feet, bring tribute, and go to work for you? Wtf?” another wrote.
“You are using your child as a cash grab,” another pointed out. “NO ONE is obligated to buy you gifts or takeout. Or groceries. It seems like your friends and family are realizing that you don’t want them to actually bond with the baby or visit because they are family.”
What would you do if a family member had all of these prerequisites to visit their baby?
