Superstitious Mother Driving Me Mad

[Frenelder]

I'm 9+5 & we told our families last week ours news, everyone was made up for us & couldn't have asked for better reactions.....BUT...
My mum keeps going on & on about not having a pram etc in the house before DC is born as its bad luck.
I've told her each time I don't believe in bad luck & when we're a bit further on we will be buying everything we'll need & setting up the nursery in full long before DC arrives, but she just won't drop it. I've even told her I'm sure God is too busy to care if I have a pram I'm the house & what if I do then that's it my baby will die & then she pulls the "well it's up to you" face!!!
She is been amazing about everything else she's helping with my housework & ironing as I'm so tired after work I just don't have the energy now.
Just moaning a little & letting of some steam really...anybody else have superstitious parents/family?

[Monka]

Yes - my husband thanks to his interfering mother!!! He won't even let me buy any clothes for the baby to take in my hospital bag! I am not too concerned as am 26 weeks so far and will just put my foot down nearer the time. We looked at the cot and pushchair we want but will buy those items about a month before.

[Beckett3]

My mother is the same about the pram, but I've let her have her way with that one. Saves taking up space in my house for a while!

[cravingcake]

You could always tell your mum that if its bad luck to have the pram etc in the house then you will buy it all and store it at her place until baby arrives and she can deliver it to your place while you are in the hospital after giving birth

[Tequilatequila]

Hahaha.. i assembled my pram this morning and put it up in rhe nursery for now.. my mother and mil were both very "oh you definately cant have the pram in the house! [Shock] " and because dp wont say boo to his mum he was like maybe we should keep it at hers instead because shes really superstitious about it.

I personally dont see how its any different to having a moses basket in the house or a cot or carseat ect. And to me.. its more dangerous to be fiddling with it for the first time when babys actually here and maybe havig an accident than keeping it in the house. Its gonna take me a good week of fiddling to get the knack of how to do what with it.. id rather have that down before baby arrives. Stand your ground.. its your baby

[craftycottontail]

Oh YES this resonates. I'm very grateful to my stepmum for buying us a pram but she also has this superstition and is insisting on keeping it at her house (300 miles away) until the birth.

The thing is, I don't want visitors straight after the bith, but if I'm up to it I do want the option to take the baby out for a 10 minute stroll as fresh air is important to me to aid recovery (I appreciate I might not feel up to it and it might rain but that's not the point, I want the option!)

Also want to suss out how to store it in our incredibly tiny house, and as you say work out how to fold it.

There's a point where a present becomes more of a stressful object than a gift. Sigh.

My dad has said he'll work on my stepmum and smuggle it out of the house or buy a new pram if necessary, but not hopeful as he's so henpecked it's unreal!

[Tinker2013]

I had this when I bought my pram from Mothercare from the assistant, she was actually lovely but kept saying "put it on the baby plan incase anything happens, you cannot store it at your house" I said I'd rather pay for it now as I don't mind it in the house and she was like " but it's bad luck"

[Snowflakepie]

My mum and SIL both said this. I said tough. My DD is just fine. Honestly. How does DC2 deal with the fact that we have a house full of toys and equipment? The poor child is clearly doomed...

I had to get mine myself to make sure it fitted in my car, although my DM paid for it. We had to have the carseat part to bring DD home. And she was also born during the winter of 2010 when the snow was thick, so no one could visit for some time but we could get out with a pram quite happily. Stand your ground, practical trumps stupidity quite frankly!

Tell them you're hunting out ladders to go under and mirrors to smash too. It's a piece of metal and canvas, and yet another way of trying to control your life. Enough! Enjoy the pram shopping!

[Wishiwasanheiress]

Hmmm I didn't think I cared first time til our full JL order of all baby stuff turned up at 8 mths. I saw it physically there and basically shit myself for over a month. It was more that if something happened I couldn't have borne looking at this pile of hope sitting there. It made me very paranoid.

I'm now on dd2. This time it didn't happen. I it's have got over it....

[Wishiwasanheiress]

Must!

[cyclecamper]

My mother isn't superstitious but she was the same about all baby stuff (she lost a baby at 5 days old and had to come home to a house full of baby stuff). Fortunately she has not said anything to me, just my sister. I think it was different in the days when you were likely to know everyone around you who had babies and they would lend you stuff until you had your own. Since most women without children now work, they don't tend to have the networks.

I don't have a choice - almost everything I have is passed on from friends and I don't have a car so I have to rely on them bringing things over when it is convenient to them. I'm glad they did, since I am now in hospital (I'm 34 weeks tomorrow) until my baby arrives: next week at the latest and missed out on several weeks getting stuff that I was counting on! I still don't have a moses basket mattress.

[headinhands]

If my family were touting this superstitious nonsense I'd just ask them about the third world where prams and other baby equipment isn't the norm. How does Mr Whoever-dishes-out-the-bad-luck decide who gets it then?

[Frenelder]

Thanks all for your comments, made me chuckle reading them. My DM will get over it, it's my house house & my DC so ill be having everything ready. She's known me all my life & I'm over the top organised with everything I thing I do so why the most important thing I've eve done would be any different is crazy.
Going to have a look round some baby shops this week end, just looking no buying hmmm we'll see....it been me holding DH back so far he's been wanting to buy all sorts already

[HadALittleFaithBaby]

DH was trying to be like that then concluded if we were buying a 'travel system' it technically wasn't a pram (semantics) then it couldn't be bad luck :)

[Meringue33]

Tell them "superstition is incomplete faith" :)

And get one in plenty of time. My baby came at 37 weeks and we foolishly hadn't finished the shopping - lesson learned!

[Cavort]

I am 32 weeks and very pleased to say our brand new pram is assembled and folded up in the cupboard ready for when it's required. After just having a baby why would we want to piss about retrieving our pram from somewhere else?

What a load of old tosh some people believe. I bet they're all on the shores of Loch Ness right now trying to spot a monster.