Last week my SIL gave birth to the first grandchild of my husband's family. Obviously we were all super excited and everyone came up to the hospital after SIL gave birth to congratulate and see the baby. From the moment we arrived it was immediate tension and fighting between the new parents and MIL.
First, SIL/BIL said MIL was being annoying while they were waiting for baby to be delivered and spending too much time in the hospital room while SIL was going through labor. They kept kicking her out of the room but she kept wandering back in.
Then, after SIL gave birth they said MIL was invading their personal space by asking too many personal questions about the birth and her breastfeeding. When they came home she started cleaning their home and complaining about how dirty it was. Then she started pointing out certain characteristics about the baby that were unique and kept commenting (like her long toes or dimple chin).
By the end of the weekend they were so mad at her and were yelling at her for every word that came out of her mouth.
The reason I'm posting this is because I spent the weekend with MIL while my husband was hunting and with friends. So, the whole time SIL/BIL would look at me when they got mad at MIL and ask me to be on their side. Then MIL would look at me and ask me to be on her side. Each time they started arguing they would look at me and ask whose side I was on. I just wanted to stay out of it and be Switzerland- but they kept dragging me into the argument over and over again. I understood that MIL was just excited and wanted to help, but she also needs to learn when to shut her mouth and just keep it to herself. So, I really could sympathize with both people, but I didn't say anything.
By the end of the weekend I was sick of all of them. I really hope this isn't a trend that continues. Also scared for when we start having children... I don't want to feel like she is invading our personal space or our parenting like my IL siblings do.
My family lives across the country and we only see each other once a year or so. Their family all lives literally right next door to each other and see each other every day. I'm used to having much more distance with my relatives, so this is quite a shock to me. I hope we are able to put up some boundaries without everyone getting upset about it.