My ‘vindictive’ mother-in-law ruined my baby shower with her gender reveal prank

A soon-to-be mom-of-three revealed that she ended up in tears at her gender-reveal party after her mother-in-law pranked her and her husband. 

Taking to an advice forum, the woman shared that her MIL was the ‘gender keeper’, but ended up sabotaging the big moment with the knowledge and power that she held.

To make matters worse, their pregnancy came after the mom experienced pregnancy loss.

“This is my last pregnancy so I wanted to do a small reveal with close family and friends,” she wrote in the post.

“We were celebrating… then she interrupts”

“My last was during COVID and we had to skip all the cutesie things… I have two boys and of course, would adore a little girl… I would also be happy keeping my boy mom crown!” she continued.

The MIL, who was in charge of organizing the confetti cannons, handed them to the couple and the woman’s husband ended up letting his go first.

“All I see is pink confetti… the sweetest surprise,” the mom recalled.

“My life with a daughter flashing in my mind… hugging my husband… tears shed… I was shaking happy…”

The OP admitted it was the “biggest best surprise” she’d ever had, after thinking she would be having another boy.

But then here’s where things get awkward.

“Soon after celebrating, my MIL interrupts,” she says. “…telling me I have to do mine too.”

“I was so excited to see the pink confetti from my husband’s that I never set mine off.

“I am assuming it’s also pink… because I’m not having twins. But instead, it’s blue… I instantly regret my initial ecstatic response. Why are there both colours now?

“She then hands us the ‘real’ cannons… and they both pop blue.”

The woman went on to explain that it was impossible to try and match her previous energy, so she just hugged her husband and excused herself to cry.

The woman caveated her post by saying she felt “incredibly thankful” for the opportunity to have any children, and knows that “health is number one.”

“That isn’t lost on me,” she said.

“But it’s as if I had this space in time where my dream of a daughter came true… and I experienced the joy of having a girl join my crazy boy-filled family… and now I’m grieving that.

“I’m so embarrassed… and this happy video taken of the reveal isn’t even real. It’s a moment in time I got my heart broken.

“I don’t understand the humour even if everything had gone according to plan. What was the point?”

“Vindictive and mean”

Commenters were quick to reassure the mom and let her know that the stunt was in no way funny. 

“Who the hell thinks it’s a good idea to mess with the emotions of a pregnant woman? Seriously!” said one.

Another wrote, “During my pregnancies, I cried at a vending machine at university because it was out of peanut M&Ms, I cried at a vending machine because it gave me a bottle of water instead of Coke, I cried in a bookstore reading Love You Forever, I cried because I dropped a fork on the floor… Pregnancy hormones are no joke, I cried over anything. I can’t believe someone would do something this thoughtless.”

A third person agreed, saying: “My jaw is on the floor at her ridiculousness.”

“This is just so vindictive and mean,” concluded someone else.