Save the drama for yo Momma

Oh Mom...

So I'm going to start from the beginning. Last week, DeeJ's Mom offered to help us with the cost of Baby TeeJ's furniture. Sweet! After some urging from DeeJ, we finally started registry shopping as of last weekend. We went to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us. I kid you not when I say I have never, ever, been in either of these stores before. Why didn't anyone tell me those stores are like the Costco of baby stuff? Seeing the rows and aisles or tons of stuff, looking like a warehouse made me exhausted on sight. But, we went through the store taking note of what we wanted so that we could read reviews later. Eventually at Buy Buy Baby, we found the crib section. Holy balls are those things expensive or what? Anyhoo, one crib stood out. It was perfect and I loved it pretty much instantly. DeeJ agreed so we took note and kept it moving.

When we got home, we checked out our list, reviews and made a decision. We found our baby furniture! DeeJ immediately called his Mom, she said yes to helping us out and we're good to go! Right? Nope. Insert my Mom here...

The next day, I'm on the phone with my Mom and she asked what I was up to. I told her I was starting the registry. We started talking about the all of the things we saw and what I MUST have. A nice, joyful conversation that took a nose dive. It went a little something like this:

Me: Oh! We also picked our the baby furniture! Dresser and crib! And it's a convertible so we're getting the rails too!

Mom: That's great! Was it expensive?

Me: Not really. But we were nervous because when we told DeeJ's Mom the price, we didn't think she would still help.

Mom: <<crickets>>

Me: Hello?

Mom: Yep.

Sigh... My Mom is upset because she feels excluded. Okay. So I let her know that DeeJ's Mom's gesture was a complete surprise. Unfortunately, she really believes otherwise. Like we called his Mom and took her shopping with us. Okay. So how do I fix this?

Me: Well, I'm sorry you feel excluded. That's not how I meant for it to come across. There are still lots of things left for the baby's room that we can have you look at. Or what if we split it? His Mom gets us one piece of furniture and you get the other piece.

Mom: <<crickets>>

Me: Hello?

Mom: Yep

Followed by more silence then...

Mom: So what am I supposed to pay for? The party?

Oy... At this point, I give up. DeeJ overhearing my end of the conversation says in the background, "I don't care who pays for what. Your Mom and my Mom figure it out because it's not our problem." Then he walks away. I gotta say, he didn't say anything substantial, but who knew that would snap my Mother back into reality? Next thing you know, she apologized for making it about her and says she's here for whatever we and Baby TeeJ needs. And the conversation went on normally. I have to let him speak more often! 

After some thought, I realize that she probably lashed out because I'm her only child and this is her first grandchild. To her, this moment is just as special as going with me to pick a wedding dress or venue. It's a milestone. So I'm going to try and include her more. What does that mean for me? Another trip to Costco, er, Buy Buy Baby. She has the day off and my office closed early so we're off to browse! Just please, no more unnecessary drama.