Bringing up a child isn’t easy, but it’s not something you can just throw in the towel when things become difficult.
Nonetheless, three months after their baby girl, Elizabeth was born, a couple made this difficult decision.
The dad went on Reddit and shared his story, telling how his wife, Catherine, 33, worked up until her due date and was back at work two weeks post birth. He informs that his mother-in-law who lives with them is looking after baby Elizabeth when they’re busy at work, becoming the primary carer.
He mentioned: “I go to work later than her [my wife] so I take morning duty, but she gets home earlier than I do so she takes evening duty. During the day, Elizabeth stays with my mother-in-law.”
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“In short, my mother-in-law first blamed her deceased ex-husband for my wife ‘turning out like this’ and then myself for our decision. I was called a number of names, and learned that my mother-in-law had disapproved of me from the start of the relationship, and otherwise trashed.”
“It went on to the point that Catherine eventually threatened to ensure my mother-in-law never saw our daughter again if she would not be reasonable. That quieted my mother-in-law enough for my wife to layout how the upcoming months would go.”
At this point, the couple told the mother-in-law she could adopt Elizabeth if she so wished – otherwise, she would be placed with another family through ‘the system’. He added: “Our daughter was going up for adoption; this was non-negotiable. My mother-in-law, having assisted in her care, could take custody if she so wished.”
“My sister-in-law would be a permissible alternate. Otherwise, we would pursue outside arrangements. As many predicted, my mother-in-law opted to assume custody herself and we started that process after Thanksgiving.”
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With that, the mother-in-law grabbed the three-month-old, stormed out of the house and stayed in a hotel. “Shortly thereafter, my sister-in-law called, in the end, she threatened to call the police if we attend [family gatherings],” he said.
“Communication from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law has been sparse since my mother-in-law left/ From what we know, she and Elizabeth are staying with my sister-in-law for the time being. Moving forward, we are cooperating as much as possible to ensure the transition of legal custody over Elizabeth goes smoothly.”
“My mother-in-law thus far refused any and all offers of financial aid, but we are prepared to [pay child support if/when the time arrives.”
Some people who read his story said ‘thank you’ for saving his daughter from a hard life. Others were not happy, saying he gave up on being a dad too soon.
One person wrote: “I don’t understand why everyone is so mad. They’re s****y parents and realize that. The kid is probably better off being put up for adoption.”
Someone else mentioned: “Therapy has not been tried by either parent. Therapy needs to be tried.”
Another person asked: “Now this is an odd situation. Would it be better for a pair of parents who are willing to send off their three-month-old child for whatever sociopathic reason to continue to raise said child, or should they go through with the adoption, preventing the child from being raised by a bunch of weirdos? “.
