Sister-in-Law's Envy Over Another Mother's Desired Gender Causes Her to Decline Baby Shower Invitation

In this scenario, two pregnant women, the narrator (29F) and her husband’s cousin Lena (27F), are both expecting babies. The narrator is pregnant with her second child, a girl, due in late May, while Lena is pregnant with her first child, whom she had expressed a strong desire for to be a girl. Lena hosted a gender reveal party where she found out she’s having a boy, leading to visible disappointment and a shift in her attitude towards her pregnancy.

Following Lena’s reveal party, she has become noticeably less excited about her pregnancy, and her sadness has garnered sympathy and support from the in-laws. Despite not being particularly close, the narrator and Lena have been in more frequent communication due to their pregnancies. Lena’s disappointment has escalated to the point where she doesn’t even want to discuss her baby anymore.

The narrator’s baby shower is approaching, but Lena refuses to attend if the narrator is having a girl, citing her ongoing mourning for the daughter she had hoped for. Lena pressures the narrator to reveal the gender, but the narrator stands her ground, stating they have decided to keep it a surprise until birth. This leads Lena to accuse the narrator of being inconsiderate and wanting to “rub her happiness in her face.”

The narrator reaches her limit and responds to Lena, suggesting that Lena shouldn’t have thrown a gender reveal party if having a boy was so awful to her. This comment angers Lena, who then tells the in-laws that the narrator is kicking her out of the baby shower. Despite the narrator’s honesty about the situation, many in-laws side with Lena, believing the narrator should be more understanding of Lena’s pain.

Ultimately, the narrator’s husband and brother-in-law support her, but she questions whether she was wrong to react the way she did, acknowledging her frustration and exhaustion at the time.

You’re about to encounter one seriously eccentric character in this Reddit story from the “Am I the Jerk?” page. Brace yourself for the strangeness as we delve into this tale.