Expecting mom plots to steal sister-in-law's baby name, gets tricked into using a fake name for her unborn child: 'I put on a performance like I had graduated from Julliard'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 11, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Perhaps the worst thing about dealing with a family rivalry is that it can be difficult to avoid the person who has a problem with you. For the sake of everyone else, you are forced to spend time with them and have a smile on your face as they do their darndest to make your life more difficult. There are few limits to just how weird some will get in trying to make things worse for you, and it can be tiring to deal with unless you find a good way to get your own back.

This is something that one mom experienced when her jealous sister-in-law appeared to be plotting to steal one of her baby names when they got pregnant at the same time. In retaliation, the mom and her husband planted a fake name to lead off the scent. The sister-in-law ended up using this for her newborn son, but her scheme didn't pan out as she had hoped. It's fair to say that Reddit was entertained by this one.

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    Cheezburger Image 10414999552
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITAH for tricking my SIL into stealing our baby name?
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 03
    So I 33F have been married to my husband Kevin (35M) for 5 years. We have a 3 year old daughter and I'm currently pregnant with twins (M&F). My BIL Terrance (38M) has been married to his wife Jess (39F) for 7 years. Jess and I are total opposites. Jess in an extrovert. She's kind of loud, boisterous and some would even say abrasive. I'm an introvert. I'm not quiet or shy, but I am reserved. I'm also very observant. The first time I met Jess, I told Kevin that we would be like oil and water. We'v
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 04
    Unfortunately Terrance and Jess had fertility issues for several years before finally having their son a couple weeks ago. Prior to this, Jess was very odd towards us when I was pregnant with our daughter. The best way to describe it is hot and cold. One minute she pretended like she didn't care while we were talking about it at family gatherings, the next she was volunteering to throw the baby shower (I gave a firm no to that.) We both assumed the behavior was because of their fertility issues
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 05
    When our daughter was born and her name was finally announced, Jess was kind of... obsessed with it? Idk how to explain it. She just kept going on and on about how beautiful and unique it was. To this day she comments about how different it is. The name we chose is a pretty common Welsh name which wouldn't be all that different except for the fact that we are African American lol. I've always gravitated towards names from different regions and found and fell in love with the name years ago and n
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 06
    Fast forward to both of us being pregnant at the same time. Jess' odd behavior continued towards me but this time it was more blatant. Snarky comments under the guise of jokes about how big I was going to get with 2 babies and that my body would never snap back like it did after our daughter. She even accused us of getting pregnant on purpose after she announced her own pregnancy even though the whole family knew we were actively trying and at the time of her announcement, I was already a few we
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 07
    After days of this, I got annoyed and asked Kevin if he thought the reason for her insistence was so she could use the name first since she was due first. He kinda chuckled until he realized I was serious and said he didn't think so but that anything was possible. So I said, "Lets test it." We were due to host my FIL's birthday at our house a couple weeks later and I decided to leave something in the unfinished nursery with a girl and boy name on it and see if Jess went snooping. Because Kevin t
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 08
    The party goes off but because we were busy hosting, we never noticed if Jess disappeared for any extended period of time. When I went into the nursey the next morning, nothing was out of place and the order sheet was still in the exact location. So we both just went "welp" and forgot about it. I did however notice that Jess never asked us about the names again. Then Jess gives birth. We went to the hospital to give our congrats. When we go in and see the baby, I asked what his name was and man!
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 09
    But instead of reacting how she was expecting, I put on a performance like I had graduated from Julliard. "Omg that's such a great name. He's so cute, look at his widdle face. Oh I just love him so much. Welcome to the world, Sebastian. Auntie is gonna spoil you rotten." I mean I am laying it on THICK without an ounce of bother. The range of emotions on Jess' face went from shock to confusion to rage in a span of maybe 17 seconds. Meanwhile my husband is holding in the laugh of the century. We l
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 10
    This was 2 weeks ago and we haven't seen them since because we wanted to give them time to settle in with the new baby. I have heard from my MIL that Jess doesn't seem as thrilled about motherhood as she thought she would be considering how long it took them to conceive but said it might just be baby blues. Obviously, I think she's just disappointed that her petty move didn't have the desired effect on us. I did share this with my sister and while she laughed initially, she did say it was kind o
    via ThrowRAnameninja
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    teresajs ΝΤΑ That's hilarious! Put SIL on an information diet about anything having to do with your pregnancy and kids. SIL probably isn't done trying to cause drama.
    via teresajs
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    ThrowRAnameninja I am more concerned about this now. Before her pregnancy, her and BIL lived in another state for years. That's why it was so easy for me to ignore her. They moved back here in May and its become harder to dodge her.
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 13
    Proper-Foundation668 NTA and well played. Jess got exactly what she deserved.
    via Proper-Foundation668
  • 14
    HBMart Yeah, I think it's impossible to be an AH toward certain people, and she's one of them. You just have to take them down however you can because they're never going to stop making life difficult.
    via HBMart
  • 15
    donname 10 Nta. Love how op husband team with her. They're kinda cute. Lol
    via donname10
  • 16
    SavvyMaverick NTA. No one told her to go snooping. She thought she had taken something important away from you and was proud of it. You clearly pegged her correctly. It could have been worse. You could have chosen a "tragedeigh" name and that child would be stuck with it lol.
    via SavvyMaverick
  • 17
    ZenwalkerNS NTA. She tricked herself into naming her baby a name she probably doesn't even like.
    via ZenwalkerNS
  • 18
    ThrowRAnameninja This is what I am starting to feel a little bit bad about. The kid deserved a name of his own. Not something thrust on to him because his mother wanted to be spiteful.
    via ThrowRAnameninja
  • 19
    EticketJedi NTA - I mean... she opened drawers in the nursery to find the name. That's on her. Hilarious and well played. Congrats on the $20.
    via EticketJedi
  • 20
    Crafty_Special_7052 NTA that is hilarious. She'll probably get mad all over again when you give birth and realize you aren't using Aria Rose for the girl name
    via Crafty_Special_7052

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aita baby baby names pregnancy parenting sister in law names prank family reddit thread Reddit mom name
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