Mum seething as parents demand she take 10-hour flight with newborn so they can meet him

A mum was left fuming after her parents demanded that she fly for 10-hours with her newborn son so they could meet him - and all hell broke loose when she made a suggestion

Flying can be tough at the best of times - it's cramped, and you're desperate to be at your destination. But the situation would be made infinitely worse if you were travelling with a newborn baby. That's what one woman's parents expected her to do so they could meet her newborn son, and the woman shared that she "hates flying in general" and the thought of flying with a newborn fills her with "anxiety."

To try and ensure her parents could still meet her bundle of joy, she offered to fly them over and "pay for everything", but her parents branded her as "disrespectful for even asking." The woman took to Reddit to explain the situation, wondering whether she was in the wrong for refusing to go on the over 10-hour flight with her baby. She wrote: "Long story short, my parents hate my husband. But because I am their child, they accepted him 'for my happiness'. Context, my mum was fine with him until my dad found out (I told my mum first). It's not like he's a bad person. My parents just had someone else in mind. Anyway, my parents moved back to where we're from while I stayed and I eventually met my husband. We've been dating since 19 and we kept our relationship secret from from my parents for years until he proposed to me.

"Now I just gave birth to our first child and obviously, my parents want to meet him. The thing is, they live nowhere near North America and the flight would be miserable. I hate flying in general but with a baby? I get anxious thinking about it. I've put it off for a long time and even asked my parents if they could fly over (we'd pay for everything) but they said it was disrespectful for me to even ask. I've been stuck in a thing of 'fine, we'll come' and 'no I can't do this' and it's affecting my whole life. My mum calls me twice a day just to remind me that I have to come and that she wants to see her grandbaby before he gets too big but I finally came to the conclusion that I can't."

She said the reason she couldn't do it was because "he's a fussy baby" and "needs to be held" a lot, and he cries until he's held by her, and she thought that would make the plane journey a nightmare. She also said she was "terrified" of the reaction she might get as "he does make a lot of noise." She continued: "If it was a smaller flight I could make do but it would be over 10 hours. Im exhausted just thinking about it and then I have to deal with my parents and their passive-aggressive comments right after.

"I called my mum and told her that we won't be coming. She got very angry and kept ranting about my husband keeping us away from them. She eventually said 'forget it, we don't want to see his child. Don't call us again.' My aunt (who I don't talk to) said that she's very upset with me and my mum has been so excited to see the baby but we crushed her. Apparently, dad doesn't want to see the baby but mum really does (but she refuses to travel without him) which is why she's been pushing me so hard."

In the comments, people were quick to tell her that she shouldn't have to travel over 10 hours with a baby, unless her parents are physically unable to. One wrote: "Travelling with children is a nightmare and if the reason for travel is to see the new baby, it should 100% fall on the grandparents to come to you unless they physically cannot travel. What if the flight gets delayed or you get stranded with the baby somewhere? Your parents think they can guilt you into letting them control you but you are not obligated to meet their demands and are allowed to set boundaries."

Another reassured her: "You are definitely not the a**hole. I actually give you a ton of credit for telling your mum you can't do it. A four-month-old baby on a plane for 10 hours would be extremely difficult for you and your husband and really, unnecessary at this point in your lives. If your mum wants to see him, then SHE should come with your dad to see the baby. It's so much easier for them to do that. As far as it being disrespectful...Why? What is disrespectful about that request? Makes no sense. Don't budge on this. I'm sure you're going to get even more flask from your mum or through your aunt who your mum will vent and complain to. Also, don't let your mum try and pass this situation off as your husband's fault. You need to have his back on this."

Do you have a story to share? Email: danielle.wroe@mirror.co.uk