A woman was traumatized after her mother locked her newborn in a room, hoping to sleep train the infant, even when she said no. The woman no longer wants to sleep at her parents’ house.
Any mom would know babies often cry, regardless of the time of day or night. It is a natural thing for babies to do, and because they have yet to learn how to talk, communicating their desires is often a challenge.
Things can be most difficult when infants cry several times in the wee hours of the morning, having to let the parents wake up and tend to their needs. Each parent has a different approach to handling their child, and no one fix can be applied to all.
However, a grandmother believed that sleep training her granddaughter was the best course of action, even if the infant’s mom disagreed. The grandmother ended up taking matters into her own hands and hurting her relationship with her daughter.
Everyone Wants to Meet Lila
Lila was only three months old but already had an impressive set of lungs that supported her extremely loud cries. As her nanny would say, “She’s got a set of lungs on her.” Nevertheless, Lila’s grandparents had been excited to meet her.
Lila’s maternal grandparents lived hours away, and unfortunately, they could not visit anytime soon. As Lila’s mother shared on Reddit, her mom had a knee replacement surgery that prevented driving long distances until the following year.
Meanwhile, her dad had eye issues that made him unable to drive at all. Because neither of the grandparents could go, seeing Lila would have to be scheduled for the following year. After several video calls to see Lila and constantly begging for a visit, the woman, her fiancé, and Lila made a trip to visit the grandparents.
Finally Meeting Lila
To say Lila’s grandparents were excited to meet her is an understatement. Before the infant and her parents went to visit, her grandparents already set up a heavy wooden crib in the spare room. The crib came uninstalled and was built inside the room.
However, the grandparents did not know that Lila still slept in her parents’ room. Unfortunately, the crib could not pass through the door and into the guest room where her parents were. There was also no bed in the spare room, which meant there was no way the woman could be with her daughter. The woman said:
“We made our peace with it as the spare and guest room are next to each other and she’s so loud we didn’t doubt we’d be able to hear her. Sure enough, Friday night, there are 3 total crying sessions to deal with [sic].”
Disagreeing over Sleep Training
The next day, the woman’s mom suggested they start sleep training Lila and let her cry it out through the night. However, the woman said her daughter was still too young, and they were uncomfortable letting her cry it out.
That night, within ten minutes of putting Lila to sleep, the baby started to cry. Lila’s mom went to her room and panicked when the door was locked shut. She immediately went to her mother’s room and asked where the key was, but the mom said it was best to let Lila cry it out and sleep train, which the grandma was helping with.
When Lila’s mom told her father, he immediately demanded his wife give the key. The next day, the woman’s mom called her a “helicopter parent” and said she shouldn’t console Lila every time tears fell. Meanwhile, the woman’s father told his wife to leave their daughter alone.
After the incident, the woman’s mom called her and asked when their next visit would be, claiming they bought the crib for Lila. However, the woman no longer wanted to visit overnight because of what had happened.
She has her own parenting method, which she plans to apply with Lila, and it does not include locking the baby in a room to cry. The woman also noted that Lila was a premature infant and was closer to two months than three.
Several Reddit users shared their thoughts on the woman’s situation, with many expressing concern regarding the grandmother’s actions. Some claim leaving a baby locked inside a room is a dangerous and terrible idea as many things can happen to the infant.
“That your mother actually had the audacity to lock the room is a gross violation of your trust in her. The consequences are yours – as her parents – to decide about,” one person said.
