My Mil Hijacked My Baby Shower And Labeled Me As The “Surrogate.” She Even Created A Timeline For When I Should Hand Over My Son. Does She Actually Believe This Is Legal?

The Cease and Desist

We talked about our options for protecting ourselves. Dominic said we could file for a restraining order right away based on everything that had happened, but he suggested we might want to try sending a formal cease and desist letter first. The letter would be from his law office on official letterhead.

It would clearly state that Diane must stop all contact with me immediately. She couldn’t call, text, email, or show up at our home or my workplace or my medical appointments. She couldn’t post about me or our baby on social media or in online groups.

The letter would explain that her behavior constitutes harassment and stalking under state law. It would warn that if she violated any of these terms, we would immediately file for a restraining order and possibly press criminal charges. Dominic said sometimes people respond better to an official legal letter than they do to family members asking them to stop.

The letter would make it crystal clear that her behavior was illegal and had to end. If she ignored the letter or violated any of the terms, then we’d have even stronger evidence for the restraining order. Trevor and I talked it over and decided to try the cease and desist letter first.

We wanted to give Diane one chance to stop voluntarily before we got the courts involved. Dominic said he’d draft the letter that day and have it sent by certified mail so we’d have proof she received it. The letter arrived at Diane’s house two days later according to the tracking number.

The Midnight Attack

Trevor and I tried to go about our normal routine while waiting to see if she would actually listen to the lawyer’s warning. Three nights after the letter was delivered, I woke up at midnight to the sound of someone pounding on our front door so hard I thought the wood might crack. I grabbed my phone and saw it was exactly 12:03 in the morning.

The pounding got louder, and then I heard Diane screaming from outside about how we couldn’t keep her grandson from her and she had rights. Trevor jumped out of bed and told me to stay in the bedroom while he went to see what was happening. I could hear Diane yelling that she knew we were in there and she wasn’t leaving until we gave her back her baby.

My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold my phone. Trevor came back to the bedroom and said he was calling the police because his mom was completely out of control and he was worried she might break a window or hurt herself. I sat on the floor of our bedroom with my back against the bed, listening to Diane scream and bang on the door while Trevor talked to the emergency operator.

He had to give our address twice because his voice was shaking. The operator said police were on their way and to stay inside and not open the door. Diane kept yelling about how I was a thief and a liar and how God told her the baby was meant to be hers.

She started kicking the door, and I heard something that sounded like she was trying to break the lock. Trevor sat down next to me on the floor and put his arm around me. We could hear sirens getting closer, and then suddenly Diane stopped making noise.

Police Intervention

By the time the police knocked and identified themselves, everything had gone quiet except for the sound of someone crying on our front porch. Trevor opened the door for the two officers who had responded to the call. They asked if we were okay and then went to talk to Diane, who was sitting on our porch steps sobbing.

I stayed inside, but I could hear one of the officers explaining to her that she needed to leave immediately or she would be arrested for trespassing. Diane told them we were keeping her baby hostage inside the house. The officer asked her to clarify what she meant, and she said her grandson was in there and we wouldn’t let her see him.

The other officer asked how old the child was, and Diane said he wasn’t born yet but he was hers. Both officers looked confused and came back to talk to Trevor. They asked him to explain the situation, and he told them about the cease and desist letter and how his mother had been harassing me throughout my pregnancy.

He showed them the letter from Dominic on his phone. The officers went back to Diane and spent almost ten minutes trying to explain that an unborn baby legally belongs to its parents and she had no right to demand access. Diane kept insisting they didn’t understand and she had talked to a lawyer about grandparent rights.

One officer finally told her that she needed to go home right now, and if she came back she would be arrested. They offered to drive her, but she said she had her car. The officers watched her get in her car and followed her for a few blocks to make sure she actually left. They came back to give us an incident report number and suggested we file for a restraining order in the morning.