How do I handle...

my MIL doing something I'm not crazy about? This weekend, we were visiting, and the baby was crying (hard) and she laid her down on the couch in front of her and started clapping (REALLY LOUDLY) several times right over her face. It was loud enough that it made me whince. The baby got startled, and stopped crying for a second and MIL says "Now that I have your attention...blah blah blah". It really annoyed me that she did that. My baby is only 8 weeks old, and I'm sorry but she cries inconsolably sometimes. If MIL can't handle it, she shouldn't insist on taking the baby from me. It really seemed like MIL was at her wits end with the baby, even though she had only been crying for about a minute or so. I was so shocked by what she did that I didn't say a thing, and now I am extremely upset with myself for NOT saying something.

Does anybody have any opinions? Am I overreacting? Please be honest.

Re: How do I handle...

I would say...Holy Crap lady, stop going near my baby you old hag.

If that fails to work, ask her to think about it, if that startled you...she should think about how it startled the baby!

Re: How do I handle...

While I wouldn't like it either, I probably wouldn't make a big deal over it. In the scheme of things, it won't damage her, but it may make her hate your MIL

If it were me, I would make a joke like "Scaring the hell out of her may make her stop crying, but it's also going to make her scared of you."

Otherwise, use Racheee's suggestion.

Re: How do I handle...

I agree with Barbara, I think if she does it enough she might end up being scared of your MIL. My DH's Uncle is a very LOUD man and always seems to yell when ever we get together. Well my niece would scream and look for my SIL when he entered the room and she was scared of him until she was probably 2 1/2 or 3 years old (she is 5 now) and my other niece, her sister was scared of his wife DH's Anut and did the samething but that only lasted until she could understand who everyone was.