New mother discovers that mother-in-law changed her baby's name while she was recovering from a c-section

Deciding on a name for your baby is one of the most difficult decisions a parent has to make.

But one new mum has been left horrified after discovering the perfect name she and her husband had come up with wasn't actually her baby's legal name - according to the birth certificate.

So the anonymous American woman wrote to an agony aunt in a desperate bid for advice on how to handle the situation.

"My son is two months old, and I just discovered my husband spelt our son's middle name as 'Finlay' instead of 'Finley' on all his legal documentation," she wrote.

"I, of course, am furious, because I told him I was fine with the middle name but it had to be spelt Finley - and he agreed before our son was ever born."

The mum claims she was unconscious and recovering from a C-section when her mother-in-law convinced her husband to change her baby's name.

"Apparently his mother guilt-tripped him into doing this while I was asleep after my emergency C-section," she continued.

"She tried to convince him to give our son a first name that I very much hated, saying that I would 'get mad, but get over it'."

She revealed: "My husband thought changing his first name was too much but apparently gave in to spelling his middle name the way his mum wanted. She thinks that 'Finlay' is more masculine that 'Finley'."

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To add insult to injury, the woman's husband was too "afraid" to tell her what had happened.

"He just let me keep believing for two months that our son's middle name was spelt Finley when it legally isn't," the outraged mum continued. "He says he regretted it as soon as the card came and has been afraid to tell me."

The woman goes on to describe the mother-in-law as "manipulative" and asks whether she should confront her about the whole thing.

"His mother has always been a manipulator and I have always known she doesn’t like me," she added.

"But she blatantly disrespected me and the name my husband and I had chosen for our son."

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But the agony aunty believed the woman should steering clear from saying anything in case things got even more heated.

"What in the entire f*** is up with your husband? He's got to decide if you are his co-parent or if his mother is. And until he makes that decision, he can't be trusted. Period," she said.

"Purposefully changing the name of your child on a birth certificate behind your back is pretty close to a fireable offense if you ask me."

"I'm mad just reading about this. You and your kid deserve so much better."