Baby is due next month and I’m starting to have some anxiety about visitors. Our family lives 3 hours away. I have explained to all of them that they are welcome to visit while we are in the hospital but when we go home I would like some time to for us to bond as my husband only gets one week off of work. I personally think this is a reasonable request we are going to be new parents and I’m going to be new to breast-feeding. I can’t stand the thoughts of anyone immediately staying with us and trying to tell me how they did things 30 years ago. I thought that would be clear (without coming out and saying I do not want anyone to stay with us for the first week) and explained that once he goes back to work in one week I would welcome their help. My family completely understands. However my MIL commented today that she would stay at our home and take care of the dog while we were in the hospital and be here waiting for us when we got home. ??? Think I’m just going to have to have my husband talk to her and make sure that we are all on the same page. Also our church family will likely offer a meal calendar for us where someone would bring us meals every day or every other day for a couple of weeks. It is so sweet and I love the idea of us not having to cook :). One hesitation I have is having visitors in our house that could potentially be sick as Feb is a time when lots of people are. The other is I’m not sure if I will feel up to visitors. I’m sure they will want to visit and see the baby. I love the idea but I am undecided on whether or not I would accept this invitation. Thoughts?
Just had my baby 3 months ago via C-section. Personally, c-section or not, I did not want visitors after coming home. It’s an emotional & exhaustive time at the hospital. All I wanted to do was just spend time together as mom, dad, & baby & fur-babies (2 dogs & 2 cats). You’re exhausted already & with breastfeeding, the exhaustion will only increase. Unless you’re planning on using formula, in-laws can’t really help with the the baby, only household chores. Also, the major thing was for me is that you’re bringing a new human into this life & bombarding her/him with too many things which can overwhelm them. Coming home to a new environment & not being in the womb will be enough “new” experiences for the first few weeks. You’ll need help more when your partner goes back to work. Hope this helps!
I say take the free food! LOL Personally I thought everyone would be jumping to meet my baby too and in the end we really didn’t get any visitors at home (not that I’m complaining). If you do end up with visitors insist that everyone wash their hands before handling the newborn, and ask them to stay away if they are sick. As for the house guests, you’ll probably need your husband to make sure his mother is on the same page. Finally, make sure you find a support group for breastfeeding (online or in person). I joined a local support group on Facebook and it’s probably THE reason I’m still successfully BFing at 10 months, as it gave me a place to go and ask questions along the way.