Just wondering how everyone navigated/communicated this and how you felt once baby had arrived? I know every experience is different but keen to gain insight from others.
My parents are one hour away and would happily come for a visit for a few hours and return home. They aren’t the types to come and make food and ‘look after’ us and expect to stay for any length of time, so this feels manageable.
My in laws are just over 2 hrs drive and haven’t been explicit but have said things like they’re avoiding making any plans for all of summer so they can be around. This is my first and I’m quite a private person so I don’t think I will feel comfortable having them around while I’m in the early stages of navigating blood loss, self care, breastfeeding etc. My MIL is a nurse and the kind of person who WOULD want to ‘look after’ us but I just don’t feel it’s the same as having my own mum around.
I’m also really bad at having people stay and not feeling like I need to meal plan/cook and host (MIL is potentially too respectful to just take over and do these things so still feel like I will need to manage this stuff, otherwise no one will eat!!)
I don’t know how to raise this without sounding like I’m preventing them from visiting, especially knowing they are SUPER keen and have set aside time to be with us. Husband said last night he hopes I will feel differently once the baby is here but this feels like pressure to change my mind and fling open the doors.
Wish everyone lived round the corner so they could just pop in briefly for an hour every now and again!