I’m having a C section next week, this is our first baby.
My mum lives round the corner and has been such fantastic support to me throughout pregnancy. She has offered to clean our house before and after baby is born and has no expectations about meeting the baby in any given time frame. Of course she is excited to but would never outstay her welcome and just wants to make sure I am okay and that life postpartum is as easy and supported as possible. This is what she did for my sister too. Because of this I’m pretty sure I would want her to be one of the first to meet baby.
A couple of DH’s relatives (not his parents, but still close family members) are eager to meet baby ASAP but haven’t offered any form of constructive support or taken as much interest as we’d have hoped. One of them has said we can let her know and she will come round to hold baby while we do ‘the mountain of housework’ that builds up when you have a baby. Well meant I am sure but I couldn’t help but think it would have been kinder not to offer at all.
I’ll be recovering from major surgery, trying to learn how to breastfeed, probably bleeding (a lot?) and more tired than I ever knew possible. Is it horrible to want to be selective about visitors, particularly in the first week or two?
People are really excited to meet the new family member and I don’t want to prevent them from building a relationship with baby, but I just don’t want to be inundated with visitors who don’t understand, aren’t actually that interested in anything other than tiny baby cuddles and won’t get the memo not to overstay.
When I’m feeling more mobile and like myself I think I would feel a lot happier about hosting and catching up with people but just not in the first few days or week.
AIBU?