My husband and I have a six week old son. My mom is here for two weeks to “help”but it’s not happening.
All my mom wants to do is hold the baby. She can barely cook (and hasn’t at all), she doesn’t clean, and doesn’t go grocery shopping or run errands. She does buy him a ton of clothes which we appreciate but at this point, we really don’t need anymore clothes. It’s become this obsession for her and if she’s not asking to hold the baby, she’s shopping on her phone or going through baby clothes she’s bought him and “organizing” them on the couch.
The hardest part is, she wants to hold him all the time but she doesn’t hold him properly. It’s awkward and unstable and he’s clearly uncomfortable and crying when he’s with her. I honestly don’t feel comfortable with the way she handles him and she is the type to get defensive and explode if I were to tell her this.
My husband approached me and reaffirmed my thoughts, by iterating that her being here (with my dad, who’s helping with lawn work) is more of a burden on us than a help. Of course I love my parents and am happy they are meeting their grandson, but this is also why I was firm in not having them here when he was first born, because I had suspicions that it would transpire like this.
I guess this is half vent/half seeking advice on what to do. It’s going to be a long two weeks and my husband and I are miserable doing double work because they’re here. I can’t deny them meeting their grandson, but I can’t help but feel resentful that my mom’s offers to “help” are not helpful at all.
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I mean if she’s not holding your son safely you need to speak up that’s dangerous, I wouldn’t care less if that’s my mum and she would get defensive or not that’s your son!
Just tell her you don’t need to help anymore or reiterate your boundaries and actually tell her what help you actually need, some people think it’s holding the baby others know it’s household things just communicate

just ask her to do things like can you wash the dishes while i bathe my son ? or tell ur mom to choose like would u rather bathe him or wash dishes because i need help? that's what i do

I mean shes only there for 2 weeks and shes excited thats why shes buying stuff. Shes there to visit not clean everything and do everything. Shes trying her best to help in the way she knows how. As far as hding you can adjust your baby and properly show her

I read a quote a couple months back that went something like “to be a good mother, you have to be a ‘bad’ daughter”, and how I interpreted that was that you have to speak up for yourself and for your family, even when that may hurt your parents feelings. My situation is very similar (both with my parents and with the in laws), any time our parents have visited it has been so much more of a burden than a help. It’s honestly made me distance myself with my family more than I ever intended. Of course I love my parents be able to interact and visit with their grandson, but it is my job to protect and nurture him, and so I’ve had to put my foot down when it comes to what I’m comfortable with! I hope this helps, I’m here with you in solidarity xx