Welcoming a new baby should be a time of healing, bonding, and rest – sadly, that doesn’t always happen.

This stressed mom found herself dreading hosting her mother-in-law whose idea of “helping” was really making everything harder.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for asking my MIL to come months after I give birth, not weeks?

My first baby was born by emergency caesarean.

It was traumatic for me, but the baby was completely fine.

I was hugely hormonal, and it took months for me to stop crying.

I wasn’t sad or upset—I just had tears all the time.

But other things added to her stress.

The combination of a traumatic birth, wild hormones, and feeling like I needed to “be a host” meant I was exhausted all the time.

My MIL thought she was helping, but she only cooked one meal while she stayed with us for 10 days and would make comments.

Her MIL wasn’t being helpful in the slightest.

For example, she said she would take the washing off the line.

I asked if she could hold the baby so I could do it, and she asked if her folding wasn’t good enough.

As a new mother, it was not what I needed.

She’s already looking ahead to her recovery.

I’m due with my second baby in June, and MIL wants to come and visit in July.

It is very likely that I’ll need another caesarean, which I am still wrapping my head around.

She wants to do things differently with her MIL this time around.

I have asked if she can come in September instead.

I understand this means she won’t see her grandkids for a bit longer, but AITA for putting my potential needs above her need to see us?

She knew motherhood required sacrifice, but her healing wasn’t up for negotiation

What did Reddit make of this story?

This new mom is going through enough. Her husband should handle his mother.

To keep her sanity, this new mom will need to prioritize her needs first.

Firm and simple is the best policy.

If the MIL hadn’t dropped the ball so hard with the first kid, then maybe this situation would be different.

If her mother-in-law wanted to visit, she’d just have to wait just like everyone else.

Healing takes time, and she wasn’t about to trade her recovery for someone else’s convenience.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.