Everyone loves a new baby, but sometimes they love the baby a little too enthusiastically.

This expecting mother thought she had a solid postpartum plan: no hospital visitors, no surprise houseguests, and plenty of quiet time to recover and bond with her newborn. But things got complicated when her overly excited MIL announced she had already planned a week-long visit around the due date without asking first. Now, the mom-to-be is wondering how to ask her to wait without starting family drama before the baby even arrives.

This story is funny, relatable, and painfully real for anyone who has ever dealt with well-meaning but overwhelming family members. Read the full story below and weigh in on whether setting boundaries makes her reasonable or the family villain.

WIBTA for telling my MIL to hold off her visit?

My partner and I are expecting a baby together this year, due in July.

His family lives 10 hours away, and mine lives about 6 hours away by car.

We’ve been wrapping up all the preparations, getting everything organized, and laying out plans for the birth and recovery time.

An important detail before continuing is that, while we both love my MIL, she can be overly enthusiastic and overbearing with friends and family, and this has caused her to become rather isolated outside of family.

A few days ago, my partner was informed by MIL that she had already made arrangements to come down around the baby’s due date for about a week or two to be with us and meet her first grandchild.

This mom-to-be wants MIL to delay her visit.

While we are excited for her to meet the baby, we had already discussed the fact that we do not want hospital visitors, and I personally do not want home visitors for at least the first week.

I’ve been happy to do video calls and send photos, but I really wanted that first little while to be about us recovering and finding our stride as a family, not hosting and trying to accommodate family and their needs.

My partner has also been informed by his work that he will be required to travel for 11 weeks in September, and I was thinking of asking if MIL could push her visit back by either two weeks or even until then to allow us some time to get ourselves together.

WIBTA for requesting that she wait?

One thing I’ve learned from being a mom is that you have to set firm boundaries, especially when it comes to your baby and your recovery. Postpartum is such a difficult time for most moms, and it should be her choice how to handle it. Adding an overbearing MIL into the mix could potentially send her over the edge, especially when she has to deal with sleepless nights and a clingy newborn.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this story about a mother whose attitude ruined a sweet gift from her child.

Other people in the comments section are sharing their two cents.

Some useful advice.

This grandparent weighs in.

A valid question.

Another user pipes up.

And people are taking her side.

Sometimes, the best gift you can give a new mom is some space.