Please take our
Listener's Survey!
Transcripts
Do you
love her or do you hate her? Hi everybody this is Rebecca Powell for Baby
Talk Radio. I want to spend some time with you now talking with you about
your mother in law. No matter how you feel about her once you become an
expectant mom your mother-in-law becomes an expectant grandmother and she’ll
be a part of your baby’s life forever.
As a
daughter-in-law, the relationship with your mom-in-law may not be quite as
comfortable as the one you share with your own mom. Even so she deserves to
be just as involved as possible with the new baby. My mother was coming to
spend the first week with my newborn and me after we came home from the
hospital.
It
seemed only natural to invite my husband’s mom to stay with us the second
week after all she is just as much my baby’s grandmother as my own mommy
is. I was hoping that after this time of intense on the job training with
both veteran moms that I would be able to handle mothering on my own.
Even
though some of my friends thought my plan was crazy – to have my
mother-in-law with me for a week our little family enjoyed being basked
weeks at home when the grandmother’s came. The grandmother’s took over the
laundry and cleaning so that I could get the rest that I desperately
needed.
Each
of these wonderful women did the week’s grocery shopping and prepared our
favorite meals each night. But what was most important was that each of our
moms got to spend plenty of time bonding with the new grand baby. My
husband and I learned invaluable parenting tips and tricks from both
grandmas’ which served us well in the month that followed.
Spending those first two weeks with each grandma as our houseguest quickly
became our tradition. We repeated this strategy when each of our sons were
born as well. Now the thought of a grandmother invasion may sound crazy to
you not everyone has a good relationship with their mom or her
mother-in-law.
When
you become a mother, however, roles change for your parents and in-laws as
well. They become grandparents. Even the very best relationships will
experience growing pain as each member of the family becomes accustomed to
his or her new identity. An already shaky relationship can in fact become
even more stressed when a new baby arrives.
Fortunately there are some things you can do to allow for a smooth
transition when your baby initiates his grandmothers. It’s all about
establishing boundary that protect your space as a new mom while at the same
time conveying an attitude of respect and love for enthusiasm of the new
grandma. Join me next time for some great ideas on developing a real
connection with your baby’s grandmother. Be sure to visit me on the web at
http://rebeccapowell.com.
