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My parents and brother live about 7 hours away.

My parents came about 2 weeks after LO was born and it was nice because they wanted to help with everything but I got sick of that fast. I was happy when they left 6 days later because I felt like my mom was always in the way.

Next time, I want my parents to be here before Baby 2 is born so they can help with LO.
My brother came a few days after my parents left and he helped out a lot. He ran errands, helped around the house, took care of the dog, cooked and cleaned. He stayed 4 days!

My mom came to stay with me for the first three days I was home and she was really helpful. DH was working and mom being there allowed me to shower and not stress.

I would have been a mess if MIL was there.

My mom ended up only being able to be around Saturday-Tuesday which was the whole time I was in the hospital...so no help at home. My IL's live an hour away and came each day we were in the hospital, and then came to visit for a few hours 3 days after we went home.

LO is only 2 weeks old, and I wish somebody would come visit! I get really lonely when DH is at work.

My in-laws came on Thursday after LO was born -- she was born on a Monday and we came home from the hospital on Weds. I didn't want them there immediately, since I felt the same about us having some time to figure out things on our own. I had even originally asked if they could stay at a hotel near us since our house is small, and I wasn't sure if I would be up for guests 24/7. I changed my mind on that part, but I still think I would've preferred a bit more time alone before they came.

My mom came for a week 2 weeks after LO was born, and it was the best thing.

I definitely appreciate having some alone time with your new little family once the baby comes, and then my preference would be to have my mom come fairly soon after for a couple weeks. Like others have said, even if you like your in-laws, it's just not the same as having your own mom who you can cry/vent/etc to. My mom was also a lot more helpful in taking care of both of us (not just the baby) and I was more comfortable asking her to do stuff around the house.

@foodnerd81 DH took his 1 week off the week LO was born. The hardest week was the one in-between his paternity leave ending and when my mom came -- it was only 1 week, but it was overwhelming and lonely!

@Foodnerd81: I wanted dh there in the beginning too! It was good bonding time with the baby and in the beginning I was so overwhelmed and anxious that I needed him there to calm me down. My mom and my dh were both so wonderful and supportive in different ways. So I liked having both of them there.

My MIL stayed with us for a week after the baby was born and it was a God send. She was nothing but helpful with housework and watching baby while we got a little rest. I had a really tough time emotionally and having her there was so incredibly helpful. My mom lives nearby so she didn't stay overnight.

My DD is the first grandchild on my side, and we live 14hrs away from my family by car...So I have been getting major shade about them worrying they'll never get to see her and will miss out on so much. So I really wanted them to be here for her birth so they could be a part of it all. We flew my parents in a couple of days before my induction and they stayed a week. In retrospect, although I love them dearly, I wish we would have waited to fly them in a couple of weeks later. Trying to figure out a newborn and not being totally confident about what you're doing-just wanting to get to know your baby - was a lot more physically and emotionally overwhelming with my parents kind of in the way. Jus having to coordinate things with/for them as far as when they were coming/going from hospital, or what they were going to do for dinner since they were totally unfamiliar with the area- all of those little extra worries I could have done without...Plus we didn't get a ton of bonding time with them & DD bc we had no idea what we were doing so we kind of hogged her while we tried to figure her out. I also BF, which is a whole new experience and really takes up 90% of baby's awake time in the first couple of weeks.

My brother, SIL, & sister came to stay after she was 1&2 weeks old and it was a lot less stressful bc DH and I were more together and less...Bewildered!

So I say get them to wait...And don't feel bad about it. That time of newness/bonding belongs to you and your LO. You need it. As a family. And you have to put your foot down for the sake of what's best for your LO- that's one thing I've learned. Can't feel guilty or worry about hurting feelings, I just have to do what I think is best for my baby and they have to get over it. If they can't, that's not my problem bc I only care about LO:)

My parents live 2.5 hours away, MIL lives four hours away. We told them they were welcome to come visit and meet the baby right away but we would not be having overnight guests the first two weeks. My parents came to visit the day she was born, MIL came for a few hours the day after we came home. DH and I stayed home with LO for two weeks. I loved this time while we were figuring things out as a new family. Once DH had to go back to work, my mom came for 10 days. This was perfect so I still had an extra set of hands during the day, and she was a great help around the house and not just there to enjoy the baby. MIL came for a long weekend after my mom left, I would not have done well if she had been there any longer.

I also wanted to add that my ILs just got here Fri and wanted to stay a couple of weeks with us...DH didn't want me banished to the bedroom while BFing or having them on top of us after learning our lesson with my family...He told them beforehand that they will need to get a hotel. The pre-Mom me would have felt guilty for basically saying they're not welcome to stay with us, but at the end of the day, 2weeksof them in our house would suck the sanity out of me, so I am grateful that DH nipped it in the bud and I'm just rolling with it bc it's what's best for US that matters. Not what's best for them. This is the first time in my life that I am putting myself before others and not caring if they're inconvenienced!

We decided not to have overnight visitors for 2 weeks after DS was born. We wanted time to get adjusted without having too many people telling us what to do (our moms!). We wanted to figure things out and learn about our little guy first. We also didn't want visitors for 24 hours at the hospital so we could bond and get some rest.

My MIL was at our house when we came home from the hospital because she was babysitting our dogs. She left shortly after though. We didn't have any company stay with us and I'm really glad we didn't. I don't think I could have handled it. My MIL is around all the time now and it drives me a little nuts!