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Brigid Strait Johns's avatar

My mother-in-law teaches that grandparenting class. When our first was born, she showed up with pajama pants for me, 3 stools to make breastfeeding easier/comfier in any room, (stolen?) hospital-grade hand sanitizer for our visitors, and a diaper bag for my husband. She also bought gifts for the baby, but she saw us as people and tried to support our own needs. Love that woman.

I was pleased at the time, but every year my sense of joy at her generosity and good sense has doubled. I absolutely plan to treat my future children-in-law like she treats me.

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Lucy's avatar

As new parents, we didn't want/need anyone to come over and hold our baby. Holding the baby is the easy, fun part. What we needed was someone to do all the things that you can't easily do while holding a baby: laundry, vacuuming, scrubbing toilets, etc. My stepmom was everything our birth moms were not. When they came to visit for a week, she came in quietly and did it all without us even having to ask. My dad ran all the errands, brought all the food, and said things like this regularly: " [New baby] is amazing, but watching you become a mom is even more amazing." I cried a lot of happy, grateful tears that week.

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