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Hi Friends,
I'm new to this forum and I need your wisdom. I'm in my late 30s. My husband and I plan on trying to start a family next month. At my age not sure how long it will take to actually get pregnant. I'm worried about how I'm going to take care of my mom (75 years old) if I end up getting put on bedrest. If everything goes great with the pregnancy, I still will have the birth and healing time that I will be out of commission with helping her. I look at this as a good time to get my mom used to having helpers but she is stubborn and doesn't want it. She prefers to suck up all of my time and energy. She has a landscaper that comes once a week but that's it. She has a large home and yard. I live closeby and am at her house almost everyday. I do all the housecleaning, handman type work, some yard work, answer her emails and do 100% of her errands. This includes grocery shopping, banking, mailing out bills, and taking her out twice a week for a fun activity. She also randomly gets obessed with having something more major fixed at the house every couple of weeks. I then need to fix it or hire a vendor and oversee the work. As for food, she makes breakfast and sometimes lunch. Other times I pick her up lunch and have her dinner delivered. A couple of times a week I bring her to my house for dinner. She has bad eye sight and is very hard of hearing. She also has arthritis and mobility problems but still walks. I would like to hire her a housekeeper and a personal assistant. My mom drives me nuts always sending me to the store for one item and not wanting to pay for delivery. I would like to outsource that to someone else. But even though she could pay for help she is extremely cheap. I do try to order what I can on Amazon but they don't always have everything. My mom is a hoarder and doesn't want anyone in the house. Not sure how to overcome that. I've tried telling her that I won't be able to bring the baby over unless she cleans up but she doesn't see any urgency since I'm not pregnant yet. I told her I don't want to be hauling a lot of junk to the dumpster when I'm pregnant but again she shrugged and didn't seem to care. I'm an only child with no other family help. Her house can get away with no cleaning while I'm out of commission but down the road she will need more care and someone coming into the house. This would be a great time to get her used to help. Any suggestions on how best to outsource her care and get her to agree to it? Worst case scenario, I could send her to a hotel for a few weeks when I give birth but all of her bills will still need to be paid as she refuses auto pay. Sigh. By the way I don't have POA and she refuses to see a lawyer. She built her life around her house. She has just a couple of friends. She's long divorced. She loves to work in her vegetable garden. Getting her to downsize is not something I will be able to accomplish before getting pregnant so I can't think of that as an immediate option. I love my mom and want to take care of her. She just makes it difficult sometimes when she is so set in her ways. Any advice is appreciated :)

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Are you planning on having your own life with your child and partner? Ever?

I think you need to examine quite seriously why you are doing all this work for your mother.

She needs an employee.
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Agreed! I feel like an unpaid employee. I'm looking into companies that assist seniors. It's not fair to me to keep up this amount of time and effort.
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Life changes. Priorities change. You have some wonderful plans for some big happy changes & challenges that go with a new little human 😊

But Mom is quite happy with things just the way they are. She has a good set up, her familiar home, everything she can't manage she delegates.

"I look at this as a good time to get my mom used to having helpers but she is stubborn and doesn't want it".

She is never going to get someone to help her as good as you. Loving, kind, punctual, efficient & free.

Oh yes. Been there dear.

Now this isn't really about making bubs #1 & throwing Mama outside..

It's about shifting priorities. Your priority will taking responsibility for you, your health, your new infant & partner. Mom will need to shift perspective to be responsible for herself.

Now is the time for a good sit down chat. To kindly discuss the type of life she wants as she ages, the chores she needs done, how much she wants to spend to stay at home. Or if AL would be a better fit.

A councillor told me it takes on average SIX times for 'The Chat' to sink in & be acted on - IF no cognitive impairments.

My rooky mistake was to think it was my job to CONVINCE & get the services in before I stepped back. No-no-no. I finally got it. *You will stay ALL the solutions until you step back*.

As a Social Worker told me;
1. Advise. This is the deal.
2. Let her decide.
3. The consequences are hers.

So here's one example that people have used;
1. "Mom, I can't do the yard work anymore. Here is the number for some local gardening services. I can help you choose one.
2. Leave the phone numbers/brochures with her.
3. "No Mom, I explained I wouldn't be doing that anymore. You can call one of the gardening services or will have to put up with long grass & an overgrown garden". Repeat this process each time for deliveries, meals, home maintemece, bills etc.

Then as the weeks go by, she will feel the actual weight of her own responsibilities. Can choose what's really important to her. Is it actually still having a vegetable garden or not? When you then next have 'The Chat' she may have new insight.
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Again thank you for the advice! I'm looking into to outsourcing what I do and making a list to give her. Then stepping back and seeing what she does with it. I started with a landscaper for the weeding. Had a landscaper for 2 days which cost a total of $400. She complained about the price and accused him of stealing her apples from the tree. But she paid and I got to relax. That's all that matters 😊
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Your mother's life is not your problem, nor in some ways any of your business, and nothing you have said suggests she doesn't have all her wits about her.

Stop doing all this work for her, at least some of which she hasn't even asked you to do. If she can make breakfast, and she can make lunch when she wants to, then she can also make dinner. How has it become your mission to see to it?

Tell her you're stepping back, then step back. You have more important things to focus on! :)
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Your advice is appreciated. Her arthritis acts up the more the day wears on. Some days are better for her than others so sometimes she's up to making meals and sometimes not. I'm looking into the agencies that assist elders. Hopefully I can find a good one that can coordinate meals and do other tasks when she needs it.
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Your post was a jaw-dropper for me. I will be 74 next Monday, and I simply cannot imagine the reaction of either of my daughters if I even suggested that they do all the ‘stuff’ that you are doing.

Your mother is sufficiently independent that she can largely care for herself, if and only if she is in a manageable one-person living space. You should not be enabling/disabling her to live in a large property that she cannot manage. And you should not be giving yourself the ‘responsibility’ for ‘solving’ all her issues.

Sometimes the only way to make/help someone to change is to stop propping them up. Just stop. Let the wheels fall off. Now, before the final stages of the pregnancy you are hoping for.

The help you could perhaps offer is to help her find a suitable AL place that would have a garden she could potter in. She might even be sold by thinking about a new garden that she could start from scratch in. That may be the very best help that you could be in helping her face the reality of ageing in a realistic way. But it will only come when she is allowed to realise that she cannot manage her current establishment.
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Beatty Jul 2021
"Let the wheels fall off"

Love this turn of phrase!

A Doctor I saw once used a more posh, wordy phrase, but then re-clarified as "let the 💩 hit the fan"
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You already have a child. It's your mother.

Of course she won't get help. She has you to do it all for her! Your focus is on the pregnancy and birth. You are going to be exhausted for a long, long time after baby arrives. How will you juggle a newborn, a toddler, a preschooler with doing it all for your mother?

If your mother is wants a grandchild, then she needs to do her part. She obviously doesn't want to. She seems very selfish and entitled, so even if you had a baby she wouldn't care about cleaning her house or doing anything for herself. She'll just expect you to do the same things you are now with a baby. She couldn't care less if her home isn't safe for a child. It's her world and everyone else just lives in it.

Was she all that different now than when you were growing up? She isn't "set in her ways". She has some mental illness. Hoarding isn't normal. Expecting others to do it all for them isn't normal. No amount of reasoning will work with her.

Most people who love their parents want to look after them in some capacity. But you aren't looking after her. You're pretty much raising her. This doesn't help you or her. If she isn't willing to do basics for you or your baby, guess what? She doesn't care about you. If she truly loved you she wouldn't put all this on you.

Any backing away will be met with her complaining, crying, manipulating, accusing. Let her. She is childish and like any child, will tantrum when they're told NO. She's an adult and needs to handle her own life. And so do you.
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Thanks for your reply. She was always high maintenance. Her hoarding started after her divorce 30 years ago. Got worse when her parents died 20 years ago and left her all their stuff. I agree she is like a child. I need not fall for the drama and live my own life. Thank you for your advice.
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"By the way I don't have POA and she refuses to see a lawyer." That's a big problem that will only get bigger. IMO, it is a bad idea for anyone to take on the responsibility of caregiving for a parent without having the authority both medical and financial. If she wants your help then she must get her important paperwork in order. If you continue to enable her to do nothing then nothing will change except your level of stress as her needs will only increase.

Other things also need to change. "I told her I don't want to be hauling a lot of junk to the dumpster when I'm pregnant but again she shrugged and didn't seem to care". Hoarding is a mental illness. She needs a geriatric psych evaluation, professional help decluttering her house, and then a housekeeper to maintain it. You should not be cleaning her house just because she's a hoarder and is cheap.

Once you have POA, tell her what bills can be put on autopay and put them on autopay. Tell her that you will have a monthly "business" meeting with her to go over her finances. That is what my husband does with his dad so that his dad feels respected and informed.

Why are you answering your mother's emails??? Every computer has screen size options so that the text can be made big enough for her to read. It is a good idea for you to screen her emails because there are a lot of scams through email. But acting as her personal secretary? Really??

"Worst case scenario, I could send her to a hotel for a few weeks when I give birth..." You aren't even pregnant yet! And it may be very hard for you to get pregnant not just because of your age but also because of the stress your mother puts on you.

Maybe it's time for your mother to move to a senior community that can cater to her because she's paying for them to cater to her. Remember that her needs are only going to increase and enabling her charade of independence can only continue if you allow it.
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
I agree a lot needs to change. When I suggest seeing a lawyer for POA or a doctor she throws a fit. I think for my own stress levels I'll give it one more try then just make a plan and tell her this is how its going to be. I can't keep bang my head against a wall metaphorically speaking. I need to make changes and stick to it. Thanks for your advice.
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You can't get her to do any of those things until you stop being available for all those things, plain and simple.

Barb is right -- your priorities need to be your husband and eventual children, and like it or not, Mom comes second. You can oversee her care and make sure she's not being neglected, but you cannot continue to do it all, especially when you get swollen ankles at 36 weeks and can't even put shoes on your feet. (Trust me on that one.)

If she chooses to be a hoarder and keep people out of her house, so be it. It'll keep you and your child out of there, too, because that's not safe for a baby. Don't argue with her about it, just make it clear that that's how life is going to go.

Set the boundaries now. There's a book out there about that, and I can't remember the name, but someone here will pop in with it.
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MargaretMcKen Jul 2021
I think the book is called 'Boundaries'!
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You need to set some firm boundaries and stop doing all this stuff for your mom. I made the same mistake with my parents. They would not address their physical failings and I stupidly stepped in and spent countless weekends helping them around the house, etc. Someone told me I was DISabling them vs enabling them. At first, I was offended but then I finally got it and wished I had learned that lesson 10 years ago!

Anyhow, step back. Start setting your life up so that you CAN get pregnant and prioritize YOUR baby and husband. Mom can still be an important part of your life, BUT she needs to be much more independent and hire the help she needs or substantially cut back on what she expects to have done. It will be expensive to hire someone to do half of what you've been doing!

Your mom is NOT going to like this. That's OK. I'm sure it won't be easy to stand up to her, but you have to do it for your own sake.

Good luck.
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Thanks for your reply! I will need the good luck! She will definetly have sticker shock on the price of help. I had a landscaper come over to do the weeding and the cheapest one was $25 per hour. She bitterly complained about the price. If I charged her that all these years I'd be rich! Lol I do agree I need to set firm boundaries and start enjoying my life. Thanks for your advice!
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She has to hire someone to do what you can not do and she can not do.
Her option would be to go to Assisted Living for the time you would be unable to help her. And if I might add you need to think about how much you will actually be able to do for mom after even a normal childbirth and caring for a newborn.
Questions like this should be thought about more often. As a caregiver what happens if you are in an accident on the way to the store? What happens if you slip off a curb and break an arm or leg? No one can predict what will happen to us at any moment but planning in advance does take some worry out of things. (I set up a "special needs trust" that would have provided for my Husband if something happened to me but he would have probably been placed in a Memory Care facility)
You really should discuss options with her if she is able to truly understand that you may not be able to help her for a while.
You might want to start by not "helping" her for an extended period of time.
If she calls and needs something from the store tell her to have it delivered. If she needs a ride tot he bank, hairdresser, post office...Cab or Uber.
She has you trained...now it is time for you to try to train her.
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and insightful reply. You're right of course. We need a plan for when I'm incapacitated for any reason. And I do need to step back or nothing will ever change. I've started researching agencies that assist elders. Hopefully I can find a reliable one.
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EverydayCare, how do you feel about some of the replies?

Have you considered drawing up a list of all the chores you currently do for Mom? Then show it to Mom. Will she say 'Wow, I didn't realise you were doing all that. Yes I can make some changes'.

Or just shrug. Some people seem to lose empathy to see others' point of view. Some lose ability to reason & solve problems.

My relative DID care that I had a lot on my plate but shrugged as has nothing to add. Did not see it as her problem to solve. Did not or could not think about solutions. Her independence was a farce. Is your Mom's?
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EverydayCare Jul 2021
Yes that's exactly my situation. She knows how much I do but is not interested in taking steps to lessen my load. The most important lesson I'm learning from this forum is I should not ask permission to make changes because that will never happen. I need a plan and tell her how its going to be. The advice you and others have gives is invaluable. Thanks for sharing your wisdom 😊
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