Husband uncomfortable with my parents staying for over a month with us

I'm 28F (European) and my husband is 27M (American). We're expecting our first baby.

In my family and culture, it's very common for relatives visiting from abroad to stay for several weeks or even a couple of months. My parents live in Europe, so they can't just come for a weekend. Flights are expensive, and since moving to the US I've only had my mom visit once, for my wedding, and she stayed with her sister since I was a college student. Growing up, long family visits were completely normal.

My husband grew up very differently. He values privacy and having our home be "our space." He has told me he wouldn't even want his own parents staying with us for more than about a month, so this isn't something he only says about my family.

We live in a 2-bed, 1-bath apartment, and this is our first baby. My mom is coming for one month after the birth to help, and my husband agreed to that. The issue is that she's already talking about coming again during the summer. She's a teacher, so she has the whole summer off, and because she lives across the ocean, I'd naturally be okay with a visit of around two months. My husband says a month is his limit because he feels we'd lose our routine and privacy.

To make things more complicated, my mom can be very emotional. She sometimes gets upset over small things (like my husband forgetting to say good morning), and there's a language barrier since she doesn't speak much English and my husband doesn't speak my language fluently. My husband says he feels like he has to walk on eggshells around her, which I understand.

Ironically, I also know what it's like to need my own space. A couple of years ago, after about two weeks visiting my parents, even I was ready to go home.

Recently, my mom asked me if I would feel comfortable having her here for a month or more. Not wanting to say "yes" right away and dismiss my husband's feelings, I told my mom that my husband and I would have to decide together what works for our family and that a month is good, but I wasn't sure yet about more. She took it very personally and said things like she felt she couldn't count on coming to her daughter's home anymore, and even implied she couldn't count on me if something happened to her. Now I feel caught in the middle.

I'm frustrated because part of me wishes my husband were more comfortable with long family visits, especially since my parents live an ocean away and won't come often. At the same time, I understand it's his home too, and I don't want him to feel uncomfortable. I'm also afraid that if my family thinks this is mostly my husband's preference, they'll resent him.

For people who have dealt with cultural differences or family living far away, what's the fairest compromise? Am I expecting too much by wanting visits to last longer than a month? If you're American, is this a normal thing to not want? My uncle's wife (also American) has no problem with family staying with them for a month or more. Is my husband being unreasonable or am I?

TL;DR: I'm European and my husband is American. In my culture, family members from abroad often stay for 1–2 months because visits are rare. My husband values privacy and says a month is his limit, even for his own parents. Told my mom I'm not sure if she can stay a month or more for vacation, she took this personally, and now I feel caught between my husband and my family. I'm wondering what's a fair compromise.

Posted Jun 29, 2026, 11:31 PM UTC

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