AITAH for feeling overwhelmed by my in-laws constantly staying at our home after our daughter was born?

My wife and I just had our first child, a beautiful baby girl, five days ago. We are obviously exhausted, emotional, and still trying to figure out this whole newborn thing.

My wife had a C-section, so she needs help recovering and taking care of the baby. From the beginning, my MIL came home with us and has been staying with us to help my wife. I have absolutely no problem with this. In fact, I'm grateful for it. She is here specifically to help her daughter recover, help with the baby, and take care of things around the house.

The problem is that it hasn't stopped there.

The very next day, my wife's sister came over and stayed the night. I was okay with it to a degree, although she wears hijab, so I have to be conscious of how I move around my own apartment and make sure I'm appropriately dressed whenever I'm not in my room.

Then, before we'd even been home for a week, my wife's aunt came to stay with us, along with her two children, who are 4 and 6 years old.

Now, to be fair, her aunt lives in another governorate about three hours away from us. So I completely understand that if she's going to make the trip to see the baby, staying overnight is probably the practical thing to do. I'm not criticizing her for not wanting to make a six-hour round trip in one day.

My issue is more basic: did she really need to make that trip right now?

We had only just brought our daughter home. My wife was recovering from a C-section, I was exhausted, we're both learning how to take care of a newborn, and we'd already had other family members staying with us. It just felt like this wasn't the right time to add another overnight visit, especially with two young children coming along.

Again, I'm not saying they weren't welcome to meet the baby. I'm saying that I wish there had been some recognition that perhaps the new parents needed a little breathing room first.

And with the aunt being a hijabi, I'm once again having to be conscious of how I move around my own home. On top of that, there are two small children around, which means I'm occasionally expected to interact with them, entertain them, or buy them sweets and snacks.

And now I've been told that my wife's sisters are going to come and stay overnight the weekend after this one.

At this point, I'm starting to feel trapped in my own home.

I desperately need some peace and quiet. I want some time with my wife and my daughter. I want to be able to walk into my living room without wondering who is there, whether I need to be appropriately dressed, whether there are children running around, or whether I'm supposed to entertain someone.

I also feel like I'm barely getting the chance to actually settle into being a father. I love my daughter more than I can put into words, and I want these first days with her to be about the three of us learning each other and figuring out our new family dynamic.

There is another thing bothering me, although I feel almost embarrassed to mention it because I don't want to sound cheap.

The visits are also slowly eating into our household resources.

People staying over means more coffee, milk, sugar, cheese, fruit, snacks, meals, etc. Some of them love iced coffee, so we're going through coffee, milk and sugar every day. Cheese and fruit are disappearing much faster than usual. With the children, there are also sweets and snacks.

None of these things individually bother me. I'm not going to sit there counting slices of cheese or complaining about a glass of milk. 😂

But cumulatively, it is another expense at a time when we have a newborn and my wife is recovering from major surgery.

I don't consider myself a cheap person, and I'm perfectly happy to be hospitable when people visit. What bothers me is the sheer frequency and duration of the visits.

I keep wondering, are people coming here to help a new mother and spend some time with her and the baby, or are we gradually turning our home into everyone's free guesthouse?

I think the biggest problem is that my MIL has a clear purpose for being here. She's helping her daughter recover and helping us with the baby. I'm completely comfortable with her being here.

But with everyone else, I'm starting to feel like I'm the only person who isn't actually welcome in my own home.

I don't want to tell my wife that her family isn't welcome. I appreciate that they love her and want to be there for her. I also don't want her to feel that I'm taking away her support system immediately after giving birth.

At the same time, I'm exhausted. I'm a new father, my wife is recovering from a C-section, we're barely sleeping, and now I'm constantly adapting my home and routine around overnight guests.

I feel like we need some boundaries.

I'd be perfectly happy for her family to visit during the day, see her and the baby, bring food or whatever they want, spend some time with us, and then go home.

I just don't think I can keep having different relatives sleep over every few days.

I'm not asking my wife to choose between me and her family. I just want her to understand that I'm getting overwhelmed too.