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My amazing mother-in-law

Yep – you heard right! I know a lot of us tend not to get on with their mother-in-law but I get on really well with mine. I’ve not spoken about her in much detail on the blog previously but she is bloody amazing.

Before we had children I would probably only see the in-law a few times a year but that all changed when we had the boys.

This is the woman who drove for her life to get to us when I went into labour with M in the early hours of the morning (the monkey was 10 days early). We wanted E to be with someone he knew and my sister who lives 5 minutes down the road was in Hong Kong! By the time she got to us though I was already at the hospital, ready to push – thank goodness for neighbours. It meant that she was there when E woke up and was able to take care of him until he was ready to meet his little brother.

Mother-in-law

Ever since I returned to work after having the boys, my mother-in-law has looked after them two days a week. She lives over an hour away, and each week she commutes down to us on a Sunday night to look after them on Monday before battling through rush hour traffic to get home and comes back again on a Tuesday afternoon to do the same again on Wednesday!

It’s meant that we have saved massively on childcare over the years and we are so so grateful and appreciative of her help. We are really lucky, I know many friends who returned to work don’t have that support network and have to rely on having a nanny or a childminder.

I never really saw my grandparents (on my mum’s side) more than a handful of times a year when I was growing up and my dad’s side live in Hong Kong, so it’s really lovely to see that they boys have a really special bond with their nanny. Many a time I will come home to find them all huddled up together on the sofa watching something on TV. When we’ve been away on holiday and not seen her for a week or so, the boys can’t wait to tell her everything they have been up to. Certificates, gold stars, new toys – she gets to hear about them all from two excited boys who want to share everything she might have missed.

At 67 looking after two energetic boys is not easy, she regularly tells me the beauty of being a grandparent is being able to just enjoy spending time with her grandchildren. She doesn’t have a strict routine or schedule to stick to and can give them undivided attention. I know when my boys are with her they are so loved and it makes me feel less guilty about having to go out to work.

It’s not just all about the boys either, she will buy me bits and bobs I need for the house that I’ve not had the time to go and buy and although I tell her off for doing so, she helps with chores around the house too.

I really hope I’ll be able to do all these things for my boys when they have children of their own and if I can be half as kind, patient and nurturing as my mother-in-law is now I will be happy.

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About The Author

Picture of Maria
Hello and welcome to Suburban Mum! I'm Maria and I'm mum to two boys - E who's 14 and M who's 11. This blog is about my family, the ups and downs of being a working mum and everything in between. If you want to find out more about me and my family head over to our About us page.

86 thoughts on “My amazing mother-in-law”

  1. The Mum Reviews

    You are very lucky to have a mother-in-law nearby who you have a good relationship with. I love my mother-in-law but she lives too far away so we only see her in person a few times a year. Thank God for Skype! #kcacols

    Reply
  3. Jen

    My MIL does the same thing, she is in her 70s and watches mine for every shift, she doesn’t drive but she has them 27+ hours a week. It is exhausting, I don’t know what I would do without her 🙂 #KCACOLS

    Reply
  4. OddHogg

    Sounds perfect! I’m sure the boys love spending time every week with her. My MIL works full time still but we see them most weekends as they only like 15 minutes away. With my parents only 5 minutes round the corner Piglet is lucky to be surrounded by grandparents who love him #kcacols

    Reply
  5. Becky @ Educating Roversi

    Sooo lucky to have such a lovely MIL! She sounds fab! My mum helps us out loads with our son but unfortunately the MIL has a few medical issues which means we don’t see her as much. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  10. Jenni - Odd Socks and Lollipops

    How lovely! It’s so fab that your boys get to be looked after by their grandma, I wish we had the same, my mum works (though she and my daughter have a very close relationship and we see her most days). And unfortunately we don’t speak to my husbands family at all (that’s a LONG story). I don’t rememeder seeing my grandparents much as a child and I am really keen for Boo to have a good relationship with my mum and stepdad as its so important/ #KCACOLS

    Reply
  12. Peachy and her Mommy

    You are very lucky to have someone in your life that you know takes great care of your little ones. And the more people your babies have to love them, the better. Can’t have too much love right? #KCACOLS

    Reply
  14. Savannah

    Awww wow, what a beautiful little tribute to your MIL. I, too, have such a great relationship with my MIL, and I absolutely love the bond she has with my son. I didn’t have much of a relationship with my grandparents growing up, so I’m so glad she will offer that for my kids. Sometimes it really is so important to look at the little things. Thanks for sharing! <3 #KCACOLS

    Reply
  16. claire

    I’m also lucky enough to have a MIL like this, we need to dispel the traditional ‘evil MIL’ stereotype! xx #kcacols

    Reply
  17. wendy

    Aww, she sounds like one amazing lady! You are very lucky to have her living so close and being able to help you out so much. It’s lovely the boys have such a strong bond with her xx #kcacols

    Reply
  18. Michelle

    How absolutely lovely, and what an amazing support. My mum and my baby’s grandparents alternate between caring for her one day a week when she’s not at nursery and my in-laws are always on hand to do the nursery run when I have to work late for meetings. They prepare meals as well for when they know I’m going to be walking in at 9pm! They say it takes a village to raise a child and it’s true #KCACOLS

    Reply
  20. flying solo

    How lovely, grandparents are so important, I am so close to mine and am lucky my boys have the same with all of theirs, my first mother in law is brilliant, she has MS so isnt as hands on as your is, but she has helped out in the holidays when the boys were younger, which saved me childcare in the long holidays. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  21. Harriet Leonard

    This is such a lovely post. I get on very well with my in-laws too and we’re lucky to have them just down the road, especially as my mum lives over 2 hours away. They’ve always been there for us, and I’m so happy that Ava has such a lovely relationship with her grandparents. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  22. Sarah | Digital Motherhood

    Aww she sounds great, it is so nice to have family look after your children if possible! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  23. Katy - Hot Pink Wellingtons

    Ah, what a lovely post! What an amazing mother in law you have. I wish I was closer to mine, but sadly we’re just very different people and I find her quite hard to talk to. But she obviously worships her grandson, which I think is the main thing! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  24. Jane taylor

    How blessed you are to have such a supportive mother-in-law. ALthough mine and Richard’s mums are 2.5 hrs and 1 hr away respectively, they help us so much. My mum comes and looks after the girls so rich and I can have a weekend away together. The girls love their grandma’s (and grandad) so much too! #kcacols

    Reply
  26. Crummy Mummy

    We couldn’t have survived without my MIL too – she also came and looked after the kids 2 days a week before BB went to school, despite living 2 hours away by train! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  27. Sarah (Mum x3x)

    Awww, bless your mother in law. That’s so nice and sweet of her! I bet your children adore her 🙂 I am glad you have her support and help. xx #KCACOLS

    Reply
  29. Sharon Parry

    That is such a positive relationship and it is important to acknowledge the importance of the grandparent-child relationship as you do so well in this post. Sadly, not everyone can have that but when it works well it is fantastic. She sounds a lovely lady. You lucky thing! Gorgeous photo by the way. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  30. Angela Watling

    That’s so lovely that she spends the time with the boys and so lovely the you recognise and appreciate it! I think all Grandparents must love being with the Grandchildren because they are at a phase in life where there are no other urgent pulls on their attention. Glad you have such a happy relationship! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  33. Ali Duke

    What a lovely lady she is. You are very lucky to have a great support like that. The bond she has with your boys is lovely and something they will cherish.
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  34. topfivemum

    You’re so lucky to have such an amazing woman in your life and who your children can share their lives with. I didn’t really know my grandparents and unfortunately, our children haven’t got any either (I think we’re in the minority of couples who no longer have any living parents). It makes me sad that they don’t have this type of support and relationship, but I guess they’ll never know any different. Got to make up for it with lots of love from us! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  37. Alana - Burnished Chaos

    This is such a lovely post. MILs always seem to get a bad press but mine is amazing. I’m lucky that she only lives down the road and has helped us out no end with the kids and I love the close relationship they have. Hubby and I are off for a two night break this week and my MIL is taking care of the kids for us, I will be eternally grateful (especially when I’m sat in the hot tub with a glass of something sparkling!).

    Reply
  38. Ky

    What a great lady she is. I also get on really well with my partners mum. She quite often comes to visit, and in fact next week myself and Clem are going to stay with her without my partner as he is working away. Childcare is so expensive so any help you can get is great! x #kcacols

    Reply
  39. five little doves

    This is so lovely. I hear so many negatives about mother-in-laws (my own included!) and yet it just goes to show how lucky some people are to have such amazing family. I hope that I am half as good a mother in law to my children’s partners. Lovely post. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  40. kristin mccarthy

    You are so very lucky! Not everyone has that special bond with their MIL. My mom is that person in my life like your MIL. She comes here and watches the girls whenever, helps me with the house and walking in bearing food and gifts. Grannies are total game changers!

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  43. ERFmama

    That’s such a wonderful post! She sounds like an amazing woman. 🙂
    Sadly we don’t have the same bond with my MIL here and we have no family near by either – my family live in a different country hehe – so not much room for babystitting hehe.
    My MiL lives a whole 2 h away and they travel quite a lot – so we don’t have much of a relationship at all sadly. But the kids love them to bits when they do see them. 🙂

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  45. Kirsty - Winnettes

    This is lovely! I have an amazing mother in law too. I’d be completely lost without her. Much like yours she takes my needs into account as well as her grandchildrens. I hope I can be this sort of mother in law when the time comes.
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  46. Amie

    That’s so lovely to see how much you appreciate your mother in law and I expect she would be so happy reading this 🙂 #KCACOL

    Reply
  49. Michelle

    Beautiful! I too am blessed with an amazing Mother-in-Law, and my own mom watched my girls when I had to work from the office when they were babies and toddlers… it is truly a wonderful blessing to see the little ones spending days with their grand mom instead of in childcare. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  50. Suzanne

    The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is so special. I was lucky to have two amazing sets of grandparents and my daughter is too. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  52. Louise

    What an amazing woman! I get on well with my mother in law too, but sadly she lives 4 hours away from us so she isn’t around as much as she and we would like! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  53. The Tale of Mummyhood

    Ah she sounds lovely! It’s so nice that you get on so well and that she offers you such a good support network.

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  54. chocolateandwineandillbefine

    Oh wow you are so lucky! To be fair I get on with mine really well too but she lives too far away (about 4-5 hours) to babysit regularly. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  55. Twicemicrowaved tea

    I get on really well with my mother-in-law too, and my little girl loves both her grandma and her nana. We’d be lost without both sets of parents to help us out from time to time! #kcacols

    Reply
  56. Abi

    I love my mum-in-law too. When we moved back from Toronto we shacked up with them and two months later we are still here and still getting on. Big up the in-laws ! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  57. ohmummymia

    I have awesome mother- in- law as well so I can relate to your post:) It’s really important to feel support from family:)

    Reply
  62. Sonia

    That’s lovely! My mum is also a very hands-on grandma and used to be my main childcare when I went back to work after having my eldest. she still sees them regularly and happily has them overnight occasionally. Such a special bond! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  63. Rachel (Lifeofmyfamilyandme)

    Its so handy to have a supportive family behind you isn’t it. What a fab mother in law you have 🙂 #KCACOLS

    Reply
  65. Leanne

    This is fantastic – i am lucky to have both sides of our family close and they help us out massively with the childcare. I am ever thankful we have this support. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  67. emma me and b make tea

    what a lovely post. it sounds like your mil is an absolutely star and you are indeed very fortunate to have her look after the boys for you 🙂 my mil is really lovely and she also does so much for me and the hubby. wouldnt be without her. #kcacols

    Reply
  69. Kerry

    That’s so lovely! We too are very lucky and have relied heavily on my parents help, but then live 5 minutes down the road, I’m not sure they would be as supportive if they had to drive over a hour to get to us! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  70. Cal at Family Makes

    What a special lady indeed – she really goes out of her way to help you and to be with her grandchildren, and she is obviously greatly rewarded for this with the love she gets from them. How lovely of you to give her some recognition on your blog. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  72. Mum in Brum

    Aw she sounds like an incredible woman Maria! Grandparents really are golden and are so appreciated when they offer to help out with childcare. You’re very lucky to have such fantastic support and I’m sure that you’ll do the same when your time comes xx #KCACOLS

    Reply
  74. Madeline (This Glorious Life)

    This is so lovely! So often you do hear people saying their relationship with their in-laws is awful! I’m one of the lucky ones like you and really get on with my in-laws. They’ve been a massive help since I’ve had my children, and I think it’s lovely that my 2 have such a good relationship with their grandparents. x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  75. Pen

    Your mother-in-law sounds fantastic. My mum is the same. It was interesting to read your mother-in-law’s comments about looking after her grandchildren – the fact that she just enjoys being with them. My mum says something similar – she says that she is privileged to be looking after my son 3 days one week and 2 days the next. I have to say that I am very privileged to have her as a mother. You are very privileged to have your mother in law. I hope that she reads this blog post and knows how much you appreciate her. Pen x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  77. Sarah - Arthurwears

    She sounds amazing. My MIL lives in Holland so I don’t see her much. When I was in hospital having Arthur she cleaned my whole house, changed all of the beds etc really helped. Sadly when Arthur was 2 weeks old she had a massive stroke and we almost lost her. She is now in a wheelchair with no movement on one side and it is unlikely this will ever change. Sometimes I worry that all the tidying she did caused her to be unwell although I’ve never suggested it out loud. I know that when it comes to having another baby it will hit her quite hard as she will want to be able to help and can’t. It is a thing in holland where all new mums have a nurse who comes to stay for a week or two and does all The tidying and washing etc and this is why she wanted to do that for me at the time. #kcacols

    Reply
  78. Tracey Bowden

    Ahh Maria what a lovely post! It’s so nice to have that relationship with her isn’t it! Olivia’s nan will do anything for her and I think it’s the small things tat make the difference like tieing up all the loose ends for me on Olivia’s costume for superhero day. It’s those things that matter isn’t it #kcacols

    Reply
  79. Jaylan - Diapers at Dawn

    Aww this is a lovely post! It’s so lovely when the kids have that bond with their grandparents and amazing that you get on so well with her. My in-laws hardly see my boy and they live an hour away aswell, it’s so nice that she makes the effort to be involved in the boys lives x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  82. Mummy and the Mexicans

    You are lucky, and it’s so nice to show your appreciation this way! We rely a lot on my MIL, she looks after Emma while I’m at work and is like a second mother to her. I wish my own parents could have that kind of relationship with my daughter, but they live on another continent so it’s difficult! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  84. Someone's Mum (Danielle)

    Oh wow she sounds like such an amazing woman to have around. We have no family near enough to even come visit and that’s really tough sometimes. Mine see both sets of grandparents just a few times year. It’s lovely that they get to build that bond with her. #KCACOLS

    Reply

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