My husband and I are caring for his mother with Alzheimer’s stage 5. Her hygiene is very poor now. She never washes her hands on her own anymore and cannot brush her teeth properly as well. We ask her to brush her teeth every morning but she doesn’t do it properly anymore. We had her teeth sorted out and cleaned by the dentist but the foul odour still remains. She is still physically strong and thinks there is nothing wrong with her. We try our best to allow her to do things on her own as much as possible to avoid the aggression that ends up with her saying, “I’m not stupid!” When we are out for a walk, she’ll pull the weeds she sees growing out of the pavement (very dirty as the dogs like to pee on them) or picks up rubbish on the street and put in her pocket (we try to stop her as much as we can but most of the time she’s already picked them up). She goes to daycare 3 or 4 times a week which gives us relief.
Anyway, my husband and I want to have a baby. I wonder how you think it’s gonna be for us to live with a newborn and an elderly with an advanced dementia. I’m concerned about the safety of our baby. Every time my mother in law sees a baby on a push chair, she gets really excited and starts touching the baby’s face with her dirty hands and talks to the baby’s face with a bad breath. I dont know what to do most of the time. I feel really bad for the baby we meet and just hope it didn’t get anything harmful from her. My MIL and the other people don’t understand when we try to pull her away from the baby.
Anyway I really want to have a baby but our living condition makes me really anxious. Is it even a good idea?
17 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
ADVERTISEMENT
Have you read any of the questions in the dementia/alz section on this site? The afflicted can really be nasty.
( God bless them, they can't help it)
Especially with their feces. What if she becomes incontinent?
Oh boy, you really have to put your life on hold to care for someone with this disease. A baby? Oh Lordy, no way! That would be a daily battle.
However, mil lived most of her life . Had and raised children. It really is your turn. I'd look into placement for her long before becoming preggers.
Good luck love, let us know what you decide. We'll be here for you either way 🤗
Reread your own post. You can’t keep neighbors babies safe from her. She picks up garbage and it’s too late to stop her. It really isn’t safe for her or a baby. She will stop the actions she exhibits now but others will follow that will most likely not blend with a baby in the home.
Your pregnancy may or may not go well. So many what ifs in this scenario. I understand the desire on your part but it doesn’t sound realistic as you describe it.
Someone, if not everyone, will be neglected. At least one will be worn to a nub.
Not hard to guess which one that will be.
You need to look for an assisted living that is licensed, not for profit, and will help you file for Medicaid when money runs out .
It is difficult to place them out of house but soon her behavior will change making it very difficult to handle . I had agencies come in prior to her moving to AL. At the time , she would have good days and then be aggressive firing the people helping her. We thought “oh it’s just mom, acting angry again”. Looking back she has had this for years and only now has become abusive and aggressive to her main care givers while being a sweet old lady to others.
The change will happen quickly so you should tour facilities now , the baby needs to be safe as well as keeping you and your husband mentally safe as it will take a toll on you when the agitation and anger arises.
Good luck! It really suxxx making these decisions but you have to protect all.
This. Do not underestimate the TREMENDOUS toll it will take on your family if you have MIL in your home while caring for a newborn.
I believe you need to make a choice. MIL or a baby. Are you in the USA? Apply for Medicaid. You can not afford the daycare and she needs 24/7 supervision anyway. Everyone of us who has placed a loved one in a facility has gone through feelings of guilt. But 99% of us realize it was the right thing to do.
@pepsee MIL is divorced and husband is an only child so we have all the caregiving responsibilities. In our desire to give her the best care possible, we take mum to the best facility in the area 12hrs a day, 3or 4 days a week. However it is not a cheap place. MIL has some assets and savings and disability benefits but we reckon it will run out in 3-5years if she stays there full time or 4-5 years in a cheaper place and then the financial burden will be on us after that. If we can’t pay for it she might have to go in the cheapest place which my husband doesn’t really want to happen to his mum which I understand. And she is really physically strong and only 68. She can go out for a 2-hour walk without rest. She has obvious cognitive decline I think on a monthly basis but her medications are keeping her generally stable. We think she is going to last longer than 6 years. So really we are trying to work together as much as we can to keep her at home and save the funds for later when she becomes really ill (bed ridden).
Also she is already quite bad with her feces right now which also has a lot to do with my anxiety with a very vulnerable newborn.
@97yroldmum I’m turning 30 and my husband is 8 years older. It will be both our first time to have a baby if we have one.
I have not mentioned though that my husband and I are web developers. We work 8 hours a day but we work from home. I think if we have a baby, it’s most likely him who’s gonna get burnt out because I’ll end up focusing on the baby and he’ll have to continue working and taking care of his mum at the same time and then help me with the baby as well probably and the house chores.
Anyway, thank you again for everyone’s concern and advice. I really appreciate them and it’s a a big relief knowing that I can easily get input from people here who already have an experience on what we are currently going through.
I have shown all your answers to my husband as well so we can ponder about them together. We agreed that MIL will have to go to the day centre 12hrs a day 7 days a week for the first few months of the baby’s life while we’re trying to figure out how to take care of the baby. Also we will look for more possible options for MIL’s care and exhaust the resources from the community (something we are not really good at right now as we work with people from overseas and not very much involved in our community but we will do our best). We’ll line up facilities where mum can go while considering the prices, etc. My husband has been stressing out as well that we have to take one step at a time and overcome obstacles together which I completely understand. First, try to have a baby (don’t want to postpone anymore because we are already on our 30s and who knows how long we have to try) and if the baby comes then we’ll see how we can handle it together. If we think we are still gonna get burnt out despite MIL being in day centre everyday or if she is declining faster than we expect, then we’ll move MIL to a facility that we have lined up as ok quality and money wise.
Needless to say, newborn’s safety is first priority. I will not at all endanger or risk my baby to a possible health problem even if it means MIL can’t touch the baby at all (if it becomes impossible to get her cleaned like a normal person before touching the baby). I guess my conscience will have to learn to accept that by protecting my newborn, I might offend MIL at the same time.
I’ve never known her before she got ill but from what I gather, she was a very lovely lady. I know she will understand our dilemmas right now if she wasn’t sick.
You and your husband might want to see a certified elder attorney to help you set MIL up for Medicaid for when her funds run out. This way if her illness escalates you’ll be better able to take action without a long wait.
Good luck on starting your family. Come back and let us know how things are going.
See All Answers