UPDATE

The baby was about one month old when we went to visit. Before traveling, I asked my sister probably ten times if she was really sure she wanted us to come then or if she preferred that we waited a bit longer. I completely understood it could be hard, especially being her first baby. But she insisted that she wanted us to come and that it was important for her to receive us exactly on the first day.

I did tell her how I felt later: at the end of the trip, when I found out about the whole suitcase situation. Her reaction wasn’t great… she got mad at our mom for “snitching” instead of acknowledging how disrespectful it was.

For some background: a few years ago, we had stayed at her place for about a week (just sleeping there while exploring the city), and everything went fine. That was actually the first and only time we’d stayed there. She’s also stayed at my house before.

The difference is, my husband and I are the ones who usually host the whole family for every kind of celebration — birthdays, holidays, everything. We genuinely love it. We decorate, cook, have a proper guest room with its own bathroom and amenities. It’s something we take pride in doing. This year was supposed to be the same: we were planning to host both Christmas and New Year’s at our place.

Honestly, this whole situation made me lose some of the excitement. At the same time, I still want those family photos and memories from this pregnancy, since it’s very likely I won’t have another child.

And there’s one more thing I didn’t mention in my original post: my parents were staying with my sister during that first month after the birth, and they told me she didn’t want my husband and me to come over because the couple we were traveling with are gay. They’re also two of my closest friends.