Happy Spring Sunshine!!!

Welcome to the world, Sunshine! She made her overdue debut on Saturday, March 22 at 12:07 a.m., a true Equinox baby. Daughter had a bit of a rough time with two pitocin drips over 36 hours to induce, then a C-section. Given that my own son was at least a full month overdue when he made his appearance (after a not too hard 2.5 hour labor), I’m not sure why the medical profession these days seems to think it’s such a desperate big deal when a baby doesn’t show up precisely “on time” for whatever plans they’ve made. Babies seldom confirm predictions precisely. You’d think they would have figured that out by now.

At any rate, it’s been a fun, family-filled Easter around Granny’s homestead, what with photos and videos and multi-communications among the far-flung brood, and three of the older grands right here to hunt eggs. And they’re old enough that when I say “hunt eggs,” I mean with crossbows and BB guns…

Her name didn’t turn out to be CoolAssMojo (though #1 grandson swears he’s going to call her ‘Mojo’ for short and never anything else) or even GuitarGreg. Worse, it’s not even really Sunshine. But Sunshine will do for internet work, and she’s a real beauty!!!

Filed under Birthing, Baby Names, Family Life, Healthy Babies | Comment (0)

15 Tips For New Grandmas

Toward cementing your role in your grandchild’s life

My newest grandchild is affectionately known as Sunshine (when she’s not being referred to by her eldest cousin as GuitarGreg) will be making her appearance within the next 10 days or so, 500 miles away. She’ll be my seventh and the oldest is 17, so I’ve a little grandmotherly experience. Since I’m not a perfect person, perfect parent or perfect grandparent, I’ve had to learn some things the hard way. This series lists 15 tips that might come in handy.

Part 1: Tips 1 - 5

For you new or expectant first-time Grannies out there, here’s tips 1 through 5…

1. Choose Your Granny Name Well, You’ll Have It Forever

If you don’t want to be called “Granny” or “Grandma” or “Grandmother,” come up with something you like better. Your grandchild will hopefully have at least two grandmothers, and you’ll want to distinguish your title from the others. My grandmothers were “Miss Granny” and “Lala,” my hubby only had one and she was the formal “Grandmother.” Some like “Nana” or “Nonie” and “Amah” is pretty good if you don’t mind the Asian overtones. “MeeMa” is another grandparent name among the tribe, while yet another is simply “Gram.”

It doesn’t really matter what they call you, but that’s who you’ll be to them all their lives. Whatever you decide, let your children know your wishes. If you don’t they’ll give you a granny title of their own choosing, and you’ll have a heck of a time undoing it!

Continue reading »

Filed under Humor, Diet, Babysitting, Grandchild Visits, Projects, Baby Names, Child-Parent Relationships, Family Life, Older Children, Generational Learning | Comments (4)

The “Virtual Baby Shower”

An idea whose time has come!

With my younger daughter expecting to deliver in March and living far enough away that we can’t see her very often, I have been quite concerned about whether she’s got friends enough up there in Yankee-land to throw her the proper showers and make sure she’s got everything she needs in the way of ’stuff’ and sage mom advice about things that only moms can know. I’ve been stressing about how I was going to get up there both for at least one shower as well as for when the baby comes, so I can help out and get them started on the least stressful (I know, that’s a relative assessment) schedule for all baby all the time…

Her best friend lives here, where she went to high school. I’ve spoken with her about the whole shower thing and how this is to be managed with everybody living so far apart. Then, this past week my daughter’s best friend surprised and delighted me with the most wonderful idea!

Continue reading »

Filed under Customs, Baby Shower, Baby Stuff, Baby Furniture, Baby Names, Pregnancy | Comment (0)

Guitar Greg and Cool Ass Mojo

Trial by Baby Naming

My younger daughter and her husband visited this past weekend from Indianapolis. She’s into her 4th month of pregnancy (her first), just getting over the serious morning sickness phase, needed some Mom-time. Which I was of course delighted to lavish on her, sympathizing with her queazy stomach and re-arranging innards, happy to whip up some colorful stir-fry, hummus, falafel and tabouli for pita sandwiches, anything that sounded good, that she thought she might be able to keep down.

She’s never been a happy morning person, so when her hubby mentioned how hard the last few months have been - a strain on their relationship as well as their income since they work together out of home - I wasn’t very sympathetic. Grandpa could take care of that chore. And he did.

Continue reading »

Filed under Relational Stress, Mom-Time, Baby Names, Family Planning, Healthy Babies, Pregnancy | Comments (5)