Recent visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium where my grandson was is awe of the penguins and fishes. One of the penguins swam down to say hello. Beautiful weekend with perfect weather.
Tag Archives: #Grandparents
You’ve Come A Long Way Baby
My grandson recently turned 18 months old. Because he was born very early, a micro-preemie, his developmental age is around 14 months old. He is now practicing standing with the support of his parents, nurses, and some of the furniture. He is small but very strong. He had to have a tracheostomy because having a tube in his airway in the hospital caused some damage to his trachea. The damage has since been repaired but he is not quite ready to get rid of the trach tube. That is the next thing to happen and we are all looking forward to it so he can talk and we will be able to hear his beautiful voice.
Earlier days at Children’s Hospital
Mommy love
Full of energy
Father and son
Hanging out with Daddy
Beautiful family
It will be a wonderful day when I can hear him call me Mèmè or Grandma. ❤
Spring Ahead
My grandson has been doing very well. Growing by leaps and bounds.
He is now 16 months old but his adjusted age due to prematurity is about 12 ½ months. So his developmental age is that of a 1 year old. He is sitting up but still working on standing. He was born very early but he is a little warrior and is very generous with hand clapping, high fives, and toothly smiles.
Here is an adorable photo (below) of him face-timing with his Daddy for the first time.
He was so excited to see his Daddy at work.
Happy Baby
So glad to have the chance to spend time with my grandson today. Not only can he perform “Happy Baby pose” like a pro he will give me several high fives. He is not partial to long naps though. One of his nurses was trying to get him to go to sleep the other day and she would close her eyes to show him what she meant. He happily closed his eyes in response. This went on for a couple of times and he would laugh. He liked that new game. He has so much energy that I get tired just watching him in motion.
High Five
Image of ‘High Five’ by Fablen Le Jeune on Flickr.
Flexibility
It has been a while since I have posted on my blog dedicated to being a new Grandmother. I thought I would be writing more. It is just that I am still getting to know my new grandson and it is taking a bit longer than I first anticipated. I am glad that my son and daugher-in-law do not live far away. So that is not the problem. It is because my grandson is so busy. A premature baby needs to have visits from various therapists, physical, occupational, and play to help him get the proper exercise and stimulation. There are nurses that help care for him while my daughter-in-law and son work. So he has lots of people coming to see him every week and Mèmè needs to wait her turn. I must be flexible.
He is growing and developing well. He is very alert and active. And he is more flexible physically than me for sure.
Grandma’s Chicken Soup
Some ingredients for Chicken Soup
My mother in law taught me how to make homemade chicken soup when I was first married. I don’t make it regularly as I am not into cooking so much in recent years. I do like to make it for holiday dinners. I am out of practice because I was forgetting some of the ingredients. Tonight I will be taking my chicken soup and matzo balls over to my grandson’s other grandmother’s house. She is graciously hosting the dinner. This will be my grandson’s first Rosh Hashanah. He makes it a very special year. ❤
Early Bird Catches The Baby Smiling
I gave birth to my second blog,Grandmotherly.blog, in June of this year. I decided I wanted a second blog to write about my experiences as a new grandmother. Today’s prompt words fit in well with this blog so I wanted to write my post here. I haven’t written very much about being a grandmother for a bit. My grandson came home about 3 weeks ago from the NICU. He was born very early and had to stay in the hospital until he was big and strong enough. He’s been a fighter from his birth until now, through ups and downs. Things have been hectic at his house as he and his parents have been getting used to the new routine. My daughter in law told me it would be better if I visited him in the mornings when he is most energetic and happy. So today I went over about mid-morning and got to see him in action. He is very active and is making good eye contact and returning smiles. It was hard to get a picture because when he sees the phone pointing at him he won’t always smile, and then his arms and legs are in motion so much the picture can be blurry. It is so great to see him with so much energy. I find it is different being a grandmother compared to being a mother. I have the joy of holding him and playing with him and not so much stress as when I was a new mother.
Daughter in Law took this one
Almost a smile
Lucky catch of smile
Had to get photo of cute feet
Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Today’s prompt is “birth/berth.”
Visits With Baby
I had a chance to spend more time with my grandson recently. I am happy to report he is doing well and becoming much more aware of his surroundings and the people in it. He is active in moving all extremities and likes to grab for his mobile hanging over the side of his crib. I know he doesn’t recognize me yet but look forward to the day when he does and is happy to see me.
He is still in the NICU but plans are being put in place for him to come home. All these months it has been like we lived in cities far away from each other because he was restricted many times from having visitors, especially during the winter flu season. I would get texts, photos, videos, and occasional calls from his parents to tell me about his progress. So when I visit I feel like the out of town relative. He looks at me with his big eyes as if to say, “Who are you?”
Featured image of ‘baby holding hand’ via Pixabay.com
Up And Down The Rollercoaster
The progress of babies born very premature is not in straight line up. It is more oscillating and has been compared to a rollercoaster ride. There can be complications, and setbacks are very common. When my grandson was first born, I thought about how many weeks he needed to go before he would be home. It seemed like a long space of time where he would have to avoid complications. I read about some of the common conditions that premature babies are vulnerable to, and I did not want him to have any of them. I resolved to block a lot of it out because I did not want to live in fear. It would do no good to live in dread of what might never happen. I wanted to be positive when I was around him. This wall I had built, as a defense mechanism against my fears, did not protect me when he had complications or setbacks. He would be making progress and I felt secure. Then, he would have a setback and I found my wall crumbling. Even though I had told myself to take things day by day, I have found it just as hard each time there are setbacks. Through all this I have seen the resilience of my grandson. He has been fighting back against all challenges with his parents right there by his side. I am with them all the way.
Maintaining Orbit
Like a moon orbiting around its planet, parents of adult children have to maintain the best distance to keep from crashing down like a meteor or rogue asteroid. The parent isn’t guided by any laws of physics. They have to find their way by heart. This is especially true when you become a grandparent. I have memories of the time I was a new mother and how I wanted to be in control of my own nest. I was getting to know my baby and learning how to be comfortable as his mother. I have always said that when I was the mother in law, I would be very sensitive to boundaries. Now I am finding out what it is like to actually be the mother-in-law and paternal grandmother. It is a balancing act because you want to be involved with your children and grandchildren but you don’t want to be overbearing or intrusive. I have to learn how to be a grandmother just like I did to be a mother. I have to accept that I probably will make mistakes. I am starting to understand how my own mother-in-law may have felt.
Grandmotherly.blog 