Our granddaughter waited until just before we left… to take her first steps 
She’s taken 1-2 , and holds onto stuff and walks, and walks pushing things around the room, but this was 6-7 steps unassisted. :x
GD is going to be a talker. I guess that’s not uncommon for girls. She drops final consonants on words, but says her version of cat, cup, book, eat, high chair, shoes, hi, bye. Of course, almost all animals are cats, except the elephants we saw at the zoo which she was fascinated by. She’ll be 13 months old next week. They grow up and change so quickly.
I think this grandparent thing is going to be my undoing. No bath for weeks and weeks? Holding them while they are actually asleep? It is all making me a little crazy. And my D’s desire to have the mother and father who will be a full time daycare is (need an acceptable description here). I ran into a very old friend today and she has the same situation --a D who has kids and want her to drop her activities to take care of them. I guess this should be a rant but this is new territory for me. I adore children but not babies. I am more than happy to help and be helpful. Just today I realized that I will give up 2 of my 4 Mah Jongg days to help them. I am not bitter or angry and can say no but feel confused about the expectation of it all.
Yeah, my sis has grandkids and watches them 3-5 days/week, plus arranges play dates with friends who are caring for their grandkids. She gave up her $50+/hr tutoring to do this. She says it’s exhausting but great fun and allows her Ds to continue working. Her SIL’s families watches the grandkids on the days sis doesn’t.
@oregon101 Sorry that your D has that expectation. None of mine ever did and I guess they knew that it wasn’t going to happen. I am happy to help out occasionally, even on a regular basis, but no way I can, or want to, do full-time.
I have several grandchildren and have never heard of a ban on giving them a bath!
I didn’t know there were long term bath restrictions. My S and DIL gave my GS his first bath yesterday, one day shy of two weeks. I think they were waiting for his umbilicus to fall off and then for his circumcision to heal after the bris. He seemed to enjoy the experience . . . or at least tolerate it. One parent to bathe, one to videotape!
As for child care, I know they will have a nanny until he’s old enough (in their minds) for daycare, but my DIL is taking 6 months off and my S 2, so that’s a way off. They have tentatively inquired as to whether my H and I would be interested in one day a week…he just retired, so we’ll see.
Really, what is this ban on baths that you mention? Is that something new? I fear I have a lot to learn.
I work full time and since I am single and I like to eat, there is no way I can quit my job and babysit full time. I live in the same town as my S/DIL, and I have already offered to babysit on evenings and weekends if they want to go out to dinner or grocery shopping without packing up grandson and all that goes with a baby. I even told DIL I would keep the baby if they just want to sleep. Heck, I told her I would come to their house (so they don’t have to pack up everything) and stay with him and let DIL and/or S come to my house and sleep. It is quiet in my neighborhood.
I can’t wait for him to get here in April!
Hi! Just joined the club…where do I pick up my badge and t-shirt?
And yes, proud grandma of a beautiful baby girl!
Congrats and welcome @garland !
Long-time lurker who has followed this thread with great enjoyment even though grandchildren are probably way off in the future.
I actually re-activated my account to post in response to SOS whose DD was drinking wine in the first trimester of pregnancy.
I would caution all women to understand the current medical standard/recommendation that there is no level of alcohol consumption that is considered safe in pregnancy. Therefore, any medical professional will advise that a glass of wine with dinner is not current accepted medical practice - especially in the first trimester.
Didn’t plan to ruin the vibe of you great posters, but wanted to get that public service announcement out there.
Dil is not a drinker, but she also said that an occasional drink was ok. Don’t know if she heard this from her Dr though. She did drink coffee throughout her pregnancy, something I had no stomach for.
BBC health had an article about a year or so ago that said having a drink a week or so after the first trimester was ok. JAMA then had articles warning against any alcohol at all. The information is conflicting. While I did not drink I have had friends who did and even recently know of a young woman who had a drink every so often. I believe that my D had 1/2 a drink a few times weeks before G’Son was due. I am waiting for more information on this subject.
az, welcome!
Welcome, @garland! It’s quite simply the best club I’ve ever been a part of! Hope the mom, dad, and GD are doing well.
@garland Congratulations! Hope all went well! Welcome to a wonderful club.
Welcome to the club. There’s nothing better than being a grandparent.
@garland Enjoy the ride! After our first GD left yesterday, my husband commented that he had never seen me so happy; I was smiling all the time. Not sure that says a lot of my life without GD, but we sure had tons of fun with her, and she is only 7 weeks old! Can’t wait to make memories with her and her parents.
Garland, so happy for you and your D and SIL! Hope they are all doing well.
All our well, though D is very sore from C-section, and they are all severely lacking in sleep. Hopefully that will get better when they get home in a couple days, a little, anyway.
GD is absolutely charming. Very active, mostly calm at the same time. Already has an interesting personality.
Congrats, @garland! Welcome to the club! My granddaughter was kind enough to share her cold with me over Thanksgiving ( 
) but, we got to see her take her first real steps!! (She’d been walking holding onto things but this was independent walking). Priceless!
Awww! @jym626 --tragically, I woke up with a cold and now can’t see GD for a few days. I swear I haven’t had one in years. This is so unfair!