Gramma Baby's Blog

Intro

That's me in the white t-shirt with my oldest and youngest daughters. With 21 years separating them, they share a 14 year old brother. I was just 3 months shy of my 42nd birthday when this precious miracle was born into our crazy multi-functional lives. The motivation for blogging came from my dear sister "T". She thinks I am funny, insightful and the devil's advocate. Instead of bugging her everyday with my many cooking questions, parenting advice, and relationship stories of woes and bliss, Aunt T, is hoping I will get it  all out in this blog and she can read it at her leisure. I suspect she will be the only one to read it, except for my mother. My mother will have the time and unconditionally supports whatever I am plunging myself into at the moment.

Gramma Baby

Three years ago my beautiful, intelligent, funny, free spirited, wild and crazy daughter was in a terrible accident where she lost part of her leg. Miraculously she did recover with her abilities to walk but the pain and scar tissue are with her every day. She was confined to home and had to rely on friends and family for everything she needed and wanted. Six months later she announced to us that she was having a baby. With mixed emotions of happiness and fear we spent the next several months planning for our fourth grandchild. (I have three granddaughters from my step-daughter. I am sure to have many stories about them to share!)

That sweet little toddler in the above pictures is the amazing angel that Ale brought into our family. Even with every ounce of uncertainty, I was over joyed to have another person in our home. I knew it would be hard for her to be a young, single mom, but I couldn't deny my own selfish desire to have another baby and the dissapointment I had felt for years because I had not had one more child. Fender is now two and his vocabulary is coming on strong. We live 960 miles away from them and I am always worried that he will forget me. I think most grandparents worry about that if they live too far away to see their grandchildren grow up on a daily or even weekly basis. Fortunately communication lines are readily available through cell phones, Facebook, Skype and many others to keep our lives an open book to everyone and I do mean everyone.

Ale called several months ago saying Fender really missed us and she knew for sure it was her dad and I and not Fender's other grandparents. He had gotten up in his usual energetic, jovial mood and asked, " go see gramma today?" Having come home from Grandma Stephanie's the day before, Ale said, "no, staying home with Mommie, today." Being persistant as a two year old is, Fender replied with, "Gramma Baby, Gramma Baby? see Gramma Baby?" She knew it was me. I'm the grandmother with the new baby.  She showed him pictures on her phone of Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle D in Nebraska. The giggling and stammering was all the confirmation that was needed to show that he knew who we were. We became Grammababy and Grampa D!

Why Blog?

I get many questions like "how is it starting all over with a new baby?" or "was it hard to have this baby in your 40's compared to having one in your 20's?" I must admit I was a little timid during my pregnancy to discuss my physical or emotional feelings with anyone. It took several discussions with women and men who I did not know, but were generous about sharing their experience with me, to see I was now part of an elite group of woman and men who felt incredibly blessed to have the remarkable gift of birthing a child later in life.

Check out this article on Baby Center

http://www.babycenter.com/0_age-and-fertility-getting-pregnant-in-your-40s_1494699.bc

I was enrolled in school, helping with my grandson, so my daughter could go to school and still raising a teenager. I was not in a position to have another child, however from the moment I found out I was pregnant I was in a state of eupohoria. My reality had become surreal. It was a nine year wish that had come true. My constant drive to record history and share information has come from my dear father, Bob. He has his Phd. in history and is currently working on his third book. I am doing some artwork for him and feel priviledged to be included in this project. I sincerely hope that my "Gramma Baby Blog" will be a platform to record some inspirational experiences from parents who are still raising children and have grandchildren as well. If anything, it will be something that my children can reference, (if they get to a point in their life), when they are interested in Gramma Baby's point of view!