Just over two weeks ago we finally welcomed our beautiful baby granddaughter!
She was 5 days overdue when she decided to make her appearance and it was the greatest privilege of my life to be in the birthing suite for her delivery.
It wasn't the smoothest birth, but the midwives and doctor were just fantastic and our Cavegirl was an absolute champion. I was in awe of how she handled everything and, because the baby's father was there too, I also got to see little bub's first moments with her Mummy and Daddy ... oh, my heart!
Now we're seeing their transition into parenthood and it's beautiful to see how much they love her and are soaking in every moment. The Caveman and I really couldn't be more proud of them both. They are doing this together as much as possible. Our daughter's ex-partner absolutely adores his new baby girl and is very involved. He is not living with us anymore, but spends as much time at our house as he can manage around work, and they are really supporting each other through this major life adjustment. I don't know if they will ever get back to having a romantic relationship or just stay friends, but we don't mind either way. We just want them (and baby) to get along and be happy.
For the Caveman and me, "grandparenthood" feels pretty good so far! Having our daughter living with us means we can help as much as she needs us to. We are always happy to accept any baby cuddles that come our way, in order for her to catch up on sleep or have a shower. We know we are so lucky to have this arrangement, although we are careful about not stepping in without being asked. Our daughter has one end of the house to herself and only needs to share our kitchen, so she can be as separate from the rest of us as she wants to be.
(Just quietly, I think Mr 15 is very relieved about that, especially when the baby is unsettled!)
We had to choose what we would be called, which I actually found quite hard. The Caveman immediately decided he would be Poppy, or Pop, just as his father was to our kids and his grandfather had been to him. I knew I'd feel more comfortable with Nanna or Nanny than Grandma, but my Mum was Nanna to my kids, so it still feels a little strange to call myself that. As it turns out though, my daughter has been referring to me simply as "Nan" for her baby and I've discovered I do love that.
We are really enjoying this new chapter of our lives. Having a new little one to dote on again is a joyful experience and, as I said to a friend recently, there is nothing sweeter than seeing our baby girl completely in love with her own baby girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment