For months I called him “Baby New Year” — but no. That title goes to newborn Jillian Britt in Snohomish County, and to a baby named Pippa at the Seattle hospital where my daughter plans to deliver my No. 2 grandchild.
By the time you read this Sunday, our family may already be blessed with another fine boy.
I spent New Year’s Eve day, the little guy’s due date, with my daughter. She was sipping raspberry leaf tea, claiming it would hurry the arrival. She was more than ready to meet her second son.
Was it really three-plus years ago that I wrote about my big grandparenting decision — whether to be called Gram, Grandma or Nana? I went with Nana, and I’m liking it more all the time.
It was Mother’s Day, at Safeco Field for a Mariner’s game, when my daughter and son-in-law told me they were expecting a second child. May to January flew by in a flash.
While awaiting my first grandson, I talked with Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, author of the Seattle Children’s Hospital Seattle Mama Doc blog. Swanson is a pediatrician at The Everett Clinic in Mill Creek. She is also on the Seattle Children’s medical staff and an instructor in the University of Washington’s Department of Pediatrics.
Swanson offered an update on baby basics. Much has changed since my older kids were infants.
These days, thanks to a “Safe to Sleep” campaign pushed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, parents know to place babies on their backs for sleeping, which researchers believe helps prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That’s not what I learned as a young mom. And guidelines released in 2011 by the American Academy of Pediatrics say cribs should be free of cuddly quilts, pillows and bumpers.
I had to relearn some things from the experts. But it’s Henry, my delightful 3-year-old grandson, who has been the best teacher for a first-time grandmother.
His lessons are in the joy of every little thing. On my last birthday, Henry gave me one of those greeting cards with a soundtrack. Open it up, and a quartet of kooky dogs sing, “It’s your birthday, it’s your birthday … Happy Birthday, to you.”
And open it Henry does, every time he visits Nana. Each time he opens the card, that same silly song has him in raucous laughter. He looks at me while I get the joke, again, and feign surprise.
Through his eyes, I have been reintroduced to all the critters at the Woodland Park Zoo. Last summer, I rocked out at a Caspar Babypants concert at Everett’s AquaSox stadium. Toddlers hear The Beatles and think it’s Caspar Babypants, their own superstar.
If I didn’t have a grandson, how would I know that Caspar Babypants, aka Chris Ballew, is a member of the Seattle band The Presidents of the United States of America?
Henry loves books, and the other day he spent an hour listening as I read new stories he got as Christmas presents.
He has a little shark toy with a trigger — pull it and the jaws move — and is joking these days about “sharking the baby.” Three-year-olds, you have to laugh.
It’s true that the blessing of grandchildren is that they go home. Henry is the sunniest part of my life, but he is someone else’s real responsibility.
What a miracle it is to see my daughter and her husband as devoted parents. From the moment Henry was born, I saw them step up to the demands of their new lives. As every new mom and dad learn, there are years of being short on sleep and time for yourself. A parent had better be long on patience, sacrifice and unconditional love.
Very soon, Henry will have his new brother. And this Nana will have another reason to be thankful.
Getting older can make us world-weary, or at least weary of hunting for our reading glasses. In my experience, a grandchild does the opposite by giving us bright new ways to see the world.
He’s a little late, but a baby at New Year’s — or any time — reminds us that the world is forever fresh with possibilities.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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