Grandma. H is Grandpa. The other grandpa is Jidu & the other grandma is Nonna, so there isn’t any confusion about grandpa or grandma who.
I’m Grandma Firstname. H. is Grandad. Other ones are Grandma FirstInitial, and a version of the Grandfather’s name with Grand in front of it.
I am also Nana and my DH likes to be grandpa. Our children and grandchildren are the shining stars of our lives. Family is so important to me.
We were blessed with a DD and her H who wanted children right away and have wonderful children. We don’t live far away and are as involved as they want us to be, while also helping them during unexpected things – I was FT nanny for them M - F when their daycare was close mid-Mar to June 1 2020. So the older two grands know me well - even with GS being under one year old at the time. I was at their home and another of my DD’s friends was with me shortly after this period of nannying, so GS wasn’t paying attention to who was there until I offered to do horsy with him - and his little head jerked up like the lightbulb went on and he had a big smile on his face. Those are the moments!
I was on a trip with DD and a few weeks ago so she could attend a family wedding, so 7 week old grandson had his first formula in a bottle given by me. He would look at me and know I was ‘familiar’ - maybe by smell, by the way I talk, by my facial appearance similar to DD. Great bonding time.
Two of my siblings have broken away from me sadly; one has dealt with her bi-polar illness and I was switched in her mind from having a white hat to a black hat person, and the other has made a mess of his life (convicted felon, white collar crime). The other two are close to my heart but are geographically far away.
Just as an aside–I’m wondering how many people besides me grew up with GrandmaLastnames and GrandpaLastnames? That seems to be a trend that ended with my generation, which I think is good; it sounds so formal to me now.
I called my paternal grandparents Grandma Lastname and Grandpa Lastname. Cousins called them Mama Lastname & Papa Lastname. I called my maternal grandmother Granny. I agree, @garland - it does seem formal and antiquated.
My kids called their grandparents Grandma and Grandpa. We used Grandma/Grandpa Lastname to differentiate, such as ‘Grandma Lastname called today’.
I have noticed that my kids’ generation seem to want their kids to use unique grandparent names for each set of grandparents. With stepfamilies it gets harder to do. I know a family with a Grandma, Nana, and Oma. It was their good luck that all had those names already with other grandchildren. Not sure what they would have done if two were already Nana.
Lolly and Pops. Other grandparents are Granny and Grandaddy.
Lolly Pops?
The other grandparents have Mc at the beginning of their last name so they go by grandma mac and grandpa mac. My parents (Swiss) were grossmutti and grosspapi, while H’s parents were grandma and grandpa. I know some who have grandparents around quite often to have Grandma Kay (her first name) for example. Maybe at large family gatherings where there are multiple grandparents (sibling families) where just saying grandma is like saying mom - whose kid said it?
Leslie Stahl’s grandparent book takes the credit for that.
When our 2 yr old GD was walking with us we saw a pumpkin blowup holding a lollypop. I mentioned it and she looked at me ( she’s never had one) and you could see the synapses connecting.
Mamaw (honoring my own southern Mom) and Pepére (Fr. Canadian).
I get the differentiating if they have two sets of Grandma and Grandpa, but nowadays, I hear it used with Firstname in that construction, never Lastname. Grandma Jane, not Grandma Doe.
We called our grandparents Grandpa/Grandma (city they lived in). I never thought anything was odd about it.
My kids called both sets of grandparents Grandpa & Grandma, and somehow we knew which set they were talking about. H’s sister decided that her parents would be Mamie & Papa for her son … my kids never called them that, but my SIL stopped referring to them as Mom & Dad. She called them Mamie & Papa when talking about them to everyone. It was weird.
We are Nana/Opa the other grandmother is Gigi. We have a good friend we call Mimi so that was out. Our parents (all dead) were Big-Big/Chief and ??(can’t remember she died before we had kids)/Granddaddy. My grandmother was Mema. My sil is Granna. I just wanted something simple but not used in our family.
We are exhausted having D and our 20 month old grandson living with us now. Just after she and the baby’s dad moved into a nice new apartment and she had a good job he got drunk, was abusing prescription meds and got violent one night. She called the police when he broke down a door. She had enough and moved back home (3 hours away). Now we are dealing with visitation, CPS making sure the baby is safe, lawyers, her not loving her job here etc. We were older parents and I will say this is all very exhausting but we will do it to keep her and the baby safe. She never went to college and has a low paying job in day care (plus severe depression - under control with meds and a regular therapist) and can’t afford an apartment on her own. It is a mess. Thanks for listening. Just hard. The dad sees the baby every other week but never alone. He is good with him but unless he is seeing him never asks about him, only pays health insurance for him - nothing else, and won’t realize he is an alcoholic in spite of being arrested that night for public intoxication. He blames D for leaving and won’t take her off the lease. Grrr.
For those following my allergic GD story-My daughter received a call last night from DCFS as they had not received the ER notes from the hospital and wanted the discharge doctor’s name. It was then mention that they have closed the case on the teacher, and told my daughter that this woman is banned from working in childcare institutions. I am thinking there is more to what haa gone on with this woman, but luckily, I have never had to deal with DCFS; don’t know how there process works.
The entire school faculty had to complete an online course and submit their certificate of completion. While I wish they had in person training, I know my GD’s teachers know exactly what to do, and with Covid, classes are not mixed. Unless both her teachers are out, GD should be in good hands.
New main teacher seems well qualified and my daughter said she was pleased about their meeting. Hopefully things are heading in the right direction.
What a tough situation. Your D and GS are very lucky they can rely on you until your D gets herself together.
Oh, momocarly, I am so sorry that your family is experiencing this. It is an incredible blessing that your daughter and grandson can depend on Nana and Opa. I can only imagine your physical and emotional exhaustion. I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.
@snowball ~ Thanks for the update. It sounds like things are much improved.
My family immigrated to the US from Croatia—using the Croatian name for grandmother would be an obvious choice. It’s baba (pronounced buba). It means old lady! Not for me. I’m JJ, which is the name my oldest granddaughter (stepdaughter’s D) uses.
Yup, @garland, that’s what we called our grandparents on both sides. my kids called their grandparents Grandma/pa FirstName. No cute nicknames.
I think my sister is Grandma and her H is Pape. My parents and ILs were Popo and Gung Gung, with a last name if needed to distinguish ILs from my folks (rarely needed).