Grandpa Time

We are currently enjoying getting to know our delightful first grandson, age 9 weeks. As many have suggested, being grandparents is much more fun than being parents. Although the work can be much the same, the ultimate responsibility is different. However long we are here to help, we know deep inside that in a week we go home and resume normal lives. For Shades, that doesn't happen for another twenty years.

On the other hand, having good experienced help in the first few months of parenting is a wonderful Godsend, and we are happy to be able to pay forward the assistance we ourselves received when Shades was born.

Thanks to the Middlewife reacting to a flu shot with flu symptoms just as we flew out to meet our grandson, I got the early duties, and turned out to really enjoy them all. I even changed a diaper (yes, I know, changing only one is about the same as none at all.) Our most useful service thus far seems to be providing the new parents with a chance to be adults from time to time, with no worries about their new son. For instance, we now handle the 2AM bottle, and disappear with him for a daily walk in a front carrier that he seems to love.

An extra treat this trip was reading the book "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer", and trying to apply its suggestions. Having an actual baby at hand while reading about baby care is of obvious practical value.

As vacations go, this is unusual, but very enjoyable and stress-free, while also helping reduce the stress of the happy new parents, and give our new grandson new loved ones to dote on him. A true win-win-win.

Update:
We're just finishing our second visit. N. has just turned 3 months old, which means he can now go to "school" (day care), and yesterday was his first day there. All went well. Ah, so young and already growing up! N. is still a huge delight to us, and we'll miss both him and his parents as soon as we depart for home tomorrow.