My newborn grandson snuggles against his mama.
I NEEDED TO SEE HIM again. The newborn grandson. I’d seen him briefly at the hospital on the day of his January 6 birth and for awhile on the afternoon he arrived home.
But that minimal time wasn’t enough for Grandma. I had yet to see Isaac with his eyes open. And I needed some cuddling time with him and time, too, with his big sister, Izzy.
The solution: Offer to babysit so his sleep-deprived, exhausted parents could take a break from caring for a new baby and an active nearly three-year-old. My daughter snapped up the offer.
So on a recent Saturday Grandpa and I headed the hour north to get our grandparenting fix, uh, I mean give Amber and Marc time for a lunch date. We arrived later than we wanted because of a 5-inch snowfall the previous evening. A failed snowblower required shoveling our sidewalk and driveway and that of an elderly neighbor before we left town.
Eventually we arrived at our destination and I asked for details on diaper changing supplies and feeding if Isaac got hungry before his mama returned. Then off the parents went.
We lunched in the sun-drenched dining room while Isaac slept nearby. Everything was going great until I said how much I liked the bright sunshine. Big mistake. Izzy said she didn’t like the sun, eased off her chair and yanked at the patio curtains. “But we like the sun,” I protested. She gave me a defiant look. Don’t challenge an assertive preschooler. The curtains remained closed. You have to choose your battles and this wasn’t important enough to pursue.
Eventually Isaac awakened and I had my Grandma cuddling time and a diaper changing opportunity, for which I should have been prepared but wasn’t. I called for Grandpa back-up. Hey, I haven’t changed a newborn’s diaper in nearly three years.
Izzy also got plenty of my attention with the two of us playing on the floor with Daniel Tiger figurines and then snuggling on my lap as I read a pile of books. She and Grandpa also rolled and shaped Play Doh while I held Isaac. Oh, and between everything, I pulled out my Canon DSLR to shoot some photos. I wish I could show you all those sweet images, but they are reserved for family.
By late afternoon, Grandpa and I were driving back home with memories of the day imprinted upon our hearts. There’s nothing like time with the grandkids…
© Copyright 2019 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I can almost smell that newborn baby scent…enjoy! And the toddler girl? Lol. The fun times you will have in the next years are going to be so, so priceless! 💟
For nearly three years now I’ve experienced those priceless moments with Isabelle. Now those double with Isaac. Did I tell you how much I love being a grandma?
How precious! Sweet, beautiful moments!
Well summarized. Precious. Sweet. Beautiful.
It is why God created grandparents.
Amen.
How is that new great grand baby of yours?
We haven’t seen him. He had to stay in the hospital for awhile because of jaundice. Scary but not unusual…and frankly we were a little skittish about making the journey.
As we came home after the birth, in that -30F with a 30mph wind, our truck got stuck in a drift a half mile from our house. We were dressed for 0F, but not -60F windchill and we both got frost bite walking to a house not more than 100 yards away.
Our neighbors helped us out. It is the joy of country living to have neighbors like that.
I understand the skittish, and especially after that experience. You really got frostbite? Don’t you know you’re supposed to stay in your vehicle and pull out your winter survival kit? End of lecture. Thank God for those neighbors. (I actually “made” Randy put a sleeping bag in his commuter car this winter.)
We’ve been trying for several weekends to drive to sw MN to visit my mom in a care center. Weather and bad roads cancelled those plans. Maybe this weekend? Stay safe out there. Oh, I mean just stay home.
We knew about the stay-with-the-car thing – but when you are just down the road from home and a hundred yards from help, you start making poor decisions. One of our in-laws got frost-bite too. He got stuck at the end of his driveway.
It makes sense that you would think, “I’m only 100 yards from help.” I hope the frostbite damage is not too bad.
SWEET photos 🙂 Happy Day Indeed – Enjoy!
Thank you.
Such precious times…and photos too! Sweet, sweet babies and toddlers too! I’m so glad you were able to get your “grandma fix”.
I took these photos several weeks ago. I’ve had more “grandma fixes” since then. 🙂
Beautiful baby! So happy for you! ❤
Thank you. I agree that Isaac is a beautiful baby boy.
What a sweet time for you all. I’m glad you and Randy got some quality time with the littles. There’s just nothing like those grand babies!
You’re right on that.
❤
Such wonderful, loving photos.
Thank you. We’ve been fortunate to see our grandchildren the past three weekends. This weekend we won’t see them, which will be tough for the grandma. But the other grandparents live in California and have not even seen their new grandson yet. I can’t imagine…