Welcome to the World, Little One

There's a new baby in the world, and she belongs to my yogi.  True, the little girl has parents of her own, but this is a first grandbaby and so, it seems to me, the discussion ends right there.

She, like all grandparents, has been waiting a very long time to hold this human.  It's hers, just as FlapJilly is mine.

We defer to the parents on all matters relating to the care and well-being of the child, of course. Times have changed, and so have cribs (no side bumpers, no toys, no blankets) and room temperatures and sleep apparel.  Mommy bloggers have all but replaced Dr. Spock. 

That's all well and good. We are very glad to have someone else do all the research and tell us exactly how to wash and dry and store the equipment.  She's their's, too, after all .... especially when she's too fussy for words and only dancing with Daddy will soothe the savage beast.

Daddy doesn't need to know that we're only giving her up because it's time to shift positions on the couch, or grab a snack, or because we feel sorry for him because we've been holding the baby and he has not.

New parents need to touch and smell and cuddle, too, and we get that.  Really, we do.  There have to be rewards for projectile poops and sleepless nights, after all.  Ultimately, it's their responsibility.

Isn't that wonderful? It's perfect, really, bordering on the sublime.

The baby cries, and the parents tell you what the sound signifies, and all the while Grandma is cooing and patting and cradling and soothing and not worrying at all because she knows that babies cry. It doesn't go through her like a knife, they way it did when her daughter was young.  

She's happy to watch her little girl care for her littlest girl, keeping calm, knowing, through experience, that this too shall pass.  

Babies cry.  Yes, they do.  And when they are your own personal grandbabies, when their hands close on yours, when their eyes lock with fascination on their reflection in your glasses, when it finally sinks in that this is what all the other grandmas have been kvelling about, then, there's no sweeter sound in the world.

Thanks for bringing such joy to one of my favorite humans, Jenelle Mary, and welcome to the world!