A Grandma’s First Steps
A Grandma’s First Steps
This handsome, smart, first Grandbaby is less than two weeks old. He is tracking, listening to her talk about each page, patting the book, learning her voice. “He liked the buttons best, looking intensely at them. The keys also held his attention – I told him he would soon find keys delicious for some crazy, baby reason.” All of it also teaching love.
Grandma Becky has a PHD in Children’s Literature and we believe in the power of books. Books and Grandma’s lap are a wonderful combination! In this photo, they are reading Black& White by Tana Hoban. It was published in 1993, so only available for my youngest child, and truly, I brought the board book versions to the hospital. Daniel spent several of those first days in the NICU, and he would crane his neck to see the butterfly.
By now we all know much about developing eyes, and the value of black and white images in those early days. Did you know that babies’ first coos are reflective of the languages they hear? Reading to a baby gives us a way to speak to a baby with caring attention and a tenderness they understand. And it is a fine thing for a baby to relate reading with a warm snuggle, full attention, and a comforting voice. My grandchildren, now three and five, have enjoyed the Tana Hoban as well, and those board books are still on the shelf. Perhaps those images are still capable of stirring those earliest memories.
Becky and I are both on the waiting list for our latest find – A Baby Like You by Sibert Medalist Catherine Thimmesh, pub date Nov. 5, 2019. Catherine connects babies across our ecosystem with compelling photographs and a poetic text that shows how the everyday milestones babies take parallel animals in the world. Whether it’s a first step or a first bath, all babies celebrate milestones as they grow. These adorable babies—from polar bear cubs, giraffe calves, and zebra colts to human babies—Catherine shows how we are more similar than we know. School Library Journal just gave it a starred review “The various topics begin with the same refrain: “Each new day, in different ways, a baby like you…” and continue with information on how an animal and a human are born, carried, eat, bathe, play, learn, and begin to walk.” This will be your next favorite baby shower gift, but also good into PreK!
Grandma Becky helped create our best books for infants list. We are serious about giving you the very best for your Grands. She will be a long-distance grandparent for now, and brought along her own blank memory book for her first visit. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Grandmas have a lot they want to say to this next generation.
You don’t need a memory book though – on that precious first day, without a second thought, sit down with a pen and paper or your laptop and write. Write about the day, what the weather is like, where all the important players are, what they are thinking and hoping. Write about the first time you heard the baby’s name, what you thought in learning the gender, just write. Write about what you remember from the child’s dad or mom being born and what you know about their last few days waiting. If you are at the hospital, write about all the parts of the day, including visiting family members and what they said. If you are home, write about all the parts of the day, and the all-important phone call with the news. Don’t say you aren’t a writer, just write. No rules. Tell a story, too, if you like, about you, or their mom or dad, what you remember about your grandparents – no rules. And tuck it away with a newspaper from the day they were born. Your stories, especially in your handwriting, are important too.
There is also another, more convenient way to share stories than Skype for you long-distance grandparents. The Marco Polo app allows you to record a video chat anytime YOU have the time! Sometimes it is hard to match up schedules as a Long-Distance Grandparent. Sometimes it is hard to be at your best with a busy schedule or a different time zone. Marco Polo works much like the game with a back and forth concept, allowing you to make and record fun videos – straight messages, reading a book, and fun voice and visual options when it is convenient for YOU (like when you’ve combed your hair!). And when the family member logs on at the other end, they click on your message when it works for them. Sometimes that college kid could use a little encouragement at 1am too – boom! How fun to log on and see someone was thinking of you?
Always more wrinkle-free grandparenting ideas at www.GrandyCamp.info
Post by Karen Ritz
Bio- Karen Ritz is a longtime children’s book author and illustrator. She has been chosen for the Society of Illustrators Show, had a book featured on Reading Rainbow, and has materials housed in the Children’s Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota. Karen started GrandyCamp to share new creative adventures with her grandchildren, now three and five, after recognizing our new generation of grandparents are busy, active, probably still working, but always interested in creating memories. She lives, paints, and grandparents in St. Paul, Minnesota.
