Sunday, March 12, 2017

In The Land Of Grandbabies

In my opinion, one of the greatest social developments of the past few decades is the change in parental leave policy. When my boys were born, Hubby Tony had to use his vacation days to spend time with his new sons. Today, the companies that Son Brian and Daughter-In-Law Nicole work for both have generous paid time off. After Baby Jay was born, both parents were there for the first initial weeks, then Nicole stayed home with him while Brian worked. When she went back to work Brian stepped in as the full-time caregiver.

Brian has to go back to work at the beginning of April.  Before he does, he invited Tony and me out for a visit. We spent six wonderful days in California hanging with this guy:


Jay was on the cusp of his five-month birthday (which happened the day we left).  Developmentally, he was right on track, so we got to see him sit up with just a little assistance and work on developing his rolling-over skills.  He liked to cuddle, coo, smile, laugh, and blow bubbles.  Any object in his hand ended up in his mouth. 

Tony and I got to give him some bottles and take him out for a few walks.  The time flew by, and all too soon we were giving Jay a last hug and kiss.  Until our next trip Tony and I will have to make do with FaceTime calls and text updates.

16 comments:

  1. How lovely that you got to spend some precious time with your new grandson, 5 months already!

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    1. I know--can you believe how fast time flies?

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  2. They grow so fast! Seems like mine were babies just yesterday and two of them will become teens this year!

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    1. I hope MY time doesn't go quite that fast....but I suspect it will :-)

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  3. Love it! Baby time is just the BEST!

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  4. Yes, times have changed and its lovely the parents get to spend time with the newborn. We live in a time when to make ends meet both parents need to work, with most jobs, but then day care is expensive too. So glad you got to spend time with your grandson. Congratulations!

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    1. I don't ask about their finances, but they have alluded to what a big chunk day care will take out of their budget.

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  5. I"m so happy that you got to spend that time with that little cutie!

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  6. Awwwww! How wonderful! I love being a Grandma - spending time with the twins is just so much fun. It's a shame you live so far away.

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  7. And I bet you are just as proud of your son for staying home and being the main caregiver as I am of mine for doing the same thing. So many Dads missed out on so much when it was frowned upon.

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    1. I am very proud of him. He's building a great relationship with his son.

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  8. My daughter and son-in-law followed a similar schedule with their generous parental leave time. What a blessing for everyone! My daughter's friend works for a children's hospital in a major city and she get absolutely NO maternity leave. Can you believe it?!?!?!

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    1. It's been a VERY long time since I've heard of a place with NO maternity leave. What is that place thinking?!?

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