The Joy of Grandparenting

 "We're going to see our grandbaby!" Janet said for the sixth time -- to perfect strangers. First at Dunkin for our tea and coffee just starting out for the hospital. Second at the rest stop on the turnpike when we got gas. Third to the runner on 1st Avenue in Manhattan whom we had stopped to ask where the NYU Medical Center was. Fourth to the guards at the hospital information desk for directions to the maternity ward. Fifth to the nurse on the elevator with us, and sixth on the maternity ward itself, when we asked for our son Jesse and daughter-in-law Rachel's room number.

And what a perfect little girl she was! Rachel had delivered beautifully, naturally, so no bright red cone head like my son Jesse had had after Janet's pushing for over 24 hours. Little Sienna Rose, less than an hour old, was quiet and in Rachel's arms sleeping peacefully when we first saw her. A bundle swathed in a white blanket with yellow ducks on it, a tiny bundle of joy (and future heartache if you've been or are a parent). It was one day past the Ides of March, 2013.

Now it was 2 pm, on the Ides of March three months later. Jesse and Rachel were scrambling getting dressed to go to Rachel's friends wedding at the Botanical Gardens. Janet had gotten to their apartment earlier, and our mission was to care for Sienna. They trusted us! Janet had already made numerous trips up, and I had too on three other occasions, but this was a real test. Would the grandparents do well with a very active and alert baby? Sienna was already holding her head up strongly to see herself in the changing stand mirror, and had also turned over from stomach to back. But when she was hungry she could not be consoled except for her mommy's milk. The kids had recently introduced bottles with that milk, and Sienna always gulped greedily. Would three bottles be enough while they were gone?

That and other questions and concerns crossed our minds and I'm sure Jesse and Rachel's as well. We got their directions: "When she gets fussy - making sounds and waving her arms and kicking, swaddle her first to see if that calms her down. She always fusses before napping. Or, she could be hungry."

Janet had already figured this out, from her prior visits, so was well prepared. The kids left on their adventure at 2:30 just as Sienna went to her crib to nap. That would last a half hour. I finished my Dunkin coffee from the nearby shop, and was reading The Week when she woke up. Janet was all over her like a bee on a flower. After checking her diaper (dry), swaddling and rocking her in her arms while standing, it was obvious Sienna needed a bottle. Janet gave her to me while she warmed the milk, then Jan sat in the rocking chair while Sienna supped.

A calm Sienna resulted, now wide awake and alert, and looking long at us and reacting to our voices, sometimes happily, which brought us great joy.

We decided to go on an adventure and take her out in her stroller. This was fairly new to her, and as we got outside on this sunny, warm Saturday afternoon, Sienna seemed to love it. Well, she didn't smile at every tree we passed, but her eyes focused on everything. She didn't even need her Nuk.

And Stuyvesant Town park was alive with activity!  Full basketball courts with teams of 3 -5 playing, the water spray tested by a one year old, and at the big oval park we came across the children's fair. A hundred children and parents were enjoying the hot-air fun houses and slides, getting free balloon figures from the balloon lady, and the live band was playing "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and and round . . . ." Amidst this cacophony of sound Sienna was as peaceful as could be, nodding off for almost an hour. 

The rest of the day, evening, and into the late night went swimmingly. Our good friends Martha and Faramarz stopped by on their way home from visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we had take-out dinner with them from the Belgium restaurant Petite Abeille a block away. Martha and Faramarz were pleased to see Sienna, even got a smile or two, and she was also well behaved -- always a concern when guests are present. Parents know the feeling well, especially when children are acting like we want them to.

So it was out in the stroller again to walk our friends to their cab, then stroll around the park-like setting once more. This time we sat on a wooden bench in the large plaza, where Sienna watched the towering, 20 foot high water jets for quite a while.

Back to the apartment for feeding and sleeping (and a little fussing before that bottle descended), and the night was over -- the kids were home by 10:30. A long day, a long test of our grandparenting prowess (98% Janet's), and happy smiles all around. 

Of course, we learned one lesson -- always leave our cell phones on so the parents can get a hold of us easily. This miffed Jesse to no end, even tho we had sent text updates and pictures of our progress that day. 

Otherwise, I think we passed our first big test as grandparents, and what a joy it was.

By Rodney Richards, NJ