She's young. She's 24. And I think that you're all right in a way. I appreciate the feedback - you've given me some words of comfort and good advice for my mother. I wish that there were some way to peacibly broach the subject with my sister, but from the minor probes I've done it wouldn't be too welcome. I'll just have to "hope for the best". I just spoke with my mother about it again and she says that my sister is probably just been feeling the stress of doing everything on her own. When she lived with my mother she had someone to help change diapers and everything, now she has to do them all herself. But I will definately share with her that she needs to learn how to let "Mom be Mom". I guess it's hard to switch from mom role to grandma role - I mean your child is your child no matter how old they are. My sister really is a good mom. She does try to do what's right. I am thinking that because she is a single parent that it doesn't SEEM like she has someone "on her side". And the baby is one of the happiest people I know. She kind-of reminds me of the Dali Llama - full of wisdom and laughter. LOL! I'll have to find the proud Auntie forum and post pictures. Thanks again!

I was very touched by what you are expressing, especially about your Mom "biting her lip" to keep from offering unwanted advice. I have 3 grandchildren of my own, and my husband has 3-nearly-4. So I can empathize, believe me. My little granddaughter is nearly 5, and an absolute scamp. I saw her today, and played Barbies-Having-a-Feast with her (we drag out dozens of Barbies, set play food on little tables, the Prince comes to host the banquet, you get the picture). She has two younger brothers, and tends to be quite bossy. Of course I love the dickens out of them all, but I said to her, "Alyssa, you are really going to have to not be so bossy." Playing with the grandkids is when you really get to know them, as a grandparent. And also a means to offer them a little "life advice." I think Debbeeanne's suggestion of encouraging Grandmas to babysit is an excellent one. This tells both grandparents that you and your husband trust them completely, with the safety of your child. Also, call once a week on the phone and ask the Grandmas to talk to your son. Even if he just goos into the receiver, they will enjoy it. It's good, too, to telephone with "the latest accomplishment." They can't see him growing every day, like you do. Feel free to share -- it will make them feel closer to him, and to you. You sound like a wonderful Mom, daughter, and daughter-in-law. How nice it would be, if more young mothers realized how important it is to include the Grandmoms. As a grandparent, the fact that God has blessed us with a grandbaby is the icing on Life's cake. One day you will know this feeling -- but for now, just love your little boy, and continue to be a terrific Mom! Here is a link that might be useful: Welcome to Gram's Pantry

Iarsk, I hope you can manage to not take this personally. It is true, some people are just not interested in children. I'm one of them. We had 5 children in a less than 4 year span. For 20 years our life was completely devoted to them, the farm, the family. Truth is, we're just plain tired and want to do things ourselves now. Yes, we see all the 6 (so far) grandchildren. But we both breathe a sigh of relief when they are gone, and usually just fall into bed. I'm not much of a 'hands-on' grandma. I don't want to babysit, I don't offer advise, (but will give my best guess when asked.) Well, 2 of the grandchildren are just tiny, not old enough to 'play' with yet. The other 4 are like whirling dirvishes, never slow down for a moment. Their mother doesn't seem to mind that, but it's hard on us. I doubt your parents, neither dad nor his wife, are trying to be hurtful. Not all of us are meant to be caregivers for our entire lifespans. Some of us do the very best we can with utter attention and devotion to raise our own families, then we feel like we're done, and want to move on to other things in life. Just enjoy your babies. Appreciate every age and every stage. Maybe some day you, too, will want to be more removed from childrearing. You never know. j

We've returned from our weekend trip to visit Will and Ivy, and I'm trying to get rested up from three days of playing "trains, planes and automobiles" with Will...got to hold Ivy a lot, in between our playtime. Will is still adjusting to his baby sister...wants to touch her face, tickle her, and is somewhat rough with her, at times. I would really appreciate ideas on how to handle that situation...and so would my daughter. Wish we lived closer so I could see them more often...and give my daughter a hand with babysitting. She lives in a very nice neighborhood, though, with lots of mothers with young children and babies, and they are very supportive of each other. Will was the world's worst eater, starting right after he turned one, and we were so worried about him. His diet mainly consisted of spaghetti,chicken nuggets, bananas, sometimes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and soy milk or juice. He finally started to eat more things last year and now will try a lot of different foods. One thing that worked for my daughter was to serve very small portions (sometimes on plastic "play dishes"). I think the bigger portions looked overwhelming to him, and it was easier to get him to eat, if it was just a small amount (which she would add to, if he seemed like he wanted more).