Grandparents & Extended Families - Motherly
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Grandparents & Extended Families

Extended families can be a joy—and a challenge. Motherly’s got you covered with advice and essays from other mamas who’ve been there.

grandpa holding newborn baby

To the grandparents—we miss you *so* much right now

The connection may be virtual right now, but it's not virtually impossible. Thank you, grandparents, for still supporting our families—even from a distance.

grandpa playing with grandkids on a porch- grandparents babysitting

Grandparents provide free childcare, but it costs us in other ways

When it comes to lenient grandparents, should we insist that our rules are followed—or is this just the price of 'free' childcare?

This photographer’s viral photos capture the magic of grandparents

She didn't have any pictures of her own grandparents, so she started taking the pictures she wished she had.

I wish my mom was here to see me be a mother

I yearned to hear what her pregnancy was like and what labor might be like for me as her own daughter.

Grandma + grandpa: Go ahead, spoil my kids this Christmas

When my kids receive a gift from their grandparent, it's the grandparents I watch, not my kids. When the presents produce squeals from the kids' mouths, I can't escape the glint in my parents' eyes. Who am I to stop that?

grandma hugging newborn baby

Being a grandmother is the greatest joy of my life

Seeing this child—and falling in love with him immediately—was an experience like nothing else. I wanted to protect him. To love him. To hug and kiss him. I wanted to be there for every moment, big or small. Every milestone. Always.

woman overlooking mountains

How I’m learning to mother–without my mom

You are always with me. In those times when I lose my cool under frustration, like yesterday when Everett was whining and simultaneously the dog threw up all over the carpet, I can feel you witnessing it all. I can feel you helping me, calming me or laughing at the chaos and confusion you used to know so well.

child hugging grandma

Dear Grandma and Grandpa: Do you know my kids are obsessed with you?

Your love does not go unnoticed. The kids can feel it. And I can see it. Life just wouldn't be the same without you!

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