The New Feelings of Being a Grandmother for the First Time
Being a grandmother for the first time unleashes a wave of new feelings in a woman. The expectation produces great emotion and easily oscillates between the greatest joy and the most tender nervousness that can exist.
Grandmothers are the greatest of accomplices for their grandchildren. Nothing, and no one, will prevent them from giving all their love to these little ones and spoiling them as a form of rapprochement.
Being a grandmother for the first time gives a woman a reason to relive the best moments of her children’s childhood. Life offers a second chance to enjoy the experience with greater intensity.
Certainly, a baby is a cause for happiness. It’s not surprising that a woman who’s going to be a grandmother feels completely happy with the arrival of her first grandchild.
Internalization
While it’s true that the joy is immense, a new grandmother has to go through a certain assimilation process when it comes to her first grandchild.
On the one hand, she must assimilate the fact that her children (who were her babies) are definitely adults, and on the other hand, she must assimilate the fact that the baby will become part of her, but not in the same way as her own children.
In other words, the new grandmother must accept that her daughter (if this is the case) is pregnant. Yes, that baby who was once in your arms now has a voluminous belly and will, in turn, give life to a new being.
Once this is assimilated, being a grandmother for the first time means that this new baby offers the opportunity to be responsible in a different way.
A new grandmother becomes a woman who will love on her grandchildren as much as humanly possible, to the best of her ability, although that doesn’t imply that her role is exclusively limited to offering affection.
At first, a grandmother pampers her grandchildren inspired by the love for her children, and as the first days go by, this love begins to take shape and define itself according to that baby. But it’s important to clarify that the feeling is genuine from the first moment.
It’s a new form of love that’s deeply internalized, as deep down, it’s an extension of love to one’s own children.
On the other hand, a grandmother understands that in her role there is also a component of accompaniment to the work of the parents. These women understand that being a grandmother implies collaboration with her children. Her love is now two-fold: for both her children and her grandchildren.
The second motherhood
When a woman becomes a grandmother, then the so-called “second motherhood” begins. This stage represents for many women the possibility of feeling special, while they rediscover aspects of life at the hands of their grandchildren.
In other words, second motherhood is the time to love from another perspective. Grandmothers always have millions of tips, tricks, and anecdotes. After all, they already have previous experience.
Grandparents know that their role is to be there to give hugs, comfort, and to pamper their grandchildren when parental discipline overwhelms them too much.
Grandparents are special beings because they can become consecrated as the best friends of their grandchildren.
Tips for New Grandma
- If you’re going to cry… may they be tears of joy!
- Respect the decisions of the parents. Even if you disagree, remember that you’ve already gone through motherhood and by overstepping your limits, you can sabotage the learning process of others.
- Advice is very valuable, but you must know when is the right time to give it or not.
- Help, collaborate, but also give space to future parents. Your concern for the well-being of your future grandchild is natural, but parents need to function in their own way.
Grandma’s main tasks
Being a grandmother doesn’t have to imply that you’ll necessarily be the typical granny who sews or weaves in her rocking chair. The important thing is to be the person who transmits beautiful values and principles to her grandchildren.
Children always want to learn and regardless of how you look and how old you are, they’ll hold you in their hearts as their grandmother. In short, the main tasks of a grandmother are to really connect with her grandchildren and listen.
Being a grandmother is a new opportunity to love and care for another, to be a better person, and to deposit in a new being all the love, protection, and tenderness possible in hopes of making this world a better one for them.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- García, C. N., & Vega, C. V. (2013). Relaciones abuelos-nietos: una aproximación al rol del abuelo. Sociedad y Utopía. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 41, 464-482. https://estaticos.qdq.com/swdata/files/619/619320697/relacionesabuelosnietos.pdf
- Planillo, A. H. (2004). Abuelos, abuelas, nietos y nietas. El punto de vista infantil. Indivisa: Boletín de estudios e investigación, (5), 35-42. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/1043224.pdf
- Triadó Tur, C., & Villar Posada, F. (2000). El rol de abuelo: cómo perciben los abuelos las relaciones con sus nietos. Revista española de geriatría y gerontología, 35(S2), 30-36. https://www.infogerontologia.com/documents/gerontologia/articulos/ll_congreso_geront_geriat_cataluna/2000c_rol_de_abuelo.pdf