Letters to my Grandchild

Good morning Little Em, Last Saturday we had a 'Baby Shower' for you and your Mom and Dad. Usually only women go to Baby Showers but Mark wanted his friends to be there too, so we had a few Daddies and wanna-be Daddies and a few guys who seemed bemused by the whole thing! Lauren brought her precious little 5 week old Taylor. I kept looking at her and wondering if you would like like her! The party was at lunch time so we served a light lunch. Patty and I found Polka-dot plates, place mats and serviettes so the theme was Polka-dots - just like some of the accessory in your nursery. You got so many gifts Em - I don't know where they are going to put them all. You have already got enough clothing to last you three years at least! It was a lovely party and you were the main attraction! You are going to be welcomed into a community of friends and family who all love you alre ady. On Monday your Mom went for another scan and it showed that you have moved sides. They h...

Dear Grandchild,   A baby is such a precious thing. We humans must have a protective, nurturing gene that switches on when we know that a new baby is going to come into our lives. We are wired in such a way that even the thought of a baby switches on an emotional response. I've never really thought about having grandchildren. There didn't seem to be any prospect of having a grandchild in the near future and I didn't even think I wanted one. But, now that we know that you are on the way, I find myself thinking of your arrival as a momentous event! A brand new, never seen before, absolutely unique human being is going to come into this world in a few months time - and it will carry the genes of two parents, two sets of grandparents, great-grandparents, etc etc....... Its awesome!! Scary!! Exciting!! For the first few months of a baby's life it is completely helpless, defenceless and dependent on others. So, how come I feel so nervous about meeting you or lookin...

Dear Grandchild, You are now 17.5 weeks and growing!   I found this picture of an 18 week foetus in the womb on the cover of LIFE Magazine. It is so amazing that I feel as though I have just looked at you for the first time! You are a REAL being, not just a growing mulberry, or a squiggly tad-pole. I think this baby is a girl (I don't see any dangling bits!) so perhaps you are also a girl. We'll just have to wait until the next scan to find out! It is your uncle Greg's birthday today. He was born in 1975 - and your father was born 2 years later in 1977. I always wanted boy children and I dearly love my two boys but it would be nice to have a little girl in the family now. You have another two uncles- your mother's brothers are Brent and Steven. You won't have any aunties but I know that Patty and all our 'girl' friends will want to be your aunty. There are so many people thinking of you, praying for you, caring about you alread...

Dear Grandchild, Last night we went to visit Mark and Tammy and they showed us a scan photograph of you taken at 8 weeks. You now look more like Casper the ghost than a tadpole! I Googled 8 week embryo and this is what I read:   This week, your baby graduates from being an embryo and becomes a foetus. Up to now, your baby's framework has been made up of cartilage. From the 47th day, the first bone cells begin to replace this cartilage. The bones for arms and legs begin to harden and joints begin to form. The face and jaw is formed, but teeth and facial muscles are only just starting. All of the vital organs are in place: heart, lungs, brain, intestines. However, they are all still immature and will develop further. The genitalia begin to form. Your baby will develop webbed fingers and toes this week. Wrists, elbows and ankles are clearly visible, and your baby's eyelids are beginning to form. The ears, upper lip and tip of the nose also become recognizable. As your ...

Dear Grandchild, Welcome to my world. You are the last thing I expected to happen in our life. When Mark (my son - your father) told me back in March that he had something to tell me, I did not for one moment expect him to say that Tammy (your mother) was pregnant. Pshew!! Although they'd known each other for a long time - each had different partners when they first met and Tammy had moved away to Gauteng. They had only started dating 6 months earlier so this was a shock! My first reaction was one of panic! Mark has a genetic order called osteogenesis imperfecta - brittle bones - and there is a 50% risk that his children will inherit the gene for OI. There is no test for Mark's type of OI and the only way they might be able to diagnose OI before you are born is through ultra-sound. The memories of caring for a baby with brittle bones flooded back and I thought, "It's not fair to bring a child into the world knowing that it might be facing years of pain and traum...