I am moving and Grandma is upset

Question

I will be moving 4 hours away and my mother is afraid that my 10 month old will forget who she is. She currently spends lots of time with my baby, but once I move, I will only be able to visit 2 times a month at the most. What do you think? Have you been through this type of situation?

Answer 1

I grew up 4 hours away from my grandparents.  We usually saw them once a month once my brother and I were middle-school age, simply because of homework and sports.  When we were younger, up through about age 8, we made the trip two or three times per month.  Sometimes we made the trip every week, which we did for 4 straight weekends when I was in high school because my grandfather had been injured and was in the hospital.  Christmas was always spent with my grandparents, just about any holiday weekend, and a couple of weeks in the summer.  

Yes, it's perfectly fine.  Your baby will know exactly who Grandma is if Grandma is visiting twice a month.  Pictures, phone calls.  How about web cams?  

My grandson is 20 minutes away and I understand your mom's feelings, because I don't want him anywhere farther than that.  Your baby will adjust faster and easier than your mom will.  So be generous with the snapshots that you email or snail mail to Grandma, and don't get irritated with her the first 10,000 times she says "I wish you would come back."  Our heads know that sometimes you need to move away, but our hearts want you close.

Answer 2

It's going to be an adjustment for all of you. I way that may help is maybe video chatting between the two of you. This way your mother can see her granddaughter.

Answer 3

Oh, my mom made the biggest fuss when we moved several years ago. You would have thought we were taking her liver with us. She adapted to it. We visit twice a month (most months), too. My kids remember her, of course! We email pictures constantly and she calls daily. My mom was terrified that they would *forget* her. Your mom will get better about it- with time. It's an adjustment. For everyone. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Yes, i have just keep a pic of her near the baby's bed, and call her as often as you can, so he can hear her voice.

Answer 5

We moved 14 hours away from all our family members about 7 months ago, only our daughter is 2 and a half. My daughter remembers EVERYONE, even our old neighbours and my mother who we barely saw when we lived there. All will be ok, just talk about her a bit and let her talk on the phone to grandma

Webcams are also a great and cheap way to keep in touch, my dad bought me one recently and he talks to my daughter almost every day on it. 4 hours really isn't that far away, you could visit quite frequently, at least it wont take a whole day and $450 petrol to drive like it does for us lol (and that's ONE WAY!)

Answer 6

Oh yes, I moved 6 hours away from my mom when my daughter was 9 months old. I told her I wouldn't be able to visit except for holidays. So she decided that meant, come visit me EVERY OTHER WEEKEND mom... It was good though, she was able to babysit and spend time with her grand daughter and my husband and I were able to get out, and as luck would have it, my husband's residency got changed to a place that was only an hour away after 6 months. It really is hard at first, but the baby will remember her grandma and if you let her talk on the phone to her, it'll help the distance a lot, and webcams, that's what my kids do with my husbands parents. Once a week they webcam with grammy and poppy. They all love it.

Answer 7

A great idea for you. Does your mum have a computer? Set up MSN and a webcam (with microphone) for her and for you. My mum only lives 5 minutes away and we both have one and the kids talk with her everynight and can see her. Mine are 9 so they type to her (great practice) but sometimes they turn on the mikes and talk to her. That way your baby can see Grandma and Grandma can talk and see her grandchild grow and talk and even those first steps.