Names other than 'grandma.'

[mrsklamc]

It's only a hypothetical at this point since we don't have kids yet, but my 7 nieces and nephews refer to my dad's girlfriend as 'grandma,' and DH and I are just not comfortable with that, and looking for other suggestions. Her first name is the same as my MIL's, so we're hoping we can say "Our kids already have a grandma ________ , can they call you _______?

Hopefully she won't take offense, as I know actual grandparents whose grandkids call them 'MiMi' and "Me Maw."

 

[meggiebeth]

I call my grandmother 'grandmum' because she thinks it sounds younger than grandma. Other names could be Gran, or Nana. They are very popular here.

 

[momof1princess]

when i was pregnant with DD15, my DMIL INSISTED that she would be called "grandmother". DD15 had other ideas, and DMIL is mimi...lol. my mother is maw-maw. my step-mom is nana pam.

 

[NaLisa]

It's only a hypothetical at this point since we don't have kids yet, but my 7 nieces and nephews refer to my dad's girlfriend as 'grandma,' and DH and I are just not comfortable with that, and looking for other suggestions. Her first name is the same as my MIL's, so we're hoping we can say "Our kids already have a grandma ________ , can they call you _______?

Hopefully she won't take offense, as I know actual grandparents whose grandkids call them 'MiMi' and "Me Maw."

I understand your discomfort, but chances are your kids will call her what their cousins are already calling her. I think it will make everyone uncomfortable if you try to force the issue and have your kids call her something different.

 

[ronandannette]

DH's daughters were both in their teens when we married but I have been part of the family since all their children were born. The kids all have two actual grandmothers that they call Grandma Carol and Grandma Hope. My first name is Annette so early on I began being referred to as "Nanannette". I don't personally LOVE the sound of it, but it works. Maybe you could come up with something similar with her first name?

 

[cheerful chickadee]

My DD called my mom "meemaw" for a few years, my mom loved it because it sounded so cute. Since she's older now and can pronounce it better, she actually says Grandma. So I suggest meemaw or nana _____ (insert name there) like Nana Kate or Nana Betty.

 

[mrsklamc]

I understand your discomfort, but chances are your kids will call her what their cousins are already calling her. I think it will make everyone uncomfortable if you try to force the issue and have your kids call her something different.

We all live in different states and don't necessarily see each other at the same time, so I don't think that will be an issue. (My sister's kids only see them once every two years.) And even though I don't have kids of my own, I work with them a lot, and they don't seem to have trouble understanding that different people have different relationships and refer to each other by different names.

My sister uses nicknames like "Aunt ___ & Uncle _____" pretty freely and more than once I have seen her kids be confused and hurt when "Aunt" and "Uncle" move on to a different social circle and aren't as close with them as they once were. We've made the decision that those kinds of titles will be reserved for 'official use.'

 

[AKL_Megs]

DD has Grandma and Mimi.

 

[crashbb]

My nephew calls my dad's wife by her first name (my niece and daughter will as well, once they start talking). Her grandkids call my dad by his first name.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

When my first was born, my FIL had recently gotten married. It just didn't seem right to us that she call her anything but her name. Neither DH or I were very fond of her anyway, plus it was a little weird because she was the same age as DH. I'm glad now that our kids didn't call her a Grandparent name because they were divorced 5 or 6 years later. DFIL has since remarried....to an even younger girl.....and both kids just call her by her first name. I like this one a whole lot better but she has a son the same age as my dd. Plus, my kids met her when her and DFIL were first dating, so the kids already called her by her first name.

 

[ORMom2Four]

When I was a really little girl, probably a toddler, my parents were trying to come up with names for the different grandparents and step grandparents.

They came to the last set and told me to call them plain grandma and grandpa.

They were known as "Plain Grandma" and "Plain Grandpa" from then on, lol.

"Plain Grandma" died a few years ago. Two nights ago I found a birthday card I'd saved that she gave me. She even signed her name, "Plain Grandma" on the card, lol

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

My girls call my mother Mam. So if we are in public strangers who hear them think they are calling her Ma'am. Ver polite, lol! My husbands mother was Nana.

I had a Grandmommy, Granny, Mamaw, Nannie, and Annie (her real name was Cory, my mom just called her Annie).

 

[Janepod]

We despise my dad's girlfriend, so my son calls her by her first name. But I have her in my phone as "Heather Mills."

 

[Zooshoveller]

My in laws are Nana and Poppy.

My parents are Jim and Deba.

 

[mrsklamc]

We despise my dad's girlfriend, so my son calls her by her first name. But I have her in my phone as "Heather Mills."

 

[mrsklamc]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Definitely some here we'd not thought of.

 

[bandit90]

My grandma never liked being called grandma because someone she knew made it more like "grand-maawwww," so she's always been my Grammie.

 

[njmom47]

I am Grammy, DH is Pop, and my mom is Mimi. DH's mom is known as GG (Grandma Gxxxx, plus she's a great-grandmother 10+ times over!). I just called mine Grandma and Grandpa. We also have Grandpa (first name) and Grandma (first name). My kids also had Nana growing up.

 

[Jennasis]

I take it that you don't care for your Dad's girlfriend?

She has already kind of claimed the name grandma, so it looks like you would need another name for the OTHER grandparent.

May I suggest:
Nanny
Nana
Nan
Gran
Mamaw
Meemaw
Mimi
Granny
Grandma Suzy (or whatever her name is)
Ya Ya

 

[Wendy31]

My parents are Grandaddy & Nana.

DH's parents are Papa & Granny.

My grandmother on my mom's side was Granny, & I think my mom sorta wanted to be a Granny as well. However there were already grandchildren on DH's side when our DD was born, & our nieces & nephews called DH's mother Granny. We knew that our kids would be confused if both of their grandmothers were called Granny, so my mom became Nana.

My grandparents on my mom's side were Paw-Paw & Granny. My grandparents on my dad's side were Papa Jim & Mimi. My parents weren't thrilled w/ us calling my grandfather Papa Jim, but, again, since there were already grandkids when I was born, I called him Papa Jim too.

While I understand you not wanting your children to call your dad's girlfriend "Grandma", if that's what the other grandchildren are calling her, won't your children be confused if they have to call her something different? I know you said that the grandchildren are never all together - but what about holidays?