Names other than 'grandma.'

[pigletgirl]

Both sets of parents have been talking about what they each want to be called and I told them to let their grandchild do that! I definitely did with mine. One is Nana and the other is "Leeta". Not really a meaning for anything, its just what I call her and my other siblings and cousins call her that too.

 

[kellyg403]

My grandbabies call me grandma. Their other grandparents are Nana and Papa. We are grandma and PopPop. My granddaughter calls me grandmanana for some reason.

My favorite though, is my Aunt. Her grandd had difficulty with speech. So the normal names were difficult for her. To make a long story short, my aunt always is one to see them and ask them to give her some sugar. (kisses etc for those who aren't sure!) Her grandd could say sugar, so Aunt became Sugar. Thats her name now even for the rest of us. Too cute.

Kelly

 

[Hannathy]

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.

I agree and they are going to call her what she calls herself to them. If she refers to herself as Grandma and signs gifts and cards from Grandma, they are going to call her Grandma.

I would save my strength for a battle really worth fighting. Always remember that with parenthood. find the battles worth fighting and fight them and let the other things go. You and your children will be happier in the long run.

 

[aprilgail2]

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.

LOL--my mother wanted to be "nana"- instead she started out at Gigi- then it changed to goo goo and now the poor woman is and will always be "ploopy".... yup...ploopy. Not exactly what she wanted to be known as LOL.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My mom is baba

 

[PollyannaMom]

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 think since their grandmother on your husband's side has the same first name, she'd understand and be fine with something different.

My own DS calls my dad's girlfriend Nana. It's quite common here, and he thinks of her very much as an "actual" grandmother - as my mom passed away years before he was born, and his grandmother on DH's side is called something other than "grandma" as well.

 

[Janepod]

LOL--my mother wanted to be "nana"- instead she started out at Gigi- then it changed to goo goo and now the poor woman is and will always be "ploopy".... yup...ploopy. Not exactly what she wanted to be known as LOL.

I take it you've read Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

 

[DisneyDreamingGirl]

Grandparents in my family have always been grandma and grandpa.

 

[rszdtrvl]

DH's mom is "Grandma (firstname)". My mom is "Granny". I feel like a misplaced southerner at times, and for some reason, just started referring to my mother as "Granny" when it came to DS, and it stuck.

 

[Bounce_Tigger]

Lots of great suggestions. To speak to the different name confusion: My dad has 4 siblings and they are very spread out in age - His youngest sister became an aunt when she was 6. So there is a wide age range between the youngest cousins (in their early 20s) and the oldest (in their mid 40s). The older cousins called my paternal grandfather "grandpa" and the younger cousins called him "papa." It may have had something to do with the fact that my youngest cousin is only a year older than his uncle's grandson, who calls our uncle "papa"
It's a very confusing (and large) family tree! We've never had any trouble knowing who was who though, despite being together all the time.

 

[lynxstch]

On my father's side..his parents were my grandma and grandpa..on my mothers side, there was my nana and my memere.

My stepkids have so many sets of grands, that they are called things like mammy, grandma cookie, memaw, granny Mary, they call me just Lynn, or Aunt Lynn sometimes..lol...they call my husband granddad..their other grandfathers are grampy, paw paw,pappy, and grampa bill

 

[mrsklamc]

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

I actually like her fine. She's tons of fun. She's also been married 7 times, though she and my dad have been together several years. 'Grandma' to me means someone who is going to be part of your life no matter what, and though she is very nice, she'd have no interest in maintaining relationships with my dad's grandchildren were they to break up.

I know you said that the grandchildren are never all together - but what about holidays?

Even at holidays. We travel to see my dad, we travel to see my sister at her house or meet her at Disney, and we see my brother and his children at my grandmother's house.

I agree and they are going to call her what she calls herself to them. If she refers to herself as Grandma and signs gifts and cards from Grandma, they are going to call her Grandma.

I would save my strength for a battle really worth fighting. Always remember that with parenthood. find the battles worth fighting and fight them and let the other things go. You and your children will be happier in the long run.

I don't think she is a person who would call herself grandma and sign gifts as grandma if we asked her not to. She is pretty laid back.

 

[lovesmurfs]

My MIL was an established grandmother before we had our kids -- she goes by "Grammy."

My mother didn't want to "confuse" the kids, so she asked to go by "Grandy." Kinda stupid -- 18 years later I still don't like it. Try finding a "Grandy" birthday or Mothers' Day card in a store.

When I was growing up, we had two "Grandmas" -- we called them by last name: Grandma Smith, Grandma Jones.

When my grandfather got married later in life, we called his wife "Aunt Sharon" -- Growing up in the NE, if someone's close, but not related to you by blood/marriage, we tended to call them Aunt FirstName or Uncle FirstName. We called a lot of my parent's friends this way.

 

[Bob NC]

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

Great story!!!!

 

[tvguy]

When my FIL and his brother were kids, their mom got so exasperated with them always going "mom......mom....mom..." (anyone with kids has been there )......and just blurted out "stop calling me mom".......to which they replied "what do you want us to call you"........and she stammered and sputtered (according to my then 10 year FIL) and blurted out "Call me Suzy".
Now, how someone whose name was Jessie came up with Suzy is beyond any of us, but it stuck. So from then on.... she was Suzy to her kids, and then her grandkids and and then her great grandkids (and even her husband).

 

[minkydog]

I think kids are gonna call you whatever they're gonna call you. My mother's parents.were officially Mamaw &Papaw....to everyone except my littlest sister. She called him Hey You.

When my oldest was born my MIL called herself very formally Grandmother. Well, DS mmade quick work of that. We left him in her care one afternoon. Two hours later she was Playmom! And so.she has been for.the.last 25 years

 

[happygirl]

My mom likes for the kids to call her Grannie my dad doenst' care what you call him.

My hubby mom wants to be called grams and his dad wants to be called papa

 

[bigbabyblues]

My MIl is "Noinee"....not sure how you really spell that. She wanted to be Nana but DS1 couldn't say Nana, he said Noinee.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

My suggestions are admittedly unhelpful butthey are kind of funny. Growing up I had a Grandma on the Farm (and Grandpa on the Farm!) and Grandma and Grandpa in the new house. Both names were set when I was about 2-and they signed cards that way through high school. Even though the new house wasn't so new anymore!

Our 2 year d christened my parents Bamoo (for Grandma) and BahTah (rhymes with mama) for my dad. We get some strange looks in public. And he calls my Grandma Bamoo Flora. (flora is obviously her first name). So you never know what the kids will come up with on their own!

 

[antmaril]

My late husband's family is Dutch, so my son calls his grandmother Oma.