Name Hang-ups

Carmen829

Carmen829

Cathlete
I recently learned my son is expecting a baby. I'm going to be a grandmother. While I'm absolutely beside myself with joy about the baby, I'm hung up on the name "grandma". I asked my son if he would be open to a variation of the word and I came up with "Bella" which is a cute (IMO) short cut to the word "abuela" (I speak spanish). My son wants grandma and doesnt seem to want any references to our hispanic background.

Although I'm happy about baby coming, I'm sad I cant be Bella.

My neices and nephews call my mother "Mima". My sons for some reason have called my mother "grandma" which must be why he wants his baby to call me.

There are such great "nick" names for grandma. What are some of yours?

Carmen.
 
Well one was Mam-Maw and the other was Granny. Neither very endearing nick names but they were loved none the less ;)
 
Kind of sad that your son sounds like he's rejecting his hispanic background, but IMO, "bella" isn't that overtly hispanic. It also means "beautiful" in Italian (as well as in Spanish).

I've also heard the nickname "gamma".

A French nickname is "mémé" (pronounced "maymay").


"Granny" sounds REALLY old (I have images of Granny Clampett in my mind!).
 
How about this: whatever the kid's first words are to you, that's what you'll base your grandma nickname on?

A caveat : you may end up being called something like "ba ba ba ba ba" (or shortened to "ba ba") or "gaaaa!":D


I will also suggest (and offer) to you a nickname that a friend's little (2-3 year old?) brother once gave to me, because he couldn't pronounce my name: Saka. He was introduced to me, and just started calling me Saka. I actually kind of liked it (and used it as a username on some forums a while ago). It has nothing whatsoever 'grandmotherly' about it.
 
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My family is German, so my grandparents were "Oma" and "Opa" to us, and that is how my 10-month-old niece knows my parents. I am "Tante" to her. She can't say them perfectly yet, but she tries.

I like acknowledging our heritage that way, so I can appreciate your disappointment, and I hope your son reconsiders. I think the adult children should respect the grandparents' wishes in terms of what they would like to be called.
 
kathryn said:
Kind of sad that your son sounds like he's rejecting his hispanic background, but IMO, "bella" isn't that overtly hispanic. It also means "beautiful" in Italian (as well as in Spanish).

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My feelings exactly. I also liked the thought of my baby calling me beautiful. thanks for the feedback. Although I wanted to discuss it more, my son is firm. He says its his kid....o well. :confused:

thanks again.

Carmen.
 
My sister's children call one set of grandparents grandma and grandpa and the other set are mom-mom and pop-pop. I think Bella is a beautiful name for a grandmother. maybe you could be grandma bella?
 
Since I babysat grandaughter since she was 2mo old she always called me momma. I thought we were in trouble until I found out she called her mother mommy. This was when she was first talking. Now I'm grandma.
I've always said I was 25 and wasn't planning to get older. Before baby was born I said I would teach her to call me sis. I'm still 25. It's interesting my son is now older than me.:eek:

Joan
 
Carmen829 said:
My sons for some reason have called my mother "grandma" which must be why he wants his baby to call me.
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I have to ask why you oppose the word "grandma" so much esp if it is what he called your mother. Is it possible that maybe you dislike the word because of its association with being older? I wouldn't let this dampen the love and joy that this baby is going to bring. Trust me when that baby looks at you with his/her big baby eyes you are not going to really care if he is puking, pooping, . . or peeing while calling you grandma. Esp when he/she says "I love you grandma." I wouldn't make this be such a big deal. By the way congratulations.
 
janie1234 said:
I have to ask why you oppose the word "grandma" so much esp if it is what he called your mother. Is it possible that maybe you dislike the word because of its association with being older? I wouldn't let this dampen the love and joy that this baby is going to bring. Trust me when that baby looks at you with his/her big baby eyes you are not going to really care if he is puking, pooping, . . or peeing while calling you grandma. Esp when he/she says "I love you grandma." I wouldn't make this be such a big deal. By the way congratulations.
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That's why I called this thread "name hang-up". I do think of old grey haired lady. I have a hang up I know. My son's gf has children from a previous marriage. They call her mother grandma and I know my baby will call her grandma. I wanted the children to call me something a little different so they'd know which grandma they were referring to. My son's hang-up to "Bella" is that its somewhat spanish and my pup's name is Bella. He says its a dogs name.

Like I said, I'm so happy baby is coming and you're right. Once baby smiles at me it wont matter what she calls me. (We know its a girl).

thanks for the feed back.

Carmen.
 
Kathryn, I'm Serbian and the word for grandma is "baba" and grandpa is "deda"-sounds just like a baby's first sounds and is probably the reason why:) And it works great for differentiating between grandparents.

When my oldest dd was born, my MIL wanted a different name-she wanted to be called "Oma"-German for grandma-but my husband wouldn't have it, either. She's been Grandma Patti ever since. My husband's niece calls her "Dutch" though no one has any idea where that came from:)
 
Both sets of my grandparents agreed on a different naming scheme as none of them liked grandma and grandpa either. So we went with adding Mama and Papa before their first names, so for example, Mama Carmen. And congrats!
 
Dela said:
Both sets of my grandparents agreed on a different naming scheme as none of them liked grandma and grandpa either. So we went with adding Mama and Papa before their first names, so for example, Mama Carmen. And congrats!
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Mama Carmen is nice too. Thanks for the feedback.
 
kgalas said:
Kathryn, I'm Serbian and the word for grandma is "baba" and grandpa is "deda"-sounds just like a baby's first sounds and is probably the reason why:) And it works great for differentiating between grandparents.

When my oldest dd was born, my MIL wanted a different name-she wanted to be called "Oma"-German for grandma-but my husband wouldn't have it, either. She's been Grandma Patti ever since. My husband's niece calls her "Dutch" though no one has any idea where that came from:)
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Its comforting to hear I'm not the only one. At first I thought I was being difficult. My husband says it doesnt matter and to leave it alone. Thanks.

Carmen.
 
I did not want my kids to call my mom mamaw or grandma. No particular reason, really, just not names I preferred. My oldest daughter (her name is Isabella and we call her Bella) started calling my mom Gammy and it has stuck. Cute and endearing :).
 
Only have one grandson talking at this point and he has 3 grandmas and 3 grandpas.

All us grandmas are called just that and the grandpas are called papa. No designations between us at this point and it doesn't bother me at all. My DS and DIL never asked and I never cared much. I was just thrilled to be a grandma before I turned 50 ! :p

I loved having children and love this "grandma thing" even more. Nothing but joy being around the grandsons.

Congrats and ENJOY ! ;)
 
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