Take your little ones to see grandma. Visit as often as you can. Let them spoil your babies. Let them hold them as long as they want, take them to new places, have slumber parties. Let them give you that unwanted advice and annoy you with wanting to visit all the time. It’s been 6 weeks since my mother’s illness turned for the worst. My baby is just 6 weeks. Grandma was able to show up at 5:30 that morning to see my baby arrive at 6:48. But that next day my nurse tells me my mom is in the room next door. We figured she’d be in for a week tops. She’s been in and out for months while her health slowly declines. But she was there for 5 weeks. Not as long as her first lengthy stay of 2 months but still, that was the home she wanted to spend with her grandbaby. She never got to come over and help. She never got to make all those freezer lasagnas she kept telling me about. Instead we visited her everyday. Some days she was not there. Some days she acted like she was in perfect health. And some days she slept all day. She still got to see her grandbaby but it’s not the same for her. She finally got to come home last week. She’s on her iv pole 24/7 and basically will be in the state she is in now until she passes. We try to keep her comfortable with the around the clock medication. But when she’s not getting sick or in pain she’s sleeping. She not the same mom or the same grandma my baby will get to experience like her cousin did. She’s miserable and depressed she can’t experience things with her grandchildren like our step mother does. She can’t even leave the house and most days not even her chair. We visit everyday and some days all day as she needs someone there 24/7. Who would have thought I’d have to babysit my mom, give her medicine through her port, and change her wound bags? I should be going to the pumpkin patch with her instead and planning our Black Friday shopping trip. She talks about this christmas but we don’t have the heart to tell her she may not be here. She barely made it to her birthday last week. She was miserable but the community sent so many flowers, cards, and gifts, and even decorated her yard for fall. She was grateful and happy but you could tell she just doesn’t want to be here anymore. It’s upsetting knowing she can only hold my baby when shes in the perfect mood so she doesn’t hurt her or make her sick. And she tries so hard to lay on the ground with her during tummy time. She tries so hard but she’s miserable and exhausted. These last four years she’s fought so hard but we are at a stand still now that will probably only go downhill. So please, take your babies to see their grandma. Or grandpa, or aunt or uncle- whoever it is that you want your baby to love and know, do it. If you don’t you’ll regret it. Situations happen that cause people to get worse or just pass away randomly. Do it while you still can and they are still able to experience your babies. I only wish my baby was older so she knew the love her grandma would have been able to give her.