Welcome to
our program.
We've been leading Mommy and Me and Daddy and Me exercise classes for over 10 years.
We realize the very special relationship between grandparent and grandchild.
This program will take you through some simple routines and we'll be singing songs that both
you and your grandbaby will love.
To increase your energy while entertaining your grandbaby, join the fun as we move to
the beat of musical nursery rhymes.
After that, it's circle time with playful activities to enhance the growth and development
of your grandchild, leaving you both wanting more.
Then, snuggle together and relax with lullabies while sharing some special quiet time.
Next, you'll join a diverse group of grandparents in a rap session.
As they explore what to expect when you're a grandparent, you'll learn about some of
the joys and challenges facing grandparents today.
From the grandparent classes that we've taught in the past, we've been amazed at the magic
that opens up and the many perspectives that we've learned from the grandparents who are
sharing amongst themselves.
This program will ease the transition from a parent to a grandparent and have some special
tips along the way.
Finally, a registered physical therapist will teach you some valuable back saving techniques.
And throughout this program, in our grand family segments, you'll meet all three generations.
You'll hear heartwarming insights from the parents and the grandparents.
When we created the video, Exercise with Daddy and Me five years ago, we knew that a program
including the grandparents was our next project.
So we created this for you to do with your special little someone.
The feeling that we have in having a grandchild or having a grandchild in our arms is like
every cell in our body is filled with love.
We're sort of relieving our three children and the fact that we do have a responsibility
but we don't have to be with them 24 hours a day.
We care for them, we play with them and then it's with our own business and that's a good
part about it.
Make sure it's been about 30 minutes since baby's eaten.
Make sure it's not too close to baby's nap time.
Choose a carpeted area and make sure you have enough room to move around.
Have a towel and a baby blanket nearby.
Always support your grandbaby's head.
Maintain proper body alignment at all times.
Stop exercising if your grandbaby cries or becomes fussy.
Stop exercising if you experience any pain or discomfort including dizziness or shortness
of breath and consult your physician.
This program is not recommended for babies over 20 pounds.
We're ready for some fun and energizing movements with baby.
If you're more comfortable sitting in a chair, do so like grandma Felicia.
Make sure that your feet are wide enough apart so that when we take it side to side, your
knees are not going beyond your toes.
And baby's head is very well supported on your chest.
If there's an older grandchild at home, they can hold a doll or stuffed animal like I am.
So let's get ready to take it side to side.
Here we go.
Down and up.
Side to side.
Here's one.
Side.
Two.
Two more.
Three.
Let's go down and up.
Here we go.
And this is the part where you want to make sure your knees are not going beyond your
toes.
Down and up.
Two.
Side to side.
Here we go.
Side to side.
Side to side.
If this does bother your knees, please feel free to march it out.
Down and up.
Here we go.
Down, press up.
Two, press up.
Two more.
Three.
Here we go.
Side to side.
Side to side.
Side.
Side.
Two more.
Two.
All right.
Get ready for down and up.
Down and up.
Down, press up.
Two.
Two more.
Three.
Side to side.
Here we go.
Side.
Side.
Two more.
Two.
Down and up.
Down, press up.
Two.
Press up.
Two more.
Three.
Side to side.
Here we go.
Side.
Down and up.
Down, press up.
Two.
Press up.
Two more.
Three.
Side to side.
Here we go.
Side.
Side.
Two more.
Two.
And down and up.
Down, press up.
Two.
Press up.
Three.
Side to side.
All right.
Well, the next song, we're going to be marching.
So, in just a moment, you're going to be marching toward me.
We're going to hold, and then you're going to be stepping back.
So, make sure you have plenty of room at home.
Here we go.
Four steps front.
One, two.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
Now, step it back.
March it back.
Hold it here.
Let's just hang out right here.
March in place.
March in place.
Hold, hold.
All right.
We're ready.
March four steps toward me.
Hold it here.
Hold.
Four steps back.
Take it back.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
All right.
Now that we've mastered the marching part, let's add on.
Let's alternate heels forward.
Here we go.
Alternate your heels forward.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Alternate your heels.
It's a heel.
Dig that heel forward.
Heel.
Heel.
Heel.
All right.
Let's go back to our march.
March in place right here.
March.
March and march.
March and march.
All right.
Get ready.
Four steps to me.
Hold it here.
Hold.
Four steps back.
Take it back.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
March in place.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
Hold it here.
March in place.
March.
March.
March.
You got it.
Keep marching.
All right.
Let's go back, bringing our feet apart.
And this time I'm going to hold my baby in a burping position with the head well supported.
We're going to be sliding our feet.
Going to our imaginary baseball game.
Here we go.
Slide.
There we go.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Those feet.
It's one.
Two.
Again.
Three.
Slide.
There you go.
Slide.
Warm up those legs.
I like that on a movement.
Alternate your heels back.
Heel.
Heel.
There you go.
Heel.
And back to our slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Again.
Slide.
Slide.
Again.
Slide.
Heel.
Heel.
Heel.
And slide.
Here we go.
Slide.
Slide.
Alternate those heels.
One.
Warm up the back of those legs.
Here's two.
And slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
You're good.
You're good.
Here we go.
Slide.
Slide.
Here we go.
Again.
Slide.
Here we go.
Again.
Slide.
Slide.
Slide.
And keep sliding for it's one, two, three strikes.
You're out at the old ball.
Then keep sliding.
Slide and slide.
There you go.
I think we all need a deep breath in.
Let's inhale, deep breath in through your nose.
And let it out.
Exhale through your mouth.
It's wonderful to see the interaction between the children
and their child.
Now it's time for circle time fun with Baby.
We're going to be singing to the baby some nursery rhymes.
And if you don't feel you have a good voice, it doesn't matter.
All Baby cares about is that good old language development.
So we're going to be sitting on the floor with the baby.
And if you're uncomfortable to sit on the floor,
please sit in a chair as our grandmother here is doing.
I'm going to hold my baby in a burping position.
And our first song is Frere Jacques.
We're going to be rocking the baby front and back, side to side,
and then all the way around.
Here we go.
Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques.
Side.
Dormez-vous, dormez-vous.
Oh, wow.
Sana la Matina, Sana la Matina.
Din, dang, dong.
Din, dang, dong.
Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Brother John, brother John.
Around.
Morning bells are ringing.
Morning bells are ringing.
Din, dang, dong.
Din, dang, dong.
Oh, such a good job.
Well, the next song, I'm going to extend my legs.
And I'm going to take Baby for a little ride.
So make sure your baby's well supported.
And let's go bouncing with the Grand Old Duke of York.
Now, this is our transition song,
where we're going to lift the baby up and gently bring
the baby to the floor.
But of course, if baby's in a chair with you,
you can just rest baby on your legs.
Here we go.
Oh, the Grand Old Duke of York.
He had 10,000 men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill.
And he marched them down again.
And when you're up, you're up.
But when you're down, you're down.
But when you're only halfway up, you're neither up nor down.
Oh, such a good job.
Well, are we ready to show the baby
how they're connected from their head to their shoulders,
their knees and toes?
Here we go.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Yay.
Good job.
Well, the next song, we're going to bring their knees all
the way up and then stretch all the way down
to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell.
The farmer in the Dell, the farmer in the Dell.
Hi-ho, the dairy-o, the farmer in the Dell.
Now alternate their knees, the farmer in the Dell.
Hi-ho, the dairy-o, the farmer in the Dell.
Good job.
Next, we're going to warm up baby's upper body.
We're going to bring the arms all the way across
and stretch all the way apart to the tune of London Bridge.
London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down.
My grandbaby.
Yay.
We're ready for my favorite song, The Wheels on the Bus.
So let's rev up the engines.
Here we go.
The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round,
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
all through the town.
And the doors, the doors on the bus go open and shut,
open and shut, open and shut.
The doors on the bus go open and shut, all through the town.
Wipers go swish.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,
all through the town.
And the diapers, the diapers on the bus
Go squish squish squish, squish squish squish
squish, squish, squish
The diapers on the bus
go squish, squish, squish
all through the town
and the grandmas
The grandmas on the bus say
I love you
I love you
I love you
and the grandpas on the bus say
I love you
all through the town
Oh, what a nice bus ride.
Well, who's ready for the Eensy Wensy Spider?
Let's get our spider out.
Here we go.
The Eensy Wensy Spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun that dried up all the rain.
Then the Eensy Wensy Spider went up the spout again.
Yay!
Oh, that was so much fun.
It's a breath of fresh air to see them with my son
because it's like if I were reliving what I,
as a child, how they brought me up
and the love and the care and just the way
that they're with him is unbelievable.
The greatest gift they could teach Victoria
would be family values, the way they've taught me,
and just to always stay together
and that family is the most important thing there is.
And just to love each other and enjoy each other
and never take each other for granted.
It's wonderful.
She's so good with her.
She's such a good grandma and she sings with her
and plays with her and she's very good with her
and she was with all her grandchildren.
So it's nice to see her interact with my daughter.
Now is a special time.
We're gonna snuggle up with baby and sing some lullabies.
So grandma, you ready?
Okay.
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
One for my master, one for my dame,
one for the little girl and boy who lives down the lane.
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
Oh, that was so nice.
Are we ready to rock baby with rock-a-bye?
Here we go.
Rock-a-bye baby on the treetop.
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.
When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall
but grandma will catch you baby and all.
Oh my.
Well, are we ready for some twinkling stars?
Anna, you ready for some twinkling stars?
Here we go.
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
how I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
how I wonder what you are.
Yes, oh that was so nice.
I have to say I'm very proud of my daughter
and I think she was a much better mother than I was.
So, and I just, she just seems to have more patience
and I'm just always amazed at how involved she is
and how involved she was with the school
and all the different things that she does
with the children that I think,
gee, I don't remember ever doing that.
I think she enjoys them a lot, you know?
And maybe even sometimes when I see my mom with the kids
and she's enjoying them, it reminds me to enjoy them
because you get wrapped up in the changing the diapers
and the clothes and getting them here and getting them there
and getting the doctor's appointments and things
and then you see the grandmother enjoying the kids.
It reminds you that it's my time to enjoy the kids too.
When I first had Elizabeth, being my first child,
I went through a very difficult time.
I thought I was a terrible mother, I was depressed,
but I would call my parents and they would always tell me,
you're gonna get through this.
The newborn stage doesn't last forever.
You're a good mother.
Everything's gonna be fine.
She's gonna be a happy baby.
And they gave me the strength
to make it through that period.
They really did.
I think she's doing so fantastic.
I can't even express.
We reassembled all of our grandparents
to share in some of their experiences.
You may wanna continue watching during baby's nap time.
We're gonna ask you guys some questions
and whoever wants to answer, please feel free.
How is being a grandparent different from being a parent?
When you become a parent, you are inexperienced
and you're very young and you're trying to develop a life
for you and for your children and for your husband.
As a grandparent, hopefully we have become wiser.
You have your priorities in place
and you realize that what is important is
being with your children, being with the grandchildren,
and really spending as much time as you want with them.
I gotta tell you, on my part of it is,
I was absolutely amazed at the differences.
I watched how my baby, my daughter,
now takes care of her daughter
and I'm amazed how well she does
because I didn't think she could and they do.
It's such a joy to be a grandparent
which I didn't realize before
because I can play with this kid,
I can do whatever I want and then she goes home.
I'm a grandparent.
As a grandparent, you learn to have more patience.
A lot more patience than when I raised my own three children.
They do things totally different, I think,
feeding and raising a baby than what they did
when our children were smaller.
But I think patience is a virtue.
When you have your children, you certainly have to do
things with them and for them,
but for a grandchild, you want to,
you just wanna be there.
There's responsibilities you have
with your own children growing up
that you need to be there and you need to take care
of certain things for the child,
but when your grandchild comes over,
I mean, you just drop everything
because that's what you want to do.
It's like a yearning inside you to get enough of them.
You just can't get enough and it's unbelievable.
Just unbelievable.
As much as I enjoy being with my grandchild,
I enjoy seeing my daughter-in-law and my son with the baby.
It just makes me so happy to see that they're so wonderful
with the baby.
Was anybody in this group afraid of becoming a grandparent?
If you were afraid or if you thought about it
in any other way than joy,
I think it sort of quickly disappears
because that little bundle you're holding in your hand,
that means more than anything else.
It's gonna change your life.
You better well be ready to understand
how much it's gonna change your life,
but it's just something you prepare with with the parents.
They're going through it, you're going through it.
The culmination is when the package is there
and then the love just grows from that point on.
In my mind, I used to think a grandparent
has white hair, a bun, and rocks in a rockin' chair.
Then seeing all of you, that's just not the case.
Did any of you feel that, oh no,
I'm gonna turn into this
bun, white-haired, rockin' shared person?
I think the whole thing is a matter of perception.
When I was 30 years old and I look at somebody,
50 years old, I say, oh, look at that old person over there.
Now, you're trying to defend yourself.
You say you're 61, I'm 62.
I say, no, there are no old grandparent.
Yes, we are old.
We are old.
Let's face that.
We feel, and we are, young in spirit,
but we have age, there's no doubt about it.
But those people that are reluctant
to be called themselves grandparents
is because they haven't passed that,
they haven't matured.
I think everything in life is a stage.
You have different phases in life.
You're a young adult, then you get married,
then you become a grandfather.
So everything has its time,
and everything has to be learned
how to enjoy that phase of life.
So, yes, we are old.
No, we are not.
There wasn't any How to be a Grandparent instruction manuals,
and I was curious as to how did you learn,
and who was your mentor, your teacher,
of how to be a grandparent?
I missed the manual on how to be a parent.
Was that manual available?
Excellent point.
In our culture, we tend to have a lot of extended families,
and the parent is the initiator.
But grandma has her input, aunt has her input,
and nobody sort of objects to the other family members.
For example, disciplining your child.
If he does something wrong when he's at aunt's house,
he gets disciplined there,
and mommy won't take offense at that.
In fact, they expect it from the extended family.
I find that it's not looked on as interference,
but as part of a big whole circle.
You gotta kinda not lose touch
of the parent-child relationship,
or the in-law relationship,
and kinda just be there if you're needed,
and if there's certain things that stick out in your mind
from growing up and from parenting,
and from outside sources,
you gotta learn what not to do
in order to keep everybody copacetic and nice.
So you kinda just kinda blend into the walls
until you're needed,
and then you say what you need to say.
What has your grandchild taught you?
My grandchildren have taught me
that they have become the first priority in my life.
It doesn't matter how tired I am,
how important my meeting is,
how much I have to do in my work,
or even with my husband,
when they need me,
or even if they don't need me,
because I don't have enough of them.
The most important thing is to be with them,
to spend time with them,
and not even my career is as important as they are.
And this is amazing to me,
because my career has always been very important,
but not anymore.
Now the grandchildren are.
Our grandson is only eight months old,
and I believe he's taught us that we are really grandparents.
I mean, we're realizing that we're,
not because we're old,
but I mean, we are grandparents.
It's something that is a little shocking.
I have some friends
that don't even wanna call themselves grandparents,
so they wanna call the child,
they call, well, this is my nephew,
my niece, and my uncle.
So, but we are grandparents,
and we have realized that.
That's what he taught us.
My granddaughter have taught me
that there's nothing that's as important as she is.
No matter what I have to do,
the minute she's there,
I am ready, and I am willing to be with her.
She is quite active,
and it's a chore keeping up with her,
but I love it.
We have seven grandchildren,
but Patrick is the one that we are bound with
because we are living there with them now,
and he's such a joy.
The great experience I had with my grandson
is that I'm like a clown,
because if he said to me,
put your hands down, and put your feet up,
and I will, because I don't care.
I don't care about the time.
I don't care about anything else to do like him.
He's the important thing in my life,
with my husband.
Do any of you find yourselves comparing
how you were as parents
to how your kids are as parents?
I look at my son and my daughter-in-law,
and I see how confident they are with the baby,
and I think back to when I was a parent,
I knew how to take care of babies
because of my professional background, et cetera,
but I was really frightened,
and I had good friends,
and I was forever asking them questions.
I just did not have the confidence in myself
that I could take care of the baby,
and I see now it's as if they've done it before.
They're just so confident,
and everything just moves along quite smoothly,
and as grandparents, we're there for them.
Sometimes I disagree with some of the things
that they are doing, but I just kept quiet
because I know everything that they're doing is just fine,
but sometimes I disagree, and I kept quiet.
I'm from the Caribbean,
and we have a lot of little remedies
that we use for babies.
My grandmother used it on my mother.
My mother used it on her 10 children.
We're all alive.
I use it on my two children,
and then along comes this grandbaby,
and they're not about to listen to what I'm telling them,
and I'm saying, look, history tells you it's good,
but they had to follow the book,
and if the pediatrician didn't say yes to XYZ,
they're not doing it.
No.
No.
So I said, okay, you're a baby.
Do what you want.
I'm backing off.
What have you learned since becoming a grandparent?
I discovered feelings that I didn't even know that I had.
There is such an unselfish type of feeling
towards your children, your grandchildren.
It doesn't matter whether they love you or not.
It's the joy of you giving and loving them.
That's the great thing.
It's also kind of scary how quickly time is going by,
and you kind of have to sit back a little
and really smell the roses
and appreciate a lot more than you did
as you were growing up
and being a parent to your own children.
I mean, we were so busy parenting,
we didn't always take time to appreciate everything
because it happened so fast.
Now that we're grandparents,
I mean, where'd the time go?
We better slow down.
I learned two things.
One, that my daughter and son-in-law
are much smarter than I ever thought they were
because I didn't think they could look after baby period.
Two, to deter what you said,
it is really a short time.
So much has happened.
You need to enjoy this child.
I've had her in my house for eight months
and it's been the best eight months of my life.
That's the priority in life.
Housework, dishes, they go by the way, enjoy the child.
When I was a young parent and I had young children,
we had to move away
and my husband's mother was just devastated.
It's like, mom, you'll see him, we'll come back,
we'll visit.
It's not a big thing.
I mean, we were all involved.
We were going for a new job.
It was gonna be a new life for us and I was so happy.
And lo and behold, life comes full circle
and I found myself about five years ago
with my daughter moving to Florida
with my grandchildren.
I was still in Maryland
and I remember standing at the airport thinking,
oh, now I know how my mother-in-law felt
when I pulled those kids away from her.
And it just, it's always struck me
and it just made me realize just how much important,
how important the grandparents are
in the whole scheme of things.
With today's day and age of technology,
video conferencing, video cameras,
computerized little video cams
on the corner of the screen and emails,
have you found the dynamics of being a grandparent different
since you can now take part in their daily lives
by saying hi grandma from a distance?
Has that been an asset and how?
I am a long distance grandparent
and we do have the video camera.
I should say the mother and father have the video camera
and it lets us see the little win.
I think more often because of the traveling,
we wouldn't see her as often, put it that way.
And it did help.
And the emailing, the pictures back and forth.
And she sends me a roll of film of the baby
at least once or twice a month.
So we do keep up with her growing up.
I'll tell you, it's a little hard having this little girl
in Florida and I'm in Pennsylvania.
But with all this modern technology,
it does make it a lot easier.
How has your children becoming parents
affected your relationship with them?
Well, I believe that our relationship with our daughter
has improved tremendously.
Not that it wasn't good before,
but it has been always a good relationship.
But when she had this baby,
she realized now that she is the mother.
Now she even told us, now I know how it feels
like you felt being parents.
But at the same time, they are in the driver's seat.
We are only co-pilots with our hands off.
And we have learned definitely to answer questions
or give opinions only when we're asked.
Because the thing is that if we start always,
you know, you should do this, you should do that.
Hey, why don't you do this now?
No, no, no.
Then when important matters come up,
then you're not listened to, in other words,
let them ask you when they need you.
I think that their relationship has improved
when the children are children, they need you.
Then when they become teenagers,
they don't want to have anything to do with you.
And when they're young adults,
they don't want to have you around.
But then when they have their own children,
they need you back again.
And it's a great feeling.
Even though you had a very good relationship with them,
it's good to know that you are needed,
that you can assist them, that you can be with them.
They can ask for your support, they can ask for your advice.
And that you can be more a part of their life,
practically back to the way when they were babies.
This has been enlightening.
It's been valuable and it's been truly amazing
to hear some different points of view from what goes on.
So thank you all very, very much.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I've had the pleasure of having the baby at my house
since she came to the hospital.
It's been awesome.
It's something I would never have missed in the world.
The real advantage of having my parents live with us
is that they're there with the baby whenever I need them.
And then the advantage for them is that I think
a lot of times they keep on telling us
that it keeps them young.
They are, you know, he keeps them energized.
They're not just laying around,
just waiting until the day goes by.
For him to know that growing up that his grandparents
were there pretty much every step of the way
is very important.
He's gonna remember that.
Hi, my name is Kim McKinney and I'm a physical therapist
and it is my pleasure to talk to you today
about some basic back principles and posture
in caring for your grandchildren.
As we know in today's society,
many grandparents are the primary caregivers
of their grandchildren and are not only dealing
with the repetitious activity of lifting, bending,
pushing and pulling, but they are also dealing
with a history of medical problems
such as cardiac problems and or orthopedic problems.
Many of these grandparents may have had
a total knee replacement, a total hip replacement
and may even have some arthritis or osteoporosis.
In the case of osteoporosis,
it does not take a traumatic episode or fall
to cause a pathological fracture in the spine.
Oftentimes it could be something as minimal
as lifting the baby from the car seat to the stroller
or taking the stroller out of the trunk
or placing the baby in the crib
and to go a little bit further into your daily life,
picking a weed out of the garden or even carrying groceries.
Of great concern are the grandparents
that don't see these children on a regular basis
and are not used to the repetitious activity.
It is these grandparents that oftentimes
leave their grandchildren and have several days
and or weeks of soreness.
It is imperative that you realize all the lifting
and the bending and the twisting that you do
and that if you do it properly,
it can decrease the musculoskeletal stress on your joints
and aid in joint protection.
At this time, I'd like to go over a couple
of basic body care principles in order
to help you lift properly and bend
and then apply these principles
to your daily life with these children.
First of all, you want to make sure
that you always hold objects as close to your body
as you can, meaning the baby, the car seat
and objects like that.
You also want to make sure that when you're bending,
that you bend at the knees like this
and you bend at the hips and you do not bend at the back.
Oftentimes, the grandparents will tell me,
I cannot bend because I've had a total knee
or I've had a total hip.
Any bending that you can do at your knees or your hips
will help decrease the stress on your spine.
Your legs were meant for lifting,
your back was not meant for lifting.
So if you remember that one concept,
that will help decrease the stress on your spine.
And thirdly, you never ever, ever want to twist.
You want to pivot.
You want to move your legs in the direction
in which you were going.
Okay, so we've got those three basic principles down.
Let's talk a little bit about stresses on your back.
If you are holding a car seat in front of you
and that car seat is 10 pounds, okay,
this car seat is 10 pounds,
and you hold that car seat in arms length away,
that car seat now becomes 100 pounds of stress on your back
because whatever you are holding in arms length away
is multiplied by a factor of 10.
If you place the baby in that car seat
and hold that car seat in arms length away,
it's even more stress on your back.
And think about how many times during the day
that you actually do that.
Also, I'd like to talk a little bit about sitting posture.
When you are sitting in a normal position,
your neck has a normal stress on it of 12 to 16 pounds
because your head is 12 to 16 pounds in average weight.
If you are slouching forward,
that weight across the back of your neck
becomes 36 pounds of stress,
and that does not even include having a baby in your hand.
So when you are sitting,
make sure that you have a pillow under your arm
and you're not slouching forward.
In terms of taking the baby out of the crib
and or the changing table,
oftentimes the crib and the changing table are very low
and we need to bend forward
and you can't get away from bending forward at your back.
The way to alleviate that is
when you go to take the baby out of the crib,
put the rail down to the crib
and the bottom part of the rail,
you can put your leg up and then lock your back
and lean forward and get that baby out of there
with a locked back.
Just remember, hold the baby as close to your body
as you can.
Just by doing that,
you will relieve a significant amount of pain in your back.
Also, I'd like to talk a little bit
about pushing the stroller.
A lot of times, the stroller is lower
than the actual arm rest should be.
So we oftentimes find a lot of parents pushing like this,
thinking that you will get more power using your legs
when actually you're getting less power
because you're pushing with your back and not your legs.
If you stand upright and hold the stroller
as close to your body as you can,
that's the proper way to do it.
Many strollers are low and they sell stroller extensions
so that the moms and the grandparents and the dads
can maintain an upright posture in pushing the baby around.
The same thing with the high chair, feeding baby.
Make sure that tray is out of the high chair
before you attempt to get the baby out of the high chair.
Many times we see moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas
leaning over the high chair with the tray in front of them
and trying to lift the baby out and their back is bent,
their knees are straight and they're trying to twist
and lift the baby.
Think about that motion and how much stress
is on your back and your neck.
So you can see how just by applying
those basic three principles, don't bend your back,
you're supposed to bend your knees, don't twist,
and don't ever hold something in arm's length away
and that will significantly reduce
the musculoskeletal stress on your spine
and help in overall joint protection.
And it's wonderful to see my mother and my mother-in-law,
both of them, they take turns watching the baby
in the mornings during the week and it's a great feeling
to see them taking part in their grandchild's life
and being able to be there to do it.
Grandparents role should be that of an individual
who is there to influence a child in a positive way,
to be helpful in teaching a child different things
and spoiling them to a degree.
I figure if we're half as good parents
as our parents were to us, we're doing a great job.
My parents are involved in every aspect of Elizabeth's life.
They help me when I need a break.
They're very good with her.
I would trust them with her life anytime.
They are the best grandparents I could have ever hoped for.
We had a lot of fun and hope you and your grandbaby did too.
Thank you for playing along
and we hope you'll join us again soon.
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Some of the
things that Lyle does that I didn't do as a father, I think he's a great deal more attentive
with his daughter than I was with my children.
Not that I didn't love them, but he's much better dealing with changing diapers, much
better than I was able to handle that.
I'm very proud of him for that too.
Grandma's our favorite spent.
A grandfather is someone who just wants to have fun with you.
My grandmother on my mother's side, she took care of me because my mother had to go to
work while I was in school.
And she always, always gave me whatever I wanted.
Well many of my grandparents have gone through many sad things, so relief.
And they've all come out at the end having great lives, so I've learned to persevere
and if you go through tragedies you can still come out being a good person.
Every time I'm with my grandma it's special.
What's special about my grandpa is that he's funny and he likes golf.
They had a great relationship, my grandmother and my grandfather, always spent time together,
always happy and always giving.
They never asked for anything in return.
They like when papa takes me to the pool in the park.
A grandmother is someone who loves you unconditionally.
I think the gift of a grandparent is to have somebody who can overlook your life from a
second opinion instead of the prior opinion as a parent and be able to not only see what
you've become and see what you've grown into, but watch you mold your life and watch you
mold your children.