Are there any other grans on here who help to bring up their grandchild?

Well done Downtonearth. It must have been very hard. Hope your GD becomes easier and settles down into a happy contented adult who will be there for you when you get old.

Thankyou not been easy,cant go into details,but latest escapade is raising many concerns

downtoearth, from me, too. And for you Mebster.

I've been "mum" to my 3yo GD since birth. My daughter was young and in denial of her pregnancy. She told no one (only her bf and his mum knew) and I only found out she was pregnant when she was 8 months gone. She planned giving birth in secret and leaving baby somewhere!

She has never bonded with my GD but they both live with me. Luckily GD's father is involved and I've co-parented with him, more recently increased the time she goes to his. She is like a late baby to me that I just never physically gave birth to. But, I'm tired. My heart hurts for her due to the little interest my daughter shows in her She is just so adorable too.

Hello Grany
I have five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.All of my grandchildren have lived in my house but not altogether!
My husband and I have done the school run, looked after them during school holidays and cared for the as babies while their parents worked. When I first became a grandma 27 years ago I was still working part time but managed to fit in the childcare when I was off and my son and his wife working.
They (the children) plus their parents lived with us from time to time between moving houses.My son has been married twice and has lived here with second wife and two children until that marriage broke up.
Now the grandchildren are all grown up, youngest is 16, but the house was never quiet and at one time we were running out of floor space.Our great grandchildren are four and three years old and we don't see them very often but don't interfere.
At this moment I still have one grandchild living with me. She is 23 now and has problems which I don't want to discuss on this thread.Those problems are the reason she does not live with either of her parents, but grandma is providing a refuge for how long I don't know.That's what we are for
Enjoy looking after your granddaughter, I know you will.

downtoearth I am sending you kind thoughts.

Thankyou for the kind words and thoughts

I emigrated to be near absentdaughter, her husband and my grandchildren. I have been very involved in the care of the younger ones and we have had – and continue to have – many family occasions. I am now 69 and finding childcare a little bit hard, but I also feel some sadness that the youngest – sixth grandchild – will be starting school next year and there will no more "Granna Days" with a little one. He'll still be coming here after school and so will his next brother up who is seven. The third oldest, who is very affectionate towards me, will be starting at intermediate school next year so he will probably be travelling straight home on the bus. There will, of course, still be school holidays when grandparents are invaluable and totally exhausted.

Like our own sons and daughters, they grow up unbelievably fast. Enjoy your time with Olivia.

We look after our 2DGSs who spend half their time with the mum and half with our DS. As our son is away on tour 4 times a year we move into his house and look after the 6 and 8 year old boys, taking them to and from school, to after school activities etc. We are in our early 70s and find it pretty exhausting but we have so many laughs and good fun and it has cemented the relationship with our boys. They are our world.

I was co parenting my eldest DGS with youngest DD in my home for 7 years (he is now 9) and like Stella1949 was doing all the second mum stuff, bed times, baths, shopping for clothes, nursery, and school runs, doctors appointments etc! The head of his school PTA was under the misapprehension that I was his mother for over a year when he started because I was doing drop off on way to work every day!
I am now actively involved with child care for all the DGC of my 3 DD (so 6 DGC in all) this means watching them in holidays some of the time, entertaining them for their parents to have time to get other chores done, assisting with school runs and taking all of them to various activities.
I am currently off sick from my job so am available in the day times, and tend to be asked to take the 2 year old out quite a bit as his mum also has an 8 month old.
I love all my DGC but must confess that I find the child care very, very exhausting probably more so since my illness and I had a major op last year too. However like others I know how quickly tiny ones grow up and am keen to have the best relationship I can with them ahead of the teen years. I am very very close to eldest DGS still because of the 7 years I helped to bring him up, and I can’t see that changing. I have a different (but just as special ) relationship with his 2 siblings and 3 cousins.