first grandson lives abroad

BlueBelle, I admire your very positive approach and agree with all you say. My two GC were born abroad and I didn't see one until they were four because of circumstances.
You have to make the most of it. I was lucky and had Facetime but one of the GC never liked it or engaged in any talk.
Now they are back and lived at the other end of the country near their other grandparents and are getting too old to want to talk to Gran. I accept and know I will never spend Christmas or Easter with them, sad but a fact. You just have to make the most of when you do see them

It is not unusual for a son or daughter's family to live abroad

I would recommend to follow the parents' guidance plus age appropriate activities.

It may take a year or so for a proper interaction online- when gc is older

My first grandchild and then another, live in NZ and I don’t have the money to visit regularly so I ve only see them about every 5 years
Strange all 7 of my grandkids were born overseas although 2 now live in my same street ❤️
It is what it is and you just have to find other means…. you are very very lucky if you are going to be seeing them every year and the other grans have given you excellent tips of how to keep in touch
I didn’t have the FaceTime option (25years ago) but life takes you where it takes you these grandkids have the other gran and grandad live in the next street to them in NZ so I knew from the start I would be the ‘other Nan’

Hi! In the same position as you, although we completely missed their first years during the pandemic sadly.

WhatsApp video calls are our saviour!
When they are a little older, I found buy books in duplicate on Amazon, one for me and one for GC and dh I read stories to our GC on zoom /Facebook calls on my laptop, with mummy and daddy turning the pages for GC while we read.

I buy little bits and pieces that we have matching along with the books, such as stuffed animals, and we show each other our matching toys on calls. It helps to have something physical and tangible the child can see, they can connect with you through the toy or book.

Zoom or Facetime- so he can hear your voice, see your face... when a few months old. So if you go in November, he will get used to voice and face, so keep it up as soon as you return, on regular basis.