In need of suggestions for grandma nickname

[dairedevil]

My son (only) and his wife are expecting their first baby in the spring. I don't know if I should try to come up with my own nickname, whether to make suggestions, or whether to just hope that something will evolve on its own. I don't want to be as formal as "grandmother", and I just don't feel like I'm a grandma, granny, meemaw (ugh!), grams. (I think I'm way too young for something so old-fashioned).. and "mimi" is already used in the family.
My first name starts with D, middle initial I, so I've considered Didi, also something like D-Mom.
Anybody got any ideas?

[Lavabe]

My son (only) and his wife are expecting their first baby in the spring. I don't know if I should try to come up with my own nickname, whether to make suggestions, or whether to just hope that something will evolve on its own. I don't want to be as formal as "grandmother", and I just don't feel like I'm a grandma, granny, meemaw (ugh!), grams. (I think I'm way too young for something so old-fashioned).. and "mimi" is already used in the family.
My first name starts with D, middle initial I, so I've considered Didi, also something like D-Mom.
Anybody got any ideas?

Didi sounds like a great idea.

In our family, my daughter calls me dada and my mother is called nana.

[sue71, esq]

My grandmothers were grandma (grandmom) and nana. My great-grandmother was buba. My friends's kids called their one grandmother "babchie" (or something spelled thereabouts but that's what it sounded like- it was Polish for grandmom).

[CameronBornAndBred]

As kids, my sister and I named our grandparents, and most everyone I know named theirs. I'd leave it up to the children. Remember, the named ones are their grandparents, not yours. For the record, my grandmothers were both Grandma, and my one grandfather was Pap-pap.

[Acymetric]

As kids, my sister and I named our grandparents, and most everyone I know named theirs. I'd leave it up to the children. Remember, the named ones are their grandparents, not yours. For the record, my grandmothers were both Grandma, and my one grandfather was Pap-pap.

I agree with the above. Even to the point of calling one of my grandfathers Pap-pap. I'd never heard of another family that did that..are you secretly a member of my family? My grandma on that side was grandma, and on the other side there was Maw-maw and paw-paw. Guess which grandparents live in Ohio and which live in NC.

Anyways, my general perception is that you should go with whatever your the child comes up with. Most grandparent nicknames are whatever the grandchild came up with when it was trying to say grandma or grandpa. In the situation where there are multiple grandchildren, the first one to speak gets dibs on nicknames, and that nickname then applies to all subsequent grandchildren in the family.

Thats just what my $.02, other families may do things differently, obviously I've only ever been in my family, so I don't know what everyone else does.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'd never heard of another family that did that..are you secretly a member of my family?

The coolest thing about being adopted is you never know. I can be related to anyone I want to be! (Lucky for me my parents chose to be related to me)

[dukemomLA]

Didi sounds good--but my brain thinks it might be too close to Dada. I don't your national history, but as a Norwegian, one that I thought using was Mor-mor (meaning mother's mother), but that didn't quite 'trip off my tongue,' so I did an internet search and found a GREAT name -- Gamma. (I can't use Nana as that's beng used already). So I am GAMMA to my 4 month-old granddaughter. It works GREAT, she loves her Gamma -- and I suspect that Gamma will be a word that she can say (...after Mama and Dada, of course). Just a thought. CONGRATULATIONS!

[Windsor]

Both of my grandfathers were 'Poppy', one grandmother was nagymama (pronounce kind of like nud-mama, at least that is as close as I can get to the Hungarian sound) My daughter calls my mother Nana, called my grandmother Mama (shortened from nagymama) on the other (Greek) side she calls them Yia Yia (ya-ya, not sure if that's spelled right) and Papoo. My great grand parents were Grammy and PopPop

I have a friend (Jan, who is 'GranJan' to her grandchildren)

I have conteplated what I'd like to be called when the day comes...since my daughter is 21 I'm hoping I have lots of time.

[devildeac]

Bubbie (like the pickles)

[captmojo]

... but as a Norwegian, one that I thought using was Mor-mor (meaning mother's mother)

The First Mate called her Norwegian grandmother "BaBa".

CBB's got it, I think. The naming should be left to the kids.

[Bostondevil]

Hey DukeMominLA, I called my grandmother Gamma! It was my older brother's way of saying Grandma when he was 2. My grandfather was Bopie, again trying to say Grandpop. You can go with what the kids come up with, but you have to give them something to start with. You could try your first name and see what comes out. I've always thought I might go with Gigi when the times, or G.G., short for Gorgeous Grandma.

My kids call my parents Nana and Deedah and my in-laws Gam Gam and Pops.

[bluebear]

My grandmothers were grandma (grandmom) and nana. My great-grandmother was buba. My friends's kids called their one grandmother "babchie" (or something spelled thereabouts but that's what it sounded like- it was Polish for grandmom).

My wife's mother is babci to the grandkids in the family..a little unique but still easy to say...

[TillyGalore]

My parents were living in Germany when my sister made them grandparents so they took the German version of Grandmother and Grandfather, Oma and Opa. Even my cats call my parents Oma and Opa, very easy for young ones to say. And, if you or your kids go to Germany they will no doubt find coffee mugs that read "I love Oma" or "I love Opa."

[DukieInKansas]

I agree with BD - you have to give them a place to start with the names. Also, as others mentioned, first grandchildren tend to set the name. My grandparents were Grandma/Grandpa and Nonnie & Papop. My parents ended up with several versions depending on the family unit - they were Grammy & Grampy to one set, Grandma and Grandpa to another, and MawMaw & PawPaw to the third. My sister, who is the bonus grandmother to her grandkids, went with Grannie Annie.

[aimo]

I had 13 cousins ahead of me to decide what grandparents would be called. Try Mama D____ (your first name or last name). Worked for us. In fact, EVERYONE called my grandmother by our name, even friends.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

My wife's parents picked their own names when the first grandchildren arrived. I think they're two of the coolest grandparent names I've ever known... Glamma and Big Al.

[dairedevil]

I guess that I wanted to have some sort of a suggestion, with the knowledge that the name could be altered by the baby as she learns to talk. My brother and his wife decided to be Honey and Bear, but their grandson has come out with Nunny. Don't know yet if that's going to stick.
My names are Irish and French..maybe we'll come up with something there. I just don't want to be a formal "Grandmother". It's fun to think about while waiting for the baby to get here.

[bjornolf]

My parents are Jou-Jou (pronounce zhoo-zhoo...it was my mom's nickname as a baby, I think it means toy-toy in French, since her family is all french) and Pop-Pop. My in-laws are Maw-Maw an Paw-Paw. My grandfather on my mom's side was Poppee, and my great uncle was Pere-Pere, which is also French.

On a side note, when my first son was a little guy, he used to reverse words and called me "dee-dah" instead of "daddy". I loved that and wished I could keep it that way since it sounded original, but despite my best efforts, he figured it out. My mom thought about going with "mee-mah" as she thought "dee-dah" was cute too. She also wanted the French "mah-MEE" as HER grandmother went by that, but my wife thought it was too close to mommy. My great aunt went by "didder" to her kids and grandkids. Not sure where that one came from. Just some thoughts.

[BluDevilGal]

My grandmothers were Grandma and Grammie. My grandfather was Grampa until one of my sisters came out with Bumpa, and that stuck.

My aunt started off as Grammie with her grandkids, but that ended up being pronounced as Guppy by one of the kids, so I think she's stuck with that. My uncle is Papa Joe to the g-kids.

[dukemomLA]

Hi Bostondevil. Yeah, Gamma really works for us. Then again, folks, I called my maternal grandmother Gee Gee (or G.G.) -- but mostly because she didn't want to be called a grandma name. (...don't get me started). Then again, my mother-in-law was called Banga by all the kids, since that was the name that the first grandchild came up with when he could talk.

It's hard to me to think of Nana as a grandmother name, as that was what I called my great-grandmother (who lived to 102, dying when I was a teen). So, I always think of Nana as a great, or great-great name.

There are so many choices, so...my suggestion is to pick one that works for you, and then the baby take it from there. God Bless.