This was my first blog post published back on May 6, 2016. I’ve updated it a bit and am reposting it.
Yes, I use the word grandbabies instead of grandchildren. The instant spell checker always identifies it as a misspelled word on my computer and phone.
I began using the word grandbaby when my first grandchild was born. I don’t know why…maybe because it was a cuter or a sweeter sounding word…but it stuck. It just came to me as I’d never heard anyone else use it. I pluralized the word after my second grandbaby was born.
I’ve looked into this as I’ve been questioned about using the word(s) and I see that some dictionaries define the word grandbaby as:
• a grandchild who is a baby
• an infant grandchild
Some also state that grandbabies is the plural form. However, not all dictionaries recognize the word(s) at all!
During my research I discovered 2 old books that used the word grandbaby:
• At the Little Brown House by Ruth Alberta Brown in 1913. There was one sentence that read:
– She probably knows as much about such matters as your grandbaby.
• The Red Rugs of Tarsus: A Woman’s Record of the Armenian Massacre of 1909 by Helen Davenport Gibbons in 1917. These 4 sentences reflect the usage:
– When you and I and the grandbaby meet IT will be Helen’s responsibility.
– Do you fear that I will not be able to nurse your grandbaby, that you sent all the condensed and malted milk?
– Your grandbaby will open its eyes five thousand miles from its grandmother.
– The family heirlooms must wait for the second grandbaby.
Although I said I’d never heard anyone else use it, lately the word grandbaby seems to be very popular. So, what do you call your grandbabies?
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