I am shortly to become a Grandmother. I have never met any of the father's family who are uncommunicative to say the least!
I was told today, that the other Grandmother has kept the umbilical cord, or part of, the cord from each of her grandchildren! has anyone else heard of this peculiarity? Why on this earth would anyone do such a grisly thing. I wonder if it is used as a toy at Halloween or to chew on?!
I don’t find it at all odd, just something I wouldn’t (didn’t) choose to do! Just as I didn’t choose to cook and eat the placenta or keep any teeth. Each to their own.
Keeping the cord of a GC is just a bit strange, but if all parties are happy………. why not. Perhaps it’s a family tradition 🤔. Not sure Id have wanted my children's never mind my Gc’s!
I have a collection of baby teeth which the tooth fairy exchanged for £. They’re all mixed up and I have no idea which belongs to which ‘child’ 🤣. I really should get rid, but ………
it is a new thing and parents keep it with the other keepsakes Oh flip, I get it now. Lots of little boxes, starting with the baby shower and gender reveal stuff. And any other mementoes. American?
it is a new thing and parents keep it with the other keepsakes.
I have my childrens labels from end of 'cot' they were placed in next to my hospital bed also wrist and ankle tags. then added curl of hair.... also went on to keep first pair of shoes, all greeting cards from when first born. that was in the 70s.
I do think this is really odd thing for a grandmother to want from someone else's pregnancy - so I wonder if actually she is cryogenically freezing the cord as a "future health" kind of insurance.
OP I was just thinking, that as the umbilical cord belonged (internally) to your daughter, then the other granny surely won't have the nerve to ask for it, so the problem won't arise. Assuming the other grandchildren were from her own DD?
Louella1 and Grandmabatty I know I kept the little nub for a while too from my first-born but I didn't keep it for long as it was buried with her placenta under a tree... I suppose lots of people will find that grisly too as the placenta was in my fridge until then.
My second child was born overseas in a flat in the middle of a cold winter. The land was frozen and one of our lovely midwives took his placenta and froze it till the spring when she was planting out a new area.
It was a privilege to have her do this for us (and others from our "birth group") and then ask us all to join her on a beautiful day for a shared lunch and the planting.
We will never forget the joy and love of that day and the sense of the rightness of it.
When my youngest son’s cord end dropped off at home a few days after coming home from hospital it fell on the floor and my Labrador got it before I did😳. He seemed to enjoy it.
I think it's a bit weird and I've never heard of it before. In any event, I would have thought it more appropriate for the mother to keep it rather than the grandmother. What does your daughter think about it OP?
Are the other grandparents hippies or new age types?
I think it’s weird. I have heard of people eating the placenta. There’s no accounting for taste. Personally I prefer a roast dinner.
I gather that a lot of animals eat the placenta. A nutritious meal (for carnivores anyway) when the mother won’t immediately feel like going out hunting.