My Week With Baby Jay

Katie Couric with her grandson Jay

See photos of her new grandson.

It’s GOGO TIME!

I spent the last week in Los Angeles with Ellie, her husband Mark, and my first grandchild. By the way, have you heard that I have a new(ish) grandson, John Albert Dobrosky, aka Jay, after Ellie’s dad and my late husband Jay Monahan? It was so much fun walking into the nursery and being greeted by a smiling baby boy every morning.  

Ellie and Mark smartly sleep-trained Jay a few months ago. He goes to bed at 6:30 p.m. and wakes up between 6 and 7 a.m. — heaven for new parents. The fact that Ellie is now getting eight hours of sleep (at least — she and Mark both go to bed early because Mark gets up at 4 a.m. every day) has been a real game changer. And to see Jay start to taste solid foods — so far avocado (he liked it!), carrots (same!), hummus (confusing but pretty tasty?), and apples (not a huge fan, but we’re not giving up!) — has been so wonderful, although the food fairly quickly resembles edible finger paint.  

But even more thrilling than seeing Jay’s cute face, seeing him try to put food in his mouth, and watching him play his Fisher Price piano (I’ve already memorized the purple monkey song and love that John Legend actually did a cover of it!), is witnessing how much Ellie has taken to motherhood. I’m filled with pride watching her manage everything so beautifully — from Jay’s nap to his feeding schedule and everything in between. She’s gotten very relaxed, which I credit to getting more sleep. What a difference that makes in the life of a young mom (and dad!)  

Ellie Monahan and her son
Ellie and Jay

I asked Ellie if she could write a list of all the things that have really helped her as a new mom, so watch this space for that. In the meantime, I can’t wait to see Jay at every stage. He’ll be sitting up on his own soon and then comes crawling and walking. I wish I lived closer, but thank goodness for FaceTime! (Although whenever I’ve been FaceTiming Molner or his Aunt Carrie, he’s tried to eat my phone — ahh, the joys of teething!) 

Everyone says there’s nothing like having a grandchild. I didn’t really understand until I had one — it is so special. So here’s to grandparents and grandchildren everywhere! And I can’t wait until he can say Gogo…or whatever he ends up calling me! (Ellie and Mark don’t want Jay’s mug plastered all over social media, but I got permission to share a few photos with my Wake-Up Call readers!)

Happy Saturday!