An excited grandpa-to-be is melting hearts online for the sweet text messages he sent his daughter in the final weeks before she gave birth.
Miranda Stangler, 29, (@mirandasmotherhoodera) posted screenshots of the messages from her father, Ken Close, in a reel on Instagram as he awaited the arrival of his first grandchild, Emryn. Some of the texts included: “My bag is still packed. Just saying.” “The truck is full of fuel.” “Coffee is made. So once again I’m ready.” “My nest is complete.” “You’re not replying to me. Are you in labor?? Do I need to pack the truck??”
Stangler told Newsweek that, when she first made the reel, she had been married to her husband Kaeleb for three years.
“During my dad’s father-of-the-bride speech at our wedding, he ended with a playful, ‘Now go give me some grandbabies.’ It became a running joke and a lighthearted reminder of how eager he was to be a grandpa, even though there was no timeline in sight,” Miranda said.
When she and Kaeleb finally shared the news that they were expecting, the couple used a little Green Bay Packers onesie to surprise him—a nod to her dad Ken’s favorite football team.
“The look on his face was a mixture of pure joy and disbelief that his dream was finally coming true, and that is something I’ll never, ever forget,” Miranda said.
As her due date approached, her father began checking in daily. Once she got close to 40 weeks pregnant, Ken’s messages would come early in the morning, even before the mom-to-be was awake.
“Since my parents live in Wisconsin, about a four-hour drive away, I think he wanted to be prepared at a moment’s notice,” Miranda said. “He kept his ‘nest’ ready, his bags packed, and, of course, made sure to take care of his ‘morning business,’ just in case the big call came that day.”
Miranda’s waters broke early one Friday morning, three days before her due date. “Ironically, even though he had been working from home about 90 percent of the time, that one day he had to drive 45 minutes into the office,” she added.
Miranda, then 27, began replying to father Ken’s usual check-in messages with subtle hints but resorted to sending him a photo from the hospital when the penny dropped.
“He called us immediately, so excited that he could barely find the words,” Miranda said. “I think he called me at least 13 times that day to check in and ask for updates. At one point, I hung up because my contractions were getting stronger and, not even a minute later, my husband’s phone started ringing. He looked down, laughed and said, ‘It’s your dad.’ We just looked at each other and burst out laughing.”
Miranda’s reel has gone viral, amassing almost 4 million views. Ken has melted hearts in the comments.
“Someone give this man more grandbabies! So sweet,” one user posted.
“So relatable. My dad was the first in the room for my first delivery,” another added.
A third commenter said, “This is the most wholesome thing ever!!”
Miranda’s parents made the four-hour drive that evening and were among the first to meet baby Emryn.
Since then, Miranda said her dad Ken has taken to grandparenthood with the same enthusiasm he showed during those final pregnancy weeks—perhaps even more.
“If you really knew my dad, his excitement about having grandbabies might actually surprise you,” Miranda said. “He’s never really been a ‘baby person’.” But, the moment he met Emryn, something changed.
“The moment he met her in the hospital, his eyes lit up, and you could almost see his heart grow 10 sizes bigger,” Miranda said. “I was honestly shocked when he held her just hours after she was born. Ever since then, if he’s not with us in person, he’s requesting photos and videos of his granddaughter every single day.”
Miranda’s mom, Jodi, has been just as doting. “She retired early, and I truly believe my daughter played a big part in that decision,” she said. “I get random texts that say things like, ‘I miss my baby, can I come stay for a few days?’ She never complains about the eight-hour round trip.”
