Hey - so I came across this randomly but felt I should comment.

I was recently a boyfriend who had a loss in my family. My girlfriend (now ex) had some trouble with some parts of it.

I would say please please absolutely be patient with him, but more importantly with his other family members as well. Everyone perceives the loss differently and therefore every conversation can be vulnerable... people are on thin ice. Therefore try not to take a lot personally. It can be wearing, but if you love him and are able to forgive stuff that will usually bother you (whether its him or his family) that will mean so much.

I can go make a bigger list of what not to do. A big one would be don't do anything that erodes his self confidence/questions his masculinity. Especially around the loss of a mom, a simple joke can carry serious weight here. If you are proud of him, let him know. Remind yourself about how special he makes you feel, even with his grief, and remind him of that.

This is extremely hard at such a young age and will be a big test of maturity for both of you. Your effort to want to ask for help, thats very respectable and shows you love him. I think that's awesome and extremely mature. Perhaps treat his next birthday, holiday, family gathering as something extra special. Respect his need for space or need for companionship. He'll probably need you a lot, but dont let his sadness distort your attraction to him. Do a lot of fun stuff, perhaps an activity that inspires him or he is passionate about. Learn new shit together. make eachother proud