Straight From the Bottle

my son does the SAME thing!! he recently spent the night with his grandparents and he was asleep by 9 pm and didn't wake up until 9 am. he hasn't done that for me and my husband in months. he never naps for me on the weekends, but he naps for his grandmother when she watches him for us. at first i thought i was doing something terribly wrong, but i guess it's just some freaky toddler phenomenon! weird stuff...

My girls do the same thing. My 3 year old throws a fit every night until she gets to be in bed with us. And my almost 2 year old wakes up sometime during the night (and being to dang exhausted to fight with both of them, crawls in with us as well). We fight at naptime, dinner time (any meal time)...but as soon as they are with grandparents...oh! they slept all night, took a 12 hour nap (so I am exagerating a little) ate all their dinner (they had LIVER, and loved it...okay, not really...) ate all their meals....I think they hate me sometimes...

Ugh.  It makes me happy that when my son sleeps over my parents, he kicks and snores just like at home, and to top it off wakes up at 6:30, while at home he sleeps until after 7 usually.  The good thing is he's stopped creeping into our bed every damn night now, which makes sleeping (and therefore, life) easier.

My 4.5-month-old does this at daycare.  2 hour naps twice a day in the crib.  No rocking, no crying.  I've actually seen it happen.  At home, 20 minutes and then she has to sleep on me.  

I tell myself they love us so much they just don't want to be away.

I am the grandma, and I am as mystified as you.  My kids?  we fought 4 hour wars every night for bed, and many many nights I cried because I was sooo frustrated, only to be awakened at the butt crack of dawn by screaming crying trantrum.  My grandkids?  1 poem, 2 songs, and zzzzzzz, no muss no fuss, and awakend at 8:00 am to cheerful and happy kids.  

I don't know what ta tell ya.  

I have the opposite problem- whenever the little duckling goes to Grandma's, he comes back a sleep-deprived, bipolar demon.  My mother has this weird theory that too much sleep makes childeren "slow and dumb" from lack of stimulation, so she cuts naptime short and wakes up with him at the slightest little sign that he might be awake, even if it's pre-dawn (he's 22 months old).  She swears that she doesn't do this anymore, but the proof is right there, screaming at me for the whole car ride home.  I've learned to just lay him down for a nice, long nap as soon as he gets home, regardless of whether it's time for one or not.

Ok...Dad has a theory.  The child, although loving his grandparents, isn't COMPLETELY sure he is safe with them.  He knows for a fact that his parents love him no matter what so he can relax and be as obnoxious as he wants.  But with grandparents or others?  Might end up on the street!!  Therefore, it is  in his best interest to be on best behavior so he can be safe. It kinda makes sense! (I must admit, it is fun being the grandparents!! And after living through the bedtime woes of 3 children, it sure is nice to have the "perfect grandchild Archer!!!."  :)

xxxxooooMom

SOOOOOOO funny.  a two hour nap...ha, ha, ha.  we've given up w/ our almost 2y.o. and just put him to bed in our bed around 8 p.m. where he sleeps peacefully until we join him.  my husband insists that kieran sleep between me and the wall instead of btween us...too many feet in his nostrils, i guess.  i think g-ma's theory is good.  k. used to be an angel at the grandparent's until he got used to going over there- now he is his own sweet obnoxious self.  tho' he always eats like a champ at grandma's table while he picks like a bird at mine.  sigh...

When my mother first told us all that she was in a relationship with another woman, my sister and I were