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@Mrs. Carrot: I don't have specific advice, but I wanted to let you know my 20 month old daughter stayed with my parents for a week after us never having left her more than 24 hours before. I was a nervous wreck, and she had a ball.

Unless your daughter is really having sensory processing difficulties, I think 2 days is probably fine on a "wahoo, grandparents' house!" adventure. (If she's having real sensory processing problems beyond normal toddlerhood, ignore all my advice!)

On the plus side, my daughter is usually hard to get to go to sleep, but the active days with my parents wiped her out and she slept from 7-7 every night she was there!

I don't think you can control what they do with her in terms of all the activities and what not. But I think the important thing is that they make a space for her to rest and recharge in. Dimmed curtains, things from her bed at home, make it cool, white noise, that sort of thing. I've shared in the past about my son's overstimulation issues and staying on schedule. He has some flexibility (for an 11 month old) but same thing - can't be too overwhelmed with new things or he gets really difficult. We always make sure the grandparents create a quiet space for DS and remind them that if he's freaking out and melting down, sensory deprivation is the best way to get him to settle. Sometimes, just laying in his crib with his lovey and rolling around and screeching is the best way to get him to settle down even if he sounds like he's upset. And his nightly bath is a ritual we have to do because it relaxes him so much and helps him wind down for bed. I would ask your parents to try and make things a little slower and quieter around her bedtime. Your dad can still watch the evening news later at night after she's in bed you know?

I worried sooo much about DDs first overnight at grandmas house (16 months) and it was not worth the stress. She has a blast and was even more well behaved than she is at home! She slept awesome and didn't throw any fits that were typical around that time for her. Just equip your mom with some suggestions in case she is upset but she likely will do better than you think.

She'll be fine . It sounds like your mom has plenty of experience with kids and I bet your daughter behaves better for her when you are t there. They'll all figure it out and I bet they won't even tell you if she's a terror. They'll just love that they got to spend 2 uninterrupted days with her

@Mrs. Carrot: Yes, you're right, it is a lot at the same time. I did something similar with my son when he was a bit younger, we moved internationally and my son, who had never spent a night away from us, stayed with my inlaws while we packed the apartment one weekend. I worried about everything, my FIL watching TV with the volume up, my son needing blackout curtains for his nap, you name it. In the end, he was fine and it was barely a blip on the radar. But it forced me to think about how we intervened and created his environment. There comes a point where it is no longer beneficial and that point varies.

But my point is/was that we all make accomodations for things around us that irritate us. For example, if the volume on the radio is too loud, we turn it down. If we are cold, we put on a sweater. These are coping mechanisms that every person does, some better than others. Every one of us has "sensory issues" that cause us to tweak our environment. It's not limited to people that are not well functioning.

I feel like these things are usually harder on the parent than the child. Activities will wipe her out and cause her to be sleepy and children usually adjust pretty quickly to these kinds of changes, mine LOVE grandma's house. I agree with PP, as parents I think it's a choice how much we intervene with our child's routine, you might be surprised how quickly they adapt to a new environment when forced too.

Also, I just read your mom is/was a kindergarten teacher she knows how to handle meltdowns/children I would go and have fun and try not to worry she's got it handled.