Hellobee Boards

We're doing it in a couple of weeks while we're out of town for 5 days. DD will be almost 10 months. I'm nervous about it because DD still wakes up once a night, but I know she'll be fine otherwise because she loves being at her grandparents' house.

I have to admit that I would be nervous, not because I fear my parents are inadequate but because of how my DD would react. She doesn't always make it through the night (she's two and a half!!! ugh) and she might be a little upset about it. I would probably feel more comfortable sending my 8 month old because he DOES sleep through the night.

I say send her! You are going to be gone anyways and if you parents want her and look forward to it, embrace it!

LO is 16 months and I would feel comfortable sending him for 1 night, maybe 2, but not more than that. Then again it also depends how well/comfortable your LO will feel with them and if you think they can cope with a toddler for that long.

LO spent one night without us at my parents' house when he was 12 months old, and 4 nights with them when he was 16 months. Both times he did beautifully, though the time that they watched him for 4 days we actually had some friends come and take him away for a half day in the middle of that time so that my parents would have a little bit of a break... having a full-time toddler is a lot of work!

Luckily, LO LOVES my parents (LO actually woke up this morning asking for Grandma), and while they're not perfect at following our rules, they don't do anything with him that's a dealbreaker.

How well does your LO know your mom? At 12 months, LO was pretty happy with attention from anyone... he hadn't yet hit a stage where he really wanted mommy or daddy when he was upset. Now, there are definitely times when he has a preference- there are even plenty of times when he is upset and only wants mommy (no daddy). Lucky for us, he adores my mom and she is able to comfort him (and discipline him). There are a few reasons we wouldn't leave LO for more than one night with DH's dad, but one of them is that LO doesn't see his other grandfather that often, and I could see him freaking out in a new place without me or DH or my mom or my sister.

So I guess, for me, it would depend on how well your LO does with people other than you and your husband, and how well your LO knows your mom.
Also, 5+ days is a lot of time alone with a toddler. Would your mom have help during that time? I might be hesitant to ask my mom to watch LO that long if she couldn't send him to daycare or have other people help with the burden.
15 months is kind of that in-between period where they're mobile so you have to watch them all the time, and they're "with it" enough to be pretty demanding of your time and energy, but not yet old enough to follow directions or be left alone, or even play quietly by themselves for much time (thereby letting a caretaker catch his/her breath!)