Why does my 13 month old sleep so much MORE at my in-laws????

Question

ruby is 12 1/2 months. i have been posting questions forever about how i can get her to sleep later -- she always wakes in the 5 am hour, no matter what. and i have tried everything. however, when she sleeps at her grandparents' house, she ALWAYS sleeps at least 12 hours, usually more. this weekend she slept 14 hours and 15 minutes! this is compared to 9 or 10 here. she needs more sleep; the time between wake up and first nap is always tough for her as she is still tired and very cranky as a result. so, as a last resort, we are doing a little modified CIO in the morning ( i go in, give her water, tell her it's still bedtime, and don't take her out till 6 no matter what). has anyone else had this experience? why does she sleep so much better/longer at my in-laws?

Answer 1

it depends what the bed times are and she may wake up if shes hungry.

Answer 2

Maybe they are giving your kid Nyquil.... or vodka..

Answer 3

Does it have to do with mattress or lighting of the room maybe? Do comparison of both places and see what are the differences and go from there.

Answer 4

My daughter has always been a good sleeper and she will nap pretty much anywhere but I do know that her naps at home on the weekends are 3-4 hours and when she is with the nanny at her home she only sleeps like 1 1/2 hours unless they put her in the pack-n-play and then she will sleep for closer to 3 hours.  We think it is because she feels more secure in the pack-n-play.  Maybe it is quieter at your in-laws, maybe she runs around more, maybe she just knows she needs to sleep...who knows.  Kids have strange habits, but I do think that making her stay in the crib until it is time to get up with help.  I know my daughter use to wake up earlier than she does now but because we would leave her she would fall back asleep for another hour or so.  Try a few things but be consistent.  Good luck!

Answer 5

is their house warmer, cooler or quieter?

does she get woken by traffic noise early morning at home?

do they have nice thick curtains to keep the room dark?

are they easier to ignore her as hearing less good due to age?

Answer 6

Are you saying she is sleeping 10-14 hours in one stretch. Wow. My 2 never slept like that. The longest they ever slept  was somewhere between 7-8 hours.

Also, I love the name Ruby. Very cute.

Answer 7

This is going to sound mean and I am really not trying to make it sound mean but maybe she is just bored out of her mind there....all she can do is sleep.

Answer 8

He doesn't want to be bothered with your in-laws so it's easier to sleep.  Kidding...maybe.

Answer 9

is she really active there if so she may be just plain tired what is she doing at your house sitting around or is she playing hard grandparents tend to really interact with children and they may be wearing her out. maybe before bedtime take her for a walk if she walks or play wrestling game or something that will get her tired and see if that helps. put her to bed later she might sleep longer.

Answer 10

Because grandparents wear the children out.  We play and run all day that by 7 pm my granddaughter, 2yr., said Nanny I'm tired put me to bed.  She sleep till 7:30

Answer 11

Are the curtains maybe heavier there or something? I've heard that little ones often sleep better with ALL light blocked out of the room.  So even though your neighbors may think you are insane you could try putting tinfoil on your windows?

Have you asked your inlaws what their methods are? Maybe they are just doing things a little bit differently than you are.  Or maybe she is so excited visiting Grandma and Grandpa that she crashes at the end of the night?

Answer 12

In my own personal experience, the kids get more engaging activity at the grandparents house because they are always the center of attention.  In addition, my parents tend to feed the kids a lot of high calorie, high fat foods which also makes them very tired.  They sleep longer at grandparent's house too.  Unfortunately, it's not good to keep a child on high calorie high fat foods all the time.  Just special times at the grandparents when they are spoiled rotten.

Answer 13

Are your inlaws doing a lot more with her?  Entertaining her and playing with her will wear her out.

Also she may know that she can't get up early there.  Kids can and do manipulate people they know they can manipulate.  I would definitely make her stay in bed longer, or keep her up later.

Answer 14

Possibly they are so excited to see her they give her constant attention and play with her and keep her busy 24/7.  Bradley is the same way.  He sleeps through the night every time he stays with them and takes 3 hour naps.  I'm lucky to get a 1 1/2 hour nap.  But after watching some video of their day together, I know why.  It's like spending the day at a theme park.

Answer 15

Maby the excitement of the less familliar enviroment wears her out more.  Maby thier mattress is more comfortable, maby they live in the country and there is less ambient noise, maby there are ghosts in your house?