1:00 AM and the girls are STILL awake

Why won't they go to sleep!?!? :blink: I put them in bed at the normal time and they play, fight over blankets, jump, trade beds, trade back, fuss about their sister being in their bed, take off their jammies and diapers, you name it. Everything but sleep. Normally (like for the last two nights) I'd just let them stay in there 'til they figure it out. They sleep late to make up for the late night and I get to sleep late too. But tomorrow morning...in less than 10 hours... they have tumbling class and I just can't see how we're going to be able to take them! We've already paid for the class/session so if we don't go, then we have to find a session with two vacancies for their make-up class and DH has to take another day off of work to get them there! I'm rambling and frustrated and tired and really, really hoping this is just a very short phase!

 

:hug: I, too, am hoping it's a very short phase. Heck, I'd make them go to the class, for all the reasons you mentioned. Plus, they should sleep good afterward. And then hopefully you can get a nap in, too!

 

Are they too young for some type of a reward system for x number of nights where they keep their clothes on and stay in the correct bed? Also, it sounds like they are in toddler beds...is it an option to put them back in their cribs if this is not working? Just a couple of thoughts..I wish I could be of more help. I would be so frustrated also!

 

Do they take a long nap in the afternoon? Or, maybe the nap is too late in the day?

This might be a phase, but I know whenever we have bedtime issues here, it's because my kiddos slept too much during the day!

 

Have you tried going in there to calm them down every 5-10 minutes or so. Let them know that you are listening to them and that they have to keep their clothes/diapers on and stay in their own bed. We haven't done the toddler bed thing, but when the boys get into their cribs (especially if they are not tired) they are wildmen. I let them go crazy for about 10 minutes and then go up to remind them that it is bedtime and they need to go to sleep. I lie them down in their bed sternly and tell them to go to sleep. I leave and listen. If they are still up, I go in again, and again, and again if necessary. Eventually they fall asleep. It is never more than an hour after bedtime though.

I also agree with PP that their nap might be affecting bedtime. Or another thought is that bedtime is too late and they are overtired by the time they go to bed.

I also noticed that with my boys if I had a bright nightlight on in the room, they would feed off of each other. They would have trouble sleeping because they could see each other. I removed the nightlight, right now they just have the glow of the humidifier "on" button and they are doing much better at bedtime and in the morning.

Hope you figure something out that works for you...

 

They must take after their insomniac of a mother! I hope you find a solution soon.

I thought my boys were bad, but they are only up until 10pm. Mine are have been stripping and decorating the vicinity of their crib in their own urine for the last few nights. I think I finally found their currency though.

I changed them and their bedding in silence -at 10pm....Grr!-, then turned off their night light and left them wailing in the pitch black. Reminded them several times the following day that that would happen anytime they couldn't keep their clothes on during sleeping (we are naked training during the day so it's a bit of a double message on some level). it didn't happen last night for the first time in 3 or 4 days. We'll see if it sticks again tonight.

Are they still taking two naps? Perhaps it's time to pull the trigger and drop to one earlier one so they are tired when it's time to go to bed?

 

Yikes!!

My first question would be whether they are having 2 naps or napping too late? I know bedtime gets destroyed in this house if people sleep late in the afternoon.

Are they new to toddler beds? It could be the novelty of that as well.

When the twins did this jumping around and wacky business at bedtime, I had to start taking things away. Things that were important to them. For Meggie it was her "snuggles" and for Nolie "the guys". They do much better now, most nights. I think it's hard with two in the room (that's what we've always had with the twins) because they egg each other on. With Liam, he will talk to himself in there, but no climbing out of the crib, no up and down and eventually he falls asleep.

Good luck, I hope that this is just a little phase that they are going through.

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I think something is up with nap time and it's affecting bed time which in turn in affecting nap time the next day and we're in a vicious cycle that can only eventually correct itself. They're in Pack-n-Plays with the PNP mattresses. That's always been their beds, since we don't have room for two cribs. They've been climbing in and out of them for about two or three months now. They have a "sleeping room", which is actually the 8x9 walk in closet, where the PNPs are one one wall and a full-sized foam mattress is on the floor acting as a crash pad and a place to sleep when they've decided they don't want to sleep in the bed. The "sleeping room" has the door removed and replace with a hinged baby gate. This arrangement works really well actually...well at least it has for months now.

They typically get up around 9 am (yes, we're a late family) and go down for a nap at 1 pm. Up by 4 pm and back in bed for the night between 9 and 9:30 pm. We'd love to push the 9 - 9 schedule to an 8 - 8 schedule and may take advantage of this chaos to do so. Anyway, the last few weeks, they haven't been napping well at all. They go down, but then promptly start with the play and stripping. They don't have toys to play with. Just a few stuffed animals and each other. But that doesn't deter them. They will easily play in their sleeping room happily and somewhat quietly for 2 hours or more. But that means they aren't falling asleep until 3 pm or later, which means they aren't done napping until 5:30 or 6, which pushes bedtime back and then wake up time in the morning, etc etc. I know I should just go get them nap or not at 4:30, but I really need that sleeping time to get some work done and if they don't nap at all they're horribly over tired and we can easily predict a LATE night of fighting and fussing in the sleeping room. So, that's my dilemma. Darned if I do and darned if I don't. Any further advice would be so very appreciated!

 

Is there anyway to seperate them? I had to seperate my girls for nap time because they woud feed off of each other and not sleep (like what your girls are doing but they were in twin beds and not taking off clothes). I put one in my room and one slept in their room and we would switch who got to sleep in which room. If one wasn't listening that day they would also lose that privelge of sleeping in my room (if it was their turn) and have to sleep in their own room. I know it isn't ideal but maybe ever try putting a pnp in your room if they can't sleep on your bed. I would also make sure they don't sleep jpast 4:30 whether they take a nap or not or just fell asleep. Then just deal with the consequences because then you will probably never get out of that cycle. It also might work out if they are cranky then maybe you could start putting them to bed at 8 like you would like to do instead of 9.
I hope you find something that works.

Oh when my girls were first put into beds I would also take things away like blankets and stuffed animals (they had no toys in their room). I would also go in often give them one warning to go to bed and let them know I was going to take something (I let them know what I was going to take and in which order if they didn't listen). After me going in the first time after that I would just in and not say anything lay them down and take another item and then walk out. I had to do this for atleast a week or more but it did get better as time went on and I sometimes only took one item out and then they were good.