being twin parents has officially made us insane

okay, i need to vent. thx for reading. the day started out well: our first ballet class and then a picnic w/ local mom's group. then they didn't nap AGAIN. and they kept trying to climb out.

our cribs have higher backs and both front and back "rails" are thick and long...... which means crib tent doesn't fit....... except DH got this idea that he could add an extra piece of wood onto the back of the crib. which is actually helpful........ but on the front we still have to use extra velcro....... which isn't the most secure idea. anyway, long story short (and a trip to homedepot, some drilling, sawing, etc)...... it took us several hours to create this elaborate setup and then a VERY delayed bedtime and then Syd FREAKED when we put her in. they are quiet for the moment.... if they don't sleep through the night... and/or nap tomorrow..... i think one of us is going to high dive off the deep end.

btw we even considered buying new cribs.
we also considered just making them into toddler beds (which we actually have to convert)..... but that would mean taking everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) else out of their room. And putting gates on their door. and I KNOW for SURE that it would be the END of naps forever when we go to toddler beds..... i just know my kids. especially Syd who's always struggled with sleep.

oh and the over tired tantrums from each 4 of us tonight. OMG I'm ready to pass out...... but in reality, I'll be up til 3am again with insomnia like I have been for days. this has been the LONGEST day I can remember in a long time. thx for letting me vent.

 

Ugh! You're giving me PTSD!!!

We went through the same thing at that age too! I thought I was really going to lose all my hair. We tried the tent, a no go, we kept 1 crib up (for timeouts) and had a twin bed which we made up so they each slept at an end. They just wanted to get up and play so I would stand outside the door with the door cracked and everytime one would get out form under the covers, I would jump in the room and in a loud voice say, "get back to bed." I did this until they fell asleep every nap and bed time for about a week. Then they just went right to sleep.
It took a lot of time and patience but well worth it.

Hang in there. It does get better. Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

I started going through this when DD was 20 months, she started climbing out of the crib. We bought the tent all was fine, then she tore the tent...all was no longer fine. I bought another tent and within a month she tore it too. Finally in November we moved downstairs, turned their beds into toddler beds and bedtime has been 100 times easier. They do fall asleep together and I usually move them into seperate beds because toddler beds only have so much room. The first few nights Id sit in the room with them and that would last anywhere from 5 minutes to over an hour...that got old. I eventually just started leaving the room all together. I think I got pretty lucky with bedtime but I dreaded taking down the cribs so much. Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do. I know it's rough!!

 

:hug99: I hate those days where nothing seems to go right, and you know they should take a nap and be tired because YOU are exhausted, lol!!!

I would give it a few days of the crib tent. it actually took ds about 1-2 weeks to really get accustomed to it, for a while he woke up crying every morning (hadn't done that before), but after about 1-2 weeks he was back to normal and safe in the crib

Being a parent IS exhausting, vent away!!!!!!

 

They slept fine last night.

today's nap is typical. Sam is sleeping. Syd is NOT sleeping. She hasn't napped in days. I'm betting tonight will be filled with temper tantrums from my beautiful Sydney. Atleast she's somewhat quieter.

for now, the tents are working, but I think it's a short term solution. I think we'll be in toddler beds soon. :wacko: :cray: :80: :crazy:

 

((((((hugs)))))))
HANG IN THERE!!! I am feeling for you! I am so happy they slept ok for you the other night.

 

Give the crib tents another few days, and really talk it up: "How cool that you get to sleep in a tent!" etc. I was lucky in that mine loved their tents from day 1, but even if they're having a hard time with it, I still thinking getting them used to crib tents is going to be a lot easier than switching to toddler beds before they're really ready. Good luck!