seperate rooms = no nap disruption in big beds? (spin-off)

I had to spin-off 40+mom's question about transitioning to beds at 3+ so I wouldn't hijack the whole thread. :blush:

I'm wondering if those of you who successfully transitioned to beds at 3+ with no nap disruption have your twins in separate or shared rooms.

We have a spare room and could certainly entertain the idea of napping them (in beds, not cribs) separately if necessary, but I just can't see freedom-enabled Nick staying in bed with Joe in the room.

I'm really not entertaining the idea of transitioning for several months, but would like any input/experience you can share.

 

We transitioned before 3 and there was a blip on the radar of disruption but any change is going to cause a little disruption. I dont think it's realistic to expect it to be easy with no adjustment needed. But I also don't think it has to be such a big deal either. My kids have transitioned relatively easily to the big beds. I do think making it a big deal with excitement and joy helps the process. THey are so proud they want to stay in bed. I also left the door open and walked by the rom frequently to start and tried to cut off the getting out of bed as quickly as possible.

For us getting rid of the binkie was MUCH harder than going to the big beds.
Good luck.

 

I just have to say I am sooooo jealous that your kids still nap. D & B haven't for about 6 months. They only sleep 9-11 hours at night too. Ahhhhhh, the good old days.

 

We had them in the same room for several months after we switched to big kid beds, around 2.5 years, I think. It was awful. We finally separated them, and things were a lot better. DS and DD just had different sleep needs, we had the room, so we separated them when it became apparent that they couldn't share a room at this age and get the sleep they needed.

The only way they would nap or go to sleep at night when they shared a room was if I sat in there and kept them silent and in bed. Not ideal, but doable.

 

The only way my girls will nap is to have them in separate rooms. At night they are just fine in their beds together in their room, but no way will they nap together, its playtime. So we started separating them for naps only. Sometimes they both will sleep, sometimes not, but we have more success separating them for naptime.

 

We transitioned them early a few months after they turned 2 due to problems with one of the cribs. But, they are now 3.5 and nap in the same room. Like Alison said, there were a few problems right after the switch, but once they got used to it, they do really well. Even those rare times where they won't fall asleep, they still stay in their beds. They just cry or talk or play in their beds.

 

I have only anecdotes from a close friend who has twin boys Nadia's age. Can't remember exactly what age she put them in beds...but they shared a room. Naps were such a disaster that at one point, she moved every piece of furniture out of the room -- dresser, everything -- plus all the toys and other items. The only things left were two crib/toddler mattresses on the floor, with sheets and blankets and pillows.

Then, the boys gave up and napped. But often not before stripping the sheets off the mattresses.

Pretty sure my friend just *loathed* me, with my stories of my obedient singleton and her perfect naps. Last laugh's on me, though, as K&K get closer to transitioning to beds. (Although, they've been in separate rooms for months.)

 

We transitioned to toddler beds at 3.5 -- they will be 4 this summer. I dreaded the transitioned and was amazed that it was pretty much seamless. They share a room and still nap 2-4 hours/day. The disruption from sharing a room is no worse in toddler beds than cribs. Guess I am lucky .

 

Mine still nap also for about 1.5 hours and we will be transitioning sometime in the next month or so. I don't expect them to nap once that is done but if they do great, if not maybe they will sleep later in the morning

 

We just switched ours, they will be 3 in Sept but we have a new baby due in July so wanted them to get used to the beds before the baby came.
Naps are kind of up in the air right now but its only been less than two weeks since the switch. Abby has slept a few times and Mason has once. i have a gate up at there door way so they have to stay in there room, this has been a huge help. even if they do not sleep they have rest time and i can get some things done in the house.
I am hopiing so of the newness wears off and they will sleep more at nap time. but for now they are doing great over night and that is what i am more concerned about
good luck!

 

we transitioned to toddler beds in february (3.5) - very soon after, i separated them for naps. mostly because cameron doesn't usually nap but alisha does. so if they are in there together they talk and play, but if i separate them then alisha will usually still nap. but i had that issue even when in cribs - i think it's more about one ready to give up naps and the other not.

 

QUOTE(ruthjulia @ Apr 23 2009, 09:13 AM) [snapback]1285502[/snapback]
i think it's more about one ready to give up naps and the other not.


This is most likely my issue too. Nick is really on the border of giving up naps. Joe would fall asleep in 3 minutes if Nick wasn't in the room at nap and bed. On my work days they are at Gmas and have seperate rooms there. Nick still takes close to 45m to fall asleep there, Joe's out in two seconds flat.

I cannot BELIEVE how adamant they have suddenly become about wanting big boy beds. We've never really introduced it as the next step or something that could be coming down the pipeline. Nick is throwing a fit just about every nap/bed time now demanding, "I NOT a baby, cribs are for little babies; I a BIG BOY, I get a BIG BED!" I have no idea where they are getting these ideas from.

I think it may just be that they are on the verge of the Daddy-worship phase. Daddy travels pretty often for work and we talk about him a lot when he's gone and they like to imagine what he's doing on his trips. They bring up the big hotel beds he sleeps in all alone come up quite often.

Thanks for input, folks.

 

We thought naps were a thing of the past as of the last 4 months when they were sharing a room, and then we split them up at nap time and suddenly they both started napping great again... I mean falling asleep after 5 minutes for 2 hours or more. IT was AMAZING the difference. One sleeps in my bed and the other in their sister's bed (for the novelty, I guess...whatever works!) and then the next day they trade and the other will sleep in my bed while the one who was in my bed the day before sleeps in the other sister's bed.

 

We switched to big boy beds about 3 months ago, and the boys will be turning 3 in a couple of weeks. The transition itself went so smoothly that we were surprised. Both bedtime and naptime stayed as seamless as always....until the past week. I guess the novelty of the new beds has worn off (at first they were so proud of them them never got out), so now naptime has become playtime. Practically overnight my boys went from needing 3 hours of naptime a day to not wanting to sleep at all, then either rewarding us with super cranky behaviour the rest of the day, or falling asleep on the sofa right before dinner. Luckily bedtime is still pretty easy, but after reading this thread I wonder if I should try separating them for naps. I did try that half-heartedly the other day, but it just ended in the one left in the bedroom crying because HE wanted to go to the guest room too! I have a baby on the way in a couple of months, and I definitely don't want to lose their nap now!

 

Mine were also in the same room for a while after we switched to big kid beds at just over 3 years old. Sometimes one of them would fall asleep during naptime but they definitely weren't taking consistent naps anymore. I just told them they had to stay in there for an hour for quiet time so that mommy could rest and I closed the door.

After a while, I started putting one girl in the guest bedroom during naps and at least Sierra often fell asleep. Ainsley slept about 2-3 times a week.

 

Mine still share a room at almost 7. We switched at around 2 1/2, and although we had a month or so with going down for naps, they did get back on track. They did stop napping when they started preschool, 2 months after they turned 3.

 

All I can say is DON'T DO IT, SIRI!!! :0) With the similarities that we have seen in Nick and Allison up to this point...I'm afraid you may have your future napping situation pegged! The novelty kept Allison in her bed for naps for about a week, and then she was all over the place...rearranging, turning off fans, getting in her sister's bed (which did not settle well with Lindsey), wardrobe changes, etc. Lindsey, once again, is like Joe where she loves her nap, but can't sleep with all of the commotion. Allison was soooo exhausted by bedtime that that was never an issue.

We did end up putting the front back on her crib, hoping that it would encourage her to try harder to take her nap. Of course, to no avail! Lindsey is now taking her nap on our bed, and Allison continues to stay awake for two hours in her crib! Unfortunately, I have a baby trying to nap in the next room, so naptime is presently about to send me to the funny farm...which sounds like a wonderful vacation, I might add! Has Nick gone a couple of days without a nap before? I always figured Allison would outgrow the naps sooner too, but she SOOOO apparently still needs them. I was thinking about letting her try quiet-time on the couch today...I was going to say that I would let you know how that goes, but if the boys are napping good JUST DON'T DO IT!