Toddler beds....UGH

It's been a while since I've been here...but it's nice to be back. I just put my twins in toddler beds for the first time today. Ian decided he would start climbing out and I did not want him to break his neck!! Anyway...any hints on making this easier! They never miss naps and I'm pretty sure they aren't going to take one today!! Just thought I would ask the infinite wisdom of this board for some help!! Thanksn in advance!

 

I don't have any advice for you, but would like to hear what others have to say. I am going to be transitioning my girls to toddler beds in the next couple weeks/months b/c Abby has started climbing out of her crib! Hope it goes well for you.

 

I don't really have any advice, just wanted to let you know that when we switched, nap time was the hardest - my girls very rarely nap anymore. BUT, bedtime was fine. Good luck!

 

I guess I'm not going to be too much help, but maybe hope that it will work. My oldest went to a twin bed with 2 side rails at 2. She never had any problems getting out of bed and in fact called for help when she woke up in the morning or for naps, probably because the bed was really high and she was (is) tiny. Joey also went to a toddler bed at 2 when we needed to switch the baby into her crib. She usually lays right down for naps, and cries a little at bedtime, but she stays in bed more often than not. She shares a room with Ellie, so maybe she sees that at least she's not alone? I do close the door to keep her in the room; at this point she can't turn the door knobs yet and open the door. Hopefully when Ellie goes into a toddler bed...no one needs her crib so it will be along time...things will work just as well.

Basically I would just make sure that there's nothing they can get into trouble with and close the door. If they fall asleep on the floor, so be it. That's what I do with Joey. I have no idea how quickly she falls asleep; she always ahs something to play with in her bed, maybe a small magna doodle or tons of dolls. But she does fall asleep. I've been getting a good 3 hours out of them this week since we've gone outside to play in the morning. There's anoher idea...Get'em good and tired!!

I notice you posted this yesterday. How did it go?

 

I tried the switch to the toddler beds at age 2 and it was a disaster. I perservered for about 3 months before breaking down and getting crib tents. I should have gotten them right away and I won't be making that mistake again. Naps disappeared for those months they were in toddler beds and then returned when I put the crib tents up. I switched them to toddler beds again at age 3 and it was much easier since they were more mature at that point. The general consensus is that it's harder for twins to make the transition to toddler beds because they have a playmate in the room with them. Lots of people recommend getting crib tents to keep climbers safe rather than moving to toddler beds at an early age. Definitely give it a try though, maybe your kids will be one of the sets that actually make the transition easily.

 

We just had a sucessful move. The main thing we did was stick to our bedtime routine and completely toddler proof the room. Then we simply said goodnight and shut the door. It took 2 hours for them to go to sleep because they were laughing and running around. The next night it took an hour and since then it's either been 5-10 minutes of talking or none at all. We really just let them go because the few times we've gone in, it just got them more excited. Good Luck!

 

QUOTE(NatalieK @ Jun 14 2007, 07:35 AM) [snapback]291704[/snapback]
We just had a sucessful move. The main thing we did was stick to our bedtime routine and completely toddler proof the room. Then we simply said goodnight and shut the door. It took 2 hours for them to go to sleep because they were laughing and running around. The next night it took an hour and since then it's either been 5-10 minutes of talking or none at all. We really just let them go because the few times we've gone in, it just got them more excited. Good Luck!


That was pretty much our approach. We made the switch a few weeks before they turned 2 and really haven't had many issues at all. We switched them to a much smaller room and moved out all the furniture besides the beds, a few board books and some stuffed animals. We tucked them in, said "goodnight" and closed the door (I turned the door knob around so that the lock was on the outside). The first few days, they explored and played quite a bit. After a few days, though, everything went back to normal. They still play for awhile before falling asleep for naps and bedtime, but they do sleep and for the same duration. Overall, it was a pretty good transition. I think the less they could get into in their rooms, the better it was since there wasn't much to do except go to sleep. Good luck!!

 

QUOTE(rosie19 @ Jun 14 2007, 12:52 PM) [snapback]291765[/snapback]
That was pretty much our approach. We made the switch a few weeks before they turned 2 and really haven't had many issues at all. We switched them to a much smaller room and moved out all the furniture besides the beds, a few board books and some stuffed animals. We tucked them in, said "goodnight" and closed the door (I turned the door knob around so that the lock was on the outside). The first few days, they explored and played quite a bit. After a few days, though, everything went back to normal. They still play for awhile before falling asleep for naps and bedtime, but they do sleep and for the same duration. Overall, it was a pretty good transition. I think the less they could get into in their rooms, the better it was since there wasn't much to do except go to sleep. Good luck!!


Ok, so it has been two days. Nap time is the hardest. They never go without naps and they have not had one in the past two days. I took everything out of there so they wouldn't have anything to play with and they still won't sleep....I need them to take their naps because the just don't cope well if they don't sleep during the day! I am going to try wearing them out today..

Bedtime on the other hand has been smooth pretty much. DD has gone right to sleep both nights in her bed, and DS has just taken like 30 minutes one night and 1 hour the other, so not too bad. The napping is just the hurdle at this point and I think if they would sleep one time in the afternoon we would be close to reestablishing the naptime routine. ANYWAY!! Thanks for all the advice...

 

i didnt do the toddler bed thing..
i did the twin mattress on the floor thing.. with the only thing in their room is stuffys..

a bit shorter naps
and routine..

esp when they are toddlers..

play , dinner bath, teeth milk bed..

he lays on his bed, aka mattress.. with 2 pillows, 1 blanket,
1 stuffy, and our newest is a box.. a small box.. something for his hands..

we say father in heaven .. give one kiss.. and he says GO TO BED MOM..

i always told him i go right to bed after he does.. there is no reason to stay awake..

he just seems to take to the routine..

good luck..

 

QUOTE(logansmommy7 @ Jun 14 2007, 09:06 AM) [snapback]291780[/snapback]
Ok, so it has been two days. Nap time is the hardest. They never go without naps and they have not had one in the past two days. I took everything out of there so they wouldn't have anything to play with and they still won't sleep....I need them to take their naps because the just don't cope well if they don't sleep during the day! I am going to try wearing them out today..

Bedtime on the other hand has been smooth pretty much. DD has gone right to sleep both nights in her bed, and DS has just taken like 30 minutes one night and 1 hour the other, so not too bad. The napping is just the hurdle at this point and I think if they would sleep one time in the afternoon we would be close to reestablishing the naptime routine. ANYWAY!! Thanks for all the advice...


Hang in there... the naps will come back. Ours were very short for the first week or so. They would be up in their room for 3 hours+, but might only nap for the last hour. I decided they were staying up there for at least 2 hours (the duration of the nap before we switched) for their sake and mine!! For the first few days, they would just fall asleep at the 2 hour mark. After that, though, the time they played shortened. There are still days that there are a bit wound up and take awhile to settle down, but they do eventually nap. As long as they weren't hysterical, I let them be. I figured even if they didn't sleep, they were resting and getting used to the slight change in their routine.

It sounds like nighttime is going really well. That's great! Hang in and the naps should come back soon!

-Catherine