Wish me luck...

I put together Sophie's toddler bed together today and at nap time we're ditching the cribs. Hoping the twins adapt well and Vivi doesn't continue freaking out about the room change.

So, what do you wish you had known/done differently when switching to to toddler beds with twins?

Edited for missing word

 

Looking for ideas too!

 

Good luck and I hope it went well.
I had two different experiences with going to cribs to toddler beds.  My DD was climbing out of her crib, so at 19 months we switched her over...and she liked to wander around her room and play, so I would have to sit in her room at nap time and quietly put her back in bed---without engaging with her.  In her case, I would have waited until she was 2 or 2.5.  At nighttime she was fine, she would go right to bed.
My son was 3 when we switched him from the crib to toddler bed, he did great.  He did not miss a beat. He used to wander around the house in the morning the first couple of days but he was fine.
I would say if wandering might be an issue for you...if you can gate the hallway the bedrooms are, that would keep them contained.  

 

It went better than I expected.  They did not nap at all yesterday.  Then we took them to my SIL's house and let them run around.  So they slept pretty well last night.
 
This afternoon they ran around a lot at naptime.  When I went to get them down later, they were passed out.  Livie was tucked in at the head board, curled up crossways on the bed.  Sophie was on the floor with her head under Livie's bed and her feet under her bed.  They didn't wake up with both Carl and I taking pictures of them.
 
And now that we've got Vivi set up with her "big girl" bed and room, she's being slightly less over dramatic about the whole room change/giving up her toddler bed thing.
 
The good thing is that they can't open the door yet so there won't be any wandering issues.  And we have a small townhouse with the top of the stairs gated so they can only get so far if they do get out.
 
Now I may come back on in a few hours and say that this was the worst decision ever but for the moment everything is going as smoothly as I could hope for.

 

I wish baby valium had been invented when mine both figured out how to crawl out of their crib within 30 seconds of each other at bedtime. I don't have any useful advice; the scars are too fresh. Glad it went better for you..

 

Don't give Carl ideas! He already has a long line of meds he wishes they would make for kids.

 

Jess, I am glad it is going well!

 

I thought I would provide an update for anyone who may be considering the transition soon as well.  And to get feedback on a toddler proofing issue.
 
Things are still going better than I expected.  Naps are spotty but I think they are better (at least when I'm around).  Of course, I just put them in their rooms an hour or more before I want them to fall asleep so that helps.  Nighttime sleep is going fairly well since it's getting darker earlier and they are generally exhausted from not having napped.
 
Toddler proofing has gotten interesting.  The only large items in their rooms are their beds.  They've got a few small toys in their room but it's mostly stuffed animals.  The closet is locked using a hook/eye lock at my eye level (well above their reach even if they stand on the beds....I think). We're going to change the outlets to the ones that don't require outlet plugs since they can get those out.
 
Where I'm stuck is the curtain.  They keep pulling the darn thing down.  Anybody have any suggestions for securing that?  I'm considering duct taping the rod to the supports.  But if someone else has a better suggestion, I'm all ears.

 

Thought I would come update on the curtains for posterity. We tried the duct tape. They could still rip down the curtain rod. We ended up ditching the curtains all together. They don't nap quite as well as they used to but at least I don't have to worry about them skewering each other.

We also had to duct tape their beds together because they got strong enough to move the beds around and get in trouble. the final straw was the day Sophie took off her diaper, pushed Livie's bed to the window, climbed on the sill, and pooped. A lot. Then she pushed her bed to the closet and undid the latch (yeah, the one at my eye level - "well above their reach") so she and Liv could play in there. Good times.

And now they are strong enough to move both beds taped together. So I forsee heavier beds in the not too distant future.

The good news is that night time sleep is still solid so I still call it a win.