Transition from crib to bed (twin edition)

[vtdiamond]

I have boy girl twins who are 2.5 and share a room and are pretty good sleepers. However they've started to climb out of the cribs so we took off the front of the cribs last night. We've cleared as much stuff out of the room as possible and have a door knob cover on the door so they can't get out. It took my daughter 2 hours to fall asleep and my son 3 hours. They threw everything from there beds (blankets, stuffed animals, Loveys) everywhere and were playing with the curtains.

We kept going back in and putting them back in bed but they got so wound up playing it took forever to fall asleep. Any words of wisdom or ideas? Or do we just keep on doing what we're doing? We're all exhausted this morning and I'm not looking forward to nap time today.

[VillainV]

Take out anything that they can throw, except the bare minimum of lovies and blankets. Don't go back in unless you think they 're seriously hurt or sick (mine sometimes works himself up so much that he pukes). Do you still use a monitor, and if so can you verbally soothe them through the monitor?

The only other thing that helped us was an Okay to Wake clock. C caught on much faster than I thought he would. We give a reward for staying in bed from when we leave until wake-up time (we do one M&M but you could do a sticker).

[chickadee77]

Oh, man. We just did this with L, but didn't have too bad of a time. She refuses to sleep with her door closed - it scares her - so I leave it open, but I threaten with putting the crib back together. She does get out, but mostly only to get stuffed animals that she's dropped/thrown out of the bed. The first couple of nights were rough - she called me back in a zillion times. I've started bribing her with a jellybean in the morning if she goes to sleep and stays asleep/quiet until her OK to Wake clock turns green. I'll still go in for a potty trip here or there, or if she's really in distress about something, but I admit that while I had very little issue sleep training her as an infant, I have a super hard time now. Wordless crying was not nearly as bad as the pitiful, "Mommy, where ARE you?" I get now

So. Threats and bribes? Just drop my MOTY award in my mailbox, kthx.

[vtdiamond]

Thanks for the advice it's been rough going but is getting better each night. They've emptied the dresser, jumped off their cribs, woken each other up, etc. I don't think they would get the ok to wake clock yet. But they are safe and secure in their room for now.

[laurenh]

This isn't what you want to read, but I'm just going to pass you a bottle of wine now and say god speed.

In all seriousness, it has been a rough transition for us and my kids who used to nap for 2-3 hours daily pre-transition now only nap 3 days a week. They are safe and secure in their room but I can't tell you how many times they've emptied their dresser and just generally chased each other around the room playing. But then other times they're so tired that they mostly just go to sleep.

Night time has been easier now that we've pushed bedtime back a bit and figured out a routine that works for them (bath, PJs, a little play and 2 books each). We have a groclock but even if they did understand it, I can promise my kids wouldn't care. It is much more effective at keeping DD1 in her room, so that is where it stays.

Wishing you a smoother transition than we've had!

[kershnic]

We are still in cribs so I can't comment on that part. But we got the Ok to Wake clock in January, so my kids were pretty close to where your kids are now, and it took a few weeks but they definitely got the point of the clock. It doesn't always keep them quiet if they're awake early but it does help.

[vtdiamond]

May 30, 2017 20:25:06 GMT -5 laurenh said:

This isn't what you want to read, but I'm just going to pass you a bottle of wine now and say god speed.

In all seriousness, it has been a rough transition for us and my kids who used to nap for 2-3 hours daily pre-transition now only nap 3 days a week. They are safe and secure in their room but I can't tell you how many times they've emptied their dresser and just generally chased each other around the room playing. But then other times they're so tired that they mostly just go to sleep.

Night time has been easier now that we've pushed bedtime back a bit and figured out a routine that works for them (bath, PJs, a little play and 2 books each). We have a groclock but even if they did understand it, I can promise my kids wouldn't care. It is much more effective at keeping DD1 in her room, so that is where it stays.

Wishing you a smoother transition than we've had!

Thank you, this sounds exactly like my two. They pretty much just run around tearing the room apart for an hour until they crash. I'm wondering if it's even worth it to put drawer locks on the dresser. All the contents of the dresser are currently in laundry baskets outside their room. 😂

[VillainV]

May 30, 2017 20:13:12 GMT -5 vtdiamond said:

Thanks for the advice it's been rough going but is getting better each night. They've emptied the dresser, jumped off their cribs, woken each other up, etc. I don't think they would get the ok to wake clock yet. But they are safe and secure in their room for now.

This is what I thought, and my 2yr 3mo old picked it up super-fast. As long as they know colors, they'll get it.

[laurenh]

May 30, 2017 20:45:06 GMT -5 vtdiamond said:

May 30, 2017 20:25:06 GMT -5 laurenh said:

This isn't what you want to read, but I'm just going to pass you a bottle of wine now and say god speed.

In all seriousness, it has been a rough transition for us and my kids who used to nap for 2-3 hours daily pre-transition now only nap 3 days a week. They are safe and secure in their room but I can't tell you how many times they've emptied their dresser and just generally chased each other around the room playing. But then other times they're so tired that they mostly just go to sleep.

Night time has been easier now that we've pushed bedtime back a bit and figured out a routine that works for them (bath, PJs, a little play and 2 books each). We have a groclock but even if they did understand it, I can promise my kids wouldn't care. It is much more effective at keeping DD1 in her room, so that is where it stays.

Wishing you a smoother transition than we've had!

Thank you, this sounds exactly like my two. They pretty much just run around tearing the room apart for an hour until they crash. I'm wondering if it's even worth it to put drawer locks on the dresser. All the contents of the dresser are currently in laundry baskets outside their room. 😂

Lol, I finally moved everything into totes inside their closet because they can't open that door (yet).

Did you see that video of the twins climbing in and out of their cribs that was floating around a while back? It is basically my kids to a tee - they give no shits about being put back in bed, soothed or directed in person or over the monitor etc. so I've sort of just let things roll for now as long as they're safe. Disclaimer: that's probably not the "right" answer but it's easier than running up and down the stairs a million times

[pinotgrig]

May 30, 2017 20:35:23 GMT -5 kershnic said:

We are still in cribs so I can't comment on that part. But we got the Ok to Wake clock in January, so my kids were pretty close to where your kids are now, and it took a few weeks but they definitely got the point of the clock. It doesn't always keep them quiet if they're awake early but it does help.

I was going to suggest the ok to wake clock, too. I thought G would GNF about it, but he does! We made a big deal about it when it came and each "practiced" what to do for about 15 mins the first night we put it in his room, which he thought was hilarious (you can press a one of the feet to have it light up like it does when it's ok to wake).

If they need extra motivation, I wouldn't be above bribing with stickers or a small toy if they stay in their beds.

Do their beds have the toddler guard rails? If not, I would consider the kind of you can add on. Though they may see that as add'l thing to play with, lol.

[vtdiamond]

May 31, 2017 5:41:35 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

May 30, 2017 20:35:23 GMT -5 kershnic said:

We are still in cribs so I can't comment on that part. But we got the Ok to Wake clock in January, so my kids were pretty close to where your kids are now, and it took a few weeks but they definitely got the point of the clock. It doesn't always keep them quiet if they're awake early but it does help.

I was going to suggest the ok to wake clock, too. I thought G would GNF about it, but he does! We made a big deal about it when it came and each "practiced" what to do for about 15 mins the first night we put it in his room, which he thought was hilarious (you can press a one of the feet to have it light up like it does when it's ok to wake).

If they need extra motivation, I wouldn't be above bribing with stickers or a small toy if they stay in their beds.

Do their beds have the toddler guard rails? If not, I would consider the kind of you can add on. Though they may see that as add'l thing to play with, lol.

Thanks, I might try it and at least see what they do. As far as guard rails, they don't really have them. It's the IKEA gulliver crib that just has an extra low rail that goes across the front. I was thinking about trying to add a rail to see if that helps. But I am a bit nervous they'll just pull it out as last night they were trying to pick up their mattresses 😂