Getting Twins to Sleep

N.,
My twins are now 11yrs, so I don't rememeber most of it. But I would stick them in their beds and shut the door. They would eventually fall asleep. I know this isn't much help, but Good Luck!

Dear N.,

I am anxious to hear your responses. I watch my twin neices who are also 2 1/2 and share a room. They are wanting to give up their naps, but really need them, and also sleep 2 hours. One of the girls is refusing the naps and keeping her sister up. We are also having the problem that if Emma cries, Hannah starts crying to be her advocate and/or because she is frustrated with her, and then it is chaos. Emma is deaf, but has a coclear implant.

N.; yes this can be very difficult at this age, i too fell into the trap of haveing to put my son down for a nap, but then after three children i finally learned, that some kids just dont need naps, or they eventually outgrow naps, they are more into their surroundings and learning, at this age, i wish i did not waste all that time trying so hard to get my son to take a nap, i feel bad now for him all the times i worked to get him to lay down and the experience i got from having other children taught me some kids dont need one, and some kids do well without one, and some kids outgrow naps, we have to take their growth as a time we get to spend more with them, if they are not tired, no need to force it, they may however tire out earlier in the day , which will make them sleep earlier and wake up earlier, so you will have to learn how to keep them awake long enough so they sleep all night, this wont take long, but they will get the needed sleep they need, when they are tired they will fall asleep, but at this age i totally understand the nap time, so you can get some peace, just hang in there and take this as another challenge that you will eventually get through, as twins i can imagine double the trouble, so hang in there, its wonderful you got that opportunity to have twins, and it seems that they are happy children, and they want to play together, how wonderful to have that too, just hang in there, and let them grow, and dont fret about naps, just adapt to their growth, have fun and enjoy D. s

I'd put the rails back on. If climbing out was the issue for the removal get crib tents. They are about $70 a piece but well worth the cost to keep them safe AND sleeping! Good luck!

I have twins who just moved into their own bedrooms at 4 1/2. However, I experienced the same issue as you when the bedrails came off. I hate to say it, but the only thing I found that worked was to sit in a rocking chair in their room and "police" them until they fell asleep (usually about 15-20 minutes). Once they fell asleep, I snuck out of the room and had 2 blissful hours of "me time"!

Why did you take the rails off???

My 3 year old is still in her crib.. she loves her crib and does nto want a big bed.

Put the rails back on and wait until they are 3 or more to try it again.

My twins are 3 and we have the same problem. I read 2 books, then everyone goes in to their beds. they can read a book quietly, while Mom sits in the rocker and reads her magazine. It takes about 15 min to get them to sleep, i get a break, and everyone is happy. It takes about a week to establish a routine.
(We had to take the rails off at 14 months because my son was climbing out, and my daughter was having a fit not to be out too.)

I learned the hard way though, that if they are not actually sleeping and I leave, the entire process starts again. We are separating them to different rooms this month (which happens now on a really keyed up day). At 3, there are some days where they just dont take a nap, and after 30 min of trying, i just let them read downstairs quietly with their blankets.

good luck!!

It just takes a while. We put our boys in toddler beds at that age, and for about a month they roamed around the room playing and skipping nap. Eventually they would fall asleep on the floor or even the closet! They did go back to napping in their beds but it takes a little while for the novelty to wear off. But at this age it is safer to not be in a crib--ours would just climb out.

Mine was climbing out and wouldn't stay in, so I took the rails off, and tried to force a nap. Then I just gave up, and let her stay up. She would go to bed at 7pm and sleep until 7am. She still got the sleep she needed and I had to do quiet time in the after noon, but didn't have to fight with her anymore. Quiet time to us is watch a movie on the couch, or read books in your room. You may need to separate them for quiet time or spend the time reading books to them. I got so used to the early bedtime for her, that on the days that she fell asleep during quiet time (which happened about every 3rd day) it was hard for me to deal with her staying up late..

P.S. It takes about 2 weeks for them to get used to the new schedule so be prepared for crankiness for 2 weeks and then it just kind of smooths out... turns out I was the one who needed her to nap, not her.

Put the rails back up. They can sleep in the crib til 3 yrs old if that makes them sleep and they are not climbing out.

N.,

I have 2 1/2 year old twin boys that share a room. I have them in crib tents for this reason, otherwise - they won't nap. If you feel like you need to put them back in cribs (and use a crib tent) - don't feel guilty. I know LOTS of twin moms that do this at 2 1/2 to 3. It's not unusual, ESPECIALLY when they are sharing a room.

If you want to keep them with the rail down, you might want to try the rapid-return method (if you've even seen Super Nanny). Or, you could have them nap in seperate rooms. You could also stay in their room until they fall alseep for a few days - until they get used to it. Just keep putting them back in bed and tell them to close their eyes.

Best of luck, I have not been looking forward to getting rid of the crib tents in our house...I know I will have the same issue!

-J.