I have a double whammy here and double trouble! :) I have twins who are 27 months old. About a month ago, one of them got sick with a tummy bug and we had it for almost 2 weeks off and on with nighttime vomiting etc. At the same exact time, we were moving out of our house, and the only house they have ever know, so it was a transition period. I had PERFECT sleepers; we would put them down in their cribs, walk out and wouldnt hear from them again till morning. NOW since being sick, the one who was sick the worse, is up at LEAST 2 times a night and she calls out for my husband or myself. At first we felt bad because we knew she had been sick and we had moved etc and we would go in and lay her back down, tell her it was ok and she would go back to sleep, then again wake up. My fear is letting her cry it out is that I have seen her almost fly out of her crib when she gets angry or very worked up and had I not been right there she may have broken her leg as it got stuck in the slats. I was very worried and that is what made it worse I am afraid :( I suppose my question is do I let her cry, risk her falling/climbing out of her crib to break this habit??? They are both doing better with falling asleep, I only go in twice as opposed to the 20 times it used to be over and hours time. Advice/suggestions would be appreciated!
My other "dilemma" is that recently as of this week, they have discovered how to take off their clothes so now, when they are supposed to be going down for nap, they are getting butt nekkid in their cribs and the same at bedtime sometimes...so what do I do about that?? LOL...thanks and if you made it this far you are a saint!
Thank you so much to all of you for your suggestions/advice. I don't really like to let my children cry it out HOWEVER when I know they are doing it because it is becoming habit then I am ok with it. I have started to "Babywise" it again and go in, no talking, no eye contact and putting them down again, covering them up and walking out--they seem to be doing ok with that instead of my going in every single time, saying nite nite over and over to them etc. As far as sleeping goes, the one that was waking slept ALL NIGHT for the first time last night! WOOHOO! I am PRAYING that continues!! Crib tents do not fit on our cribs for some reason (we have more contemporary style) and I am seriously not ready to have them in a toddler bed right now...I just wont allow it to escalate to where she is THAT upset and wanting to climb out.
As far as the clothing goes, I started putting onesies on them and I had to laugh at putting thier clothes on backwards (sleepers) GENIUS!! Someone needs to patent that and come up with some toddler proof clothing for those "stages" where they want to be "free" all the time...thanks for the giggles ladies, I really liked the one who said her children sleep "in the buff" hee hee...I guess they like the breeze. Have a good Thanksgiving and I will write again if I feel "stuck." :)
I have no advice for you about the sleeping issues, but I also have a 2 year old daughter who recently started stripping down at bedtime. The only solution I have found so far is to make her sleep in a onesie or overalls, or something that she can't take off yet! Good luck and please let me know if you find a better solution!
Hi there, I dont want to write it all down again but I have some great tips if you click on my name and profile then see what I have been writing about you should see a post I did on taking off clothes in crib. I hope it helps. A. J
As far as the crib thing, I use a crib tent, and you can try letting them fall asleep with door open if they are scared. I have a post on this issue also in there I think.
I have a 26 month old who had a horrible on and off bug too for several weeks. It though off her schedule a little, but I bet your daughter may be having more trouble with the move. Just keep things as much like your old house as you can and try to keep their routines the same. I'm sure she'll get used to it and I would probably vote to let her cry it out. Stand close by outside the door and even take a peak in if you need to just to check that she's safe. If you thinks she's getting close to the point of 'jumping' then go in and lay her back down. On Super Nanny they say not to say anything to them, and just lay them back down. Apparently if they don't get any interaction (which is what she might be looking for) she might stop. That's just my advice, but I'm sure you'll figure out something that will work for you.
As far as the clothing goes - I am right there with you. My 3 1/2 year old starting taking off her clothes when she was about 2 1/2. I finally gave up and just started keeping her in a diaper at night & that was perfect for her. She is extremely hot natured and hates clovers, but as soon as she is asleep I make sure she's covered. Now, my 26 month old wants to sleep naked too. So, rather than let her take all of her clothes (and diaper off) I just put her to bed in her diaper and some shorts or pants (without feet). She leaves them on and does fine, but I do the same quick cover-up as soon as she's asleep that I do with my older daughter. Maybe if you put them to bed in just a diaper or maybe a pair of light shorts they would leave them on. That's just a thought, but maybe if they don't have all the clothes on it won't bother them. I am so embarrassed that my children sleep in the buff, but putting pjs on them is a complete waste of time. Also, if I do put clothes on them for bed they take them off as soon as I leave - and that just gets them wound up, so that's another down side. Anyway, I hope your little darlings start sleeping better however you manage to achieve it!
I believe taking off clothes is fascinating because it's a new skill. My 2 1/2 yr old son doesn't do it at nap/bed time, but he has often turned up half naked in the middle of the day, proudly announcing, "I took my pants off!"
I think some of the other moms have good suggestions on dealing with that -- don't put clothes on in the first place, or snap them up in a one piece. You might also simply give them the choice. Let them pick their PJs, or let them decide whether they want PJs or no PJs, or if they're hot natured (my daughter will sleep in tank tops through the dead of winter without a complaint), come up with a silly choice, like "half PJs" or "whole PJs" and they can wear just bottoms or just a top.
It is hard getting back to routine after an illness, and 2-yr-olds are simply willful little creatures, so you've got a couple things working against you. :-) I think that as long as they're not sick, it's ok to gradually wean them off your presence in the middle of the night. After a month in the new house, they really should be acclimated to the change. While kids this age are married to routine, and get upset about it changing, it really doesn't take them long before the "new" thing becomes "routine."
Another idea, if you're not already doing it, is to find ways to wear them out before bed time. We've started taking ours to the park or to the mall play area before dinner to run them down :-). We had started having bed time woes and a friend mentioned she started doing active things in the afternoon with her little one and it really helped at night. It works for us. Not only do they eat dinner better (they work up an appetite!), but they're almost eager to get in their beds at night.
As far as climbing out of the crib, you'll need crib tents or it's time for toddler/twin beds. Because they're over 2, I would personally vote for beds. Another transition might sound daunting, but my kids and all of my friends kids LOVED getting a "big kid" bed. You might even take them to the store to look at them before you buy (or before you convert the cribs). Talk it up like it's a part of living in the new house. Add some other sort of "big kid" thing in their room at the same time, like a cute lamp, curtain, etc.
When we moved out first child to a big bed she was 17 months old and we were getting ready for the arrival of our second. We simply used our full-sized guest bed for her (with rails on both sides). We put it in her room next to the crib for a few days for her to get used to it being in there, then one day I took her out while my husband took down the crib and replaced it with a big Fisher Price kitchen center. She never said a word about the crib being gone and went straight to making pretend cookies :-)
Hope something works out for you soon.
Good luck!
I'm laughing hysterically as I'm reading your post...but it's a nervous laughter as I am preparing myself for these kind of troubles in the near future. My boys are 8 mos old and already a handful. I can only imagine what will come with the clothes stripping, etc... Hopefully as they adjust to the new place the sleeping situation will difuse itself, but I would be just like you and afraid of one of them falling out of the crib...you would never forgive yourself if that happened. Unfortunately I have no advice for the stripping except take lots of pics :) They will hate you for it later, but you can't miss that photo opp...priceless
When my daughter was that age and she was a colicky baby, I have experienced a similar dilemna--not having enough sleep because I have to get up several times when she cried at night. The effective way that I have tried best was to give her a warm long bath before putting her to bed. Then keep the cold humudifier "on" so the sound of the water and cold mist will keep her calm, and sound asleep. why don't you try it..Good luck and enjoy your babies while they're young. 'Hope this will help.
I don't know that I have any terrific suggestions but I did want to let you know that you are not alone! My son is 28 months old and I have dealt with the same things over the past several months. For about 2 weeks, he was undressing himself at naps and at night (including taking off his diaper) and I would go in when he woke up and find a big wet spot on the sheet! So, I started dressing him in a onesie that snaps in the crotch or in one piece pj's that snap or zip. He hasn't figured out how to get these off yet, but he has pretty much quit undressing now. I think it is a new skill that they are learning and enjoy practicing. Also, every since my son turned 2, he has been waking up some at night and/or not going to sleep as easily as he used to (was a perfect sleeper as well). I've been told that kids start dreaming and having nightmares around 2 so this could be the cause. For my son, we will have a bad week where he wakes up during the night for several days and then a good week. I think you just need to be consistent with how you react (or don't react...I started out going in to him but now I only go in to check on him if he seems to be really really upset) and it will get better soon!
D.
We don't let children cry in our house, as we don't feel it is a healthy thing. I think children deserve to be treated in a way that I want to be treated, and I don't feel it is appropriate to leave a screaming baby unattended. But, that is just our family personally, and I know many people swear by letting little ones cry themselves to sleep.
Have you thought about moving them to a bed? Maybe they are just tired of the crib.
As for taking off their clothes, I wouldn't worry about it. I would just go in after they were asleep and put their diapers back on. If you make it an issue, they will want to continue doing it because they know you will react. The fun of undressing will wear off, eventually. If you really want them to keep their clothes on, try a sticker or verbal praise every time they keep their clothes on during nap time.
E., honestly I think it is probably the move more than being sick. My son, now 18 months old, was also a perfect sleeper before we moved into a new house. He started sleeping through he night at 2 1/2 months. He was 5 months old when we moved and hasn't slept through the night since. The only way my husband and I get any sleep is if he sleeps with us in our bed. That is definitely not the suggestion I am giving you. With twins two more would be too many in the bed! So from my personal experience I would definitely let them cry it out. It's awful to listen, I know. But you can always peak in on them to make sure they are okay.
I can help ya with the clothes issue, seeing that my first born use to strip down naked and take his dirty diaper off as well. It wasnt a pretty site at all. LOL We had to put on a blanket sleeper(cut out the feet)backwards. Then we would slip a safety pin under the zipper so they couldnt unzip it..It sounds like a lot but it sure did work for us. Good Luck.
I can't help but laugh when I read the last part about your little ones taking off their pj's. When my daughter went through that phase I thought I was going to loose my mind. I learned to do two things during that phase, 1. pjs that zip up the front, turn them around backwards and they will have to stay dressed, 2. let her fall asleep butt naked and sneak in a dress the sleeping baby. It is just a phase and it does pass, but I just can't imagen doing it with twins. Just take it all in, you will laugh about it later and look back on how cute it was.
Good luck!
Take them out of the crib!!
Two years old want to make decisions! They want to run free. LOL I promise that it will be rough at first, but put them on a twin mattress on the floor and skip a few naps. Get a bedtime routine that involves them staying in the room on the bed, even if they don't go to sleep. ;-)
The novelty will wear off and they will soon be staying in bed, laying down and going to sleep again.
Hi E.,
My son is 14 months old and started climbing out of his bed. Much too young to transition to a toddler bed. So, I bought a crib tent. That might help if you're worried about her climbing out of her bed and hurting herself. It's a pretty neat contraption and my son seems to like it. I got mine off of e-bay but you could just google crib tent.
I have no suggestions about them taking their clothes off. I remember my parents used to duct tape my brothers diapers on so he wouldn't pull them off. hahahah
