Twins - Eastlake,OH

i have never had to deal with this personally, but a neighbor of mine did. what they did was cut the bedroom door in half, and just used the lower half. it keeps them in there, but also maybe you could use the hall light for the nightlight, so-to-speak.

with the issue of them crying and screaming, that might just be a phase. could be a number of things. but even with using half a door, it might help just because they might not feel so isolated with the top portion opened up, and maybe not be scared, if that is the problem. hopefully things wil work out, and hopefully more moms will have more advice that will help. take care.

C.

What about a small lamp that is OUT OF THEIR REACH? What about a book on tape for kids if you don't want to read to them or even after you do? Maybe this would help the transition? Maybe relaxation or soothing tapes........

Have you discussed why they are crying? Are they scared? OR...do they just want to be out?

You can find night lights that are like lamps that sit on top of a dresser. You could try that and see if it helps them get through this rough spot. Also see if they have a favorite stuffed animal or toy that comforts them and let them sleep with that. They are old enough that should be okay. My daughter went through this. Where nothing would be okay with her unless we were in the room. It took about 6 months or get her out of this phase.

I am a long time Mom and it seems a parental adviser to many young people by way of what I do...community nursing and birth doula work. My suggestion may not be a acceptable one for you but I know that they need to be with each other, the other kids, tucked in like bugs, or with you and your husband. We always slept like a pile of puppies when I was raising my kids. First, I nursed them exclusively and it was easier to do that if they slept with me. As for hubby.. he knew to be there for the kids as they cam first or go to another bed. This practice goes on in the family and they family bed is a comfort like no other, even when your kids become a parent. Bottom line..LOVE you twins through this spell...it will pass and soon back in their beds they'll go.

So are you asking how to provide them a little light in their room? You could use a dimmer switch. They are very easy to install and cost only a few dollars. Just make sure the power to that light is off at the breaker box.

I have 3 boys all 13 months apart had the same problem at that age!!!! Night light problem was solved when I put glow in the dark stars and moons on the ceiling! Just don't let them see you standing on the dressser like I did! LOL

C.,

I didn't have the exact same problem, but I think my solution should help you tremendously. We took our existing (6-panel) door and had a handyman convert it to a Dutch door for us (for under $55). They simply cut the door in half and added 4inch ledge and a latch to connect to top and bottom. Whether you want it completely closed, or to separate the two parts (top open and bottom closed for naptime or bedtime) it is very easy. This way you can leave a hall light on or a large night lightoutside the room and it should help. Have the handyman reverse the doorknob, so the lock is on the outside, giving you control. We don't need the "fix" anymore, but my kids absolutley love to play "store" or "post office" through the half door now. It is also a great way for your children to have "quiet time" in their room and not feel like they are closed in and stuck, yet you still can hear and peek in without "interrupting" play,nap, etc.

Hope that helps! GOOOD LUCK!

I also have twins. I also have two other single birth siblings. My oldest is 6, then there is a 4 yr old, and the twins are 2 1/2. Do they have a radio in their room, maybe listening to some music will help calm them. Do they get baths at nighttime? That can help with it too. Toddler strive on routine, is their bedtime the same? It's good to know that there are other moms like me!!:) I'm not alone in this world and that's comforting enough in itself:)

As for the nightlight situation, I replaced my son's regular room switch for a dimmer. If the boys are only scared of the dark, this should work. You can dim the overhead light at different levels.

they sound old enough to understand a certain amount. I have a girl that's a month away from being three. She has problems w/ it being dark even though it's not always been that way. I think that if you gave the night light a chance, and let them know that if they bother it, that it will be taken away(at least for that night), then they'll leave it alone. Or maybe leave a hall way light on that could stream through the door a little. Good luck!

If you have a nightstand or bookshelf, try putting a lamp up there with a 20 watt bulb for a nighlight. Also, you can double-gate for a while (one on top of the other).

Good luck!

We have a 2.5 year old boy too. He's OK with a nightlight though. Sometimes we turn on the light in his closet and leave the closet door partly open instead, maybe that would work for your sons?

I also heard a trick that worked wonders for another mom. She gave her kids (twins) a cookie (yes a cookie, a mini Oreo) before bed one night and told them that they could have another one for breakfast if their feet didn't touch the floor until morning (they were up and running around their room rather than sleeping, but I'm thinking this might work for your issue too). It worked like a charm within three days and after a few weeks, the kids forgot about the cookies.

Best of luck to you, sleeping issues are some of the hardest to solve I think...
J.

What about the taplights. They are battery operated and will mount easily to the wall and come in cute designs they also shut off by themselves after a certain amount of time.

Hi. I have a 2 1/2 year old son (my third child, the "baby") who has always been a fabulous sleeper. While I am fighting my older two, he has always laid right down with his blankie and pacifier and gone right off to sleep. And if he doesnt fall right off, he looks through a book (quietly) from the light of a night-lite. (The books he flips through sing nursery rhymes quietly, so it doesnt take much seeing)

A couple of weeks ago, he started screaming for mommy every night after he was put to bed. I tried sitting with him for a while, tried the whole drink-potty-brush teeth again routine,tried warm milk (which he refused) tried everything I could think of to get him to quiet down and go to sleep. I even tried bringing him downstairs and putting in a movie with the lights out. He would squirm and pout because he was TIRED and wanted to be in bed, but when I would take him back to bed and leave, he would start screaming.

One night, I took him to my bedroom and put him on my bed while I fished around for my pjs. He noticed my "mini" flashlights on my nightstand that I use for reading when I go to bed. Needless to say, he takes one of my tiny flashlights to bed with him now. It has become part of our routine for him to go to my room and wait by the door after hes been dressed, teeth are clean, and the whole night-time routine is done. We then go to my room together and get the flashlight off my nightstand and tuck him into his bed.

I usually wait about half an hour then go in his bedroom to retrieve the flashlight and make sure he's still tucked in.

Im not sure how this would work with two boys in the same room, and I would reccomend a flashlight that has a push button to turn on and off if you go with this method, as a twisty one spells trouble :)

PS. He's back to the "normal" bedtime routine, without the flashlight and going to sleep just fine. His "flashlight phase" lasted about a week and a half.

C. -

I am a mother of 3 year old triplet boys...I understand the not wanting to go to bed thing. We have an LED light in the room. They are allowed to change the color once a night...blue or green. I told them it was a special night light.

When the middle boy would get out of his room. He would always come downstairs. We started walking him back to his room consistently without saying anything. It got to the point where it was a game for him. He would ask for milk, then someone to sit with him, he was stinky, etc.

You may laugh, but I am always watching Supernanny. When you are a mother of triplets, you will try everything! The silent treatment of walking them back into their room and tucking them in works. The first night it took us 1 1/2 hours to get him settled. We now have his night light and leave the door open and the bathroom light on. After a month, it has finally worked.

I hope some of these suggestions work! Stay in touch.

Children go through different stages of development. Usually around 2-3 they enter a fear stage. My boys are 2 and 3. I tried sitting with them with the lights off until they fell asleep. I put their beds close together, and I would hold their hands or put my hand on their backs until they fell asleep. Perhaps, try putting on background noise to help lull them asleep. Try putting on the radio tuned to static. Put it on a low volume settig. I have also seen lamps that can be used a nitelights that have different sounds on them such as waves or lullabye's.

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My twins did the same thing too for awhile there. I did the five minute rule. Let them cry for five minutes and then go back in there and check on them, let them know that mommy is still there and see if they need to go to the bathroom or a drink of water. Then remind them that it's nightty night (I tell my kids that since the sun went to bed, it's time for them to go to bed too). Give them lots of hugs and kisses and then leave the room. Have them have a special teddy bear or something, and tell them that this special bear/toy is going to sleep with them at night and keep them company. Turn on the closet light if you have one. That's what I did. Or post glow in the dark stars on the ceilings. I have even thought about painting the back of their closet doors/bedroom door with glow in the dark paint. But didn't. I follow a bedtime routine faithfully every single night and somehow we managed to get through it (I was a SAHM with a hubby working nights!).

Here is another thing I did ~~ my twins (now five), at bedtime, they would each take turns sleeping in my bed. One would be in my bed and the other one in his bed. They tend to rile each other up. One needed his sleep more than his brother, so he would quickly go to sleep and his twin would lie in bed "reading" or talking to his stuffed animals. Separating them at bedtime is still essential since they just love to play together and have fun. Plus, it's a treat to have them take turns in my bed ~~ they still got their nightlights on and we would leave the closet light on till we go to bed. We pile their beds with books and favorite stuffed animals and they would be content playing quietly for the fifteen minutes it takes for them to relax long enough to fall asleep. And no, they do not stay in my bed the entire night. When I go to bed, I move them back to their beds.

They'll get through this. Mine did. They still take turns sleeping in my bed as that is the only way I can get them to settle down. But as soon as their room is finished being painted, they'll have bunk beds for the first time and that will be a whole new ball game! ;0)

R. B ~~ mom to two adorable red-heads.

Hi C.. I cannot be much help in this matter.... but instead I would like to ask you a question. I have twin daughters that just turned 2, and my husband and I were wondering when do the kids start the toddler beds. Any advice, since you are a few months ahead of me? Thank you.

C. - I have 14 yo twin girls. I still remember those toddler days! This started happening for both boys at the same time? Anything occur that might have set them off -scary movie, storms, illness? Since you have older children, you probably know the benefit of a good regular bedtime routine. (the ol' bath, book, bed) I think there can't be anything scarier than being alone in a totally dark room when you are so little. Is there any way you can do a night light that is toddler proof? Or double gate their room? One baby gate below and above? Would they sleep better in the same bed? We found out kind of by accident - on vacation sharing a bed - that our girls slept like rocks when they slept together. No one ever seemed to mind that they had a sister's toe up their nose!! I think loneliness plays a big part of toddler sleep issues. Good luck!

My twin boys are 9 now... but you bring back so many memories about the toddler beds and shut the door! I couldn't have any kind of tables or dressers in their room either, because they would climb them and throw clothes out of the drawers. Their bedroom consisted of toddler beds... and maybe a favorite toy to sleep with lol. I couldn't even have curtains in the windows, because they would pull them down. Not having curtains in the windows let light from outside cast over their room. (we had a streetlight a couple doors down from our house. I wonder if you keep the curtains pulled way back if it would help? Possibly those stick-up battery operated nightlights as well. You could put them up higher so they can't reach them.

I have 4 kids as well, ranging in ages 9 to almost 3. My youngest are my twin girls who will be 3 in March. My girls are hit and miss on doing the same thing right now. Some nights they go to sleep without too much issue, but there are many nights they do not want to be left alone at all to go to sleep. We use a noise machine, which is helpful, I think. It drowns out the absolute quiet, while hiding background noises from my boys. We will tuck them in, turn on the machine, tell them goodnight. If they start fussing, we say that we are going to go check on the laundry, my boys, etc, and say we will come back to check on them. Usually, they go to sleep before I come back, but if not, I do come back in, say goodnight again, and say I'll be back. I know it isn't easy, can be time consuming, especially when the other kids need attention at night too, but it will pass.

Have you tried just keeping the light on in the room. Both of my kids have gone through periods of needing the light on to sleep. At first I was concerned that it would keep them awake- but just the opposite. I guess they felt more safe and were able to get to sleep easier.
Also- we use the stuffed animals to help privide a safe feeling. We tell the kids that "Mr. Bear is going to guard the door, and "Mr. Fluffy dog" is in charge of guarding the closet...etc...
Hope this is helpful!

hi, i would suggest to first get a night light that is from i think saftey first( i think) you take the plate off and it screws is like a plate but it has a nightlight on it and a child proof outlet, which mine burned out and i am having trouble finding one, need to go on line to get them probally. also, i have a monkey and we cut his door to make a barn door. so you can shut the bottom and leave the top open to let light in and check on them. we had to turn the lock opposite so it locks on the outside to keep him in. and it works great. i love it

Well if you need a night light I suggest Moon in My Room. It is sold at the Discovery Store on-line. It hangs on the wall and is also educational. It lights up with a remote and only stays lit for 30min. You can choose the phase and how bright you want it. My 3yr old is in love with his moon and likes to be asleep before it turns off. My only questions is if you have a night time routine. If you keep it the same every night they will know what to expect and even if it takes a little bit for them to get used to consistancy is key. Best of luck to you.

As far as the nightlight goes, the "Moon in my Room" works well. That's what we use for our 20-month-old little girl. It hangs on the wall and looks just like a moon. It doesn't plug in but uses batteries (keep them fresh!). I got mine at Aldi's at Christmastime, but I've seen them at Target. They should be under $20.

Wow C.. My older brothers are twins. I don't know how my mom or you do it, so props for that! :)

Are your boys giving you any information from telling your or their actions as to why they have changed from sleeping to screaming?

Have you tried music and some type of light show device since you can't use a night light maybe you could set something up on a shelf or something? Perhaps you could get a second gate to put on top of the other one at night so they can't climb over it and still have their door open at night. Or have a talk with them about if they would like to have their door open at night you are happy to do that for them but you can't do it without their help and they need to help you by staying in their room. (unless they have to potty of course)
Well, I've never been in your shoes but I hope some of this may give you an idea for what may work for you.
Good luck!

I haven't had your issue so I don't have much advice, but they do make childproof nightlights. They basically replace the outlet cover and the nightlight screws into the wall. It gives a nightlight that won't let little fingers in or let them pull it out and it also gives a childproof outlet below it. I bought mine at Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory, but I think they sell them at lots of places. It only takes a minute to install and my kids can't sleep without it (even on vacation).

Hi C.! I am a mother of three and remember those days. The best advice someone was nice enough to give me was to "make sure you have a bedtime routine and stick to it"... My routine was 1)bathtime 7:00, 2)let them pick out a short kids movie and eat a (non-sugary)snack, 3) brush their teeth, and 4)lay in bed with them and read a book... and tell them all the while that this is what we're going to do... "It's time to get ready for bed, so Mommy is going to give you a bath and we're going to play with the bubbles, and then we'll pick out a movie and eat a snack-- and you get to pick it out, and then mommy will help you brush your teeth, and then you get to pick out your favorite book and mommy will lay in bed with you and read it to you until you fall asleep... doesn't that sound like fun?" and I'd lay with them until they did fall asleep, and it's wonderful bonding... Do not give them a choice about the order that these things happen, but you can give them a choice about what movie they want to watch, what snack to eat, and what book they want read to them. It worked for me... my children are now 14, 16, and 18... what I wouldn't give to go back for just 5 minutes of laying in bed and reading to them... cherish these moments while you can. After a couple months of this routine, they knew what was going to happen, and going to bed was just a normal "event", they knew what to expect, and never "bucked" me on it. As they got older, and a babysitter would come to our house for a night out, they just could not believe the behavior of my kids... then age 4, 6, and 8... when they were told "okay, it's time for bed" my children would say "okay", and walk upstairs and go to bed without fighting the sitter about it. Don't let "bedtime" be an option for them, they need their sleep and you need your sanity. Good luck!