I have 23 month old twin girls. Last week they were so sick with a virus and one night Leola climbed out of her crib screaming. Come to find out she had an ear infection. Last night, after everyone is healthy again, we put them to bed and they went right to sleep no problem. Then around midnight, Leola cried out. By the time I woke up to see which one it was, she had climbed out of her crib and went straight to the door crying. I went into her room and put her in her bed telling her I would sleep on the floor (which is what I did when they were sick). She was not having it. She cried and I didn't want to wake Lucie up so I made a pallet on the floor and we both slept there. Once she was asleep I slipped back to my room and she slept all night. But I kept waking up anticipating a little one coming to my bed or crying. I don't know if we should go ahead and get toddler beds and try to switch them or wait another night or two. If she sleeps on the floor with me, that is fine, but I don't want to start a habit. I also cannot miss any more work. I am a teacher and missed 3 days last week because they are sick. What do you think I should do? The other twin slept just fine . And BTW, we went back to the doc yesterday to check ears and breathing and Leola has no trace of infection. She is fine now so it isn't hear being sick. Maybe she got scared? But what's stopping her from climbing out every night?
So while we are figuring out a second solution, we decided to try opening their door at night first. Last night, my husband put Leola to bed and pointed to the floor and said "Mommy, there". Daddy said, "No sweetheart Mommy doesn't sleep on the floor, she sleeps with Daddy. But if you need us in the middle of the night, you dont have to cry, just call us and we will help you". So when we went to bed, we opened her door. She woke up around 1:00 cried out, went back to sleep. Then at 5:50, cried again. She had her leg over the crib. I told her I was going to make a pallet on the floor for her but I was going back to sleep in my bed. She said ok, and is still asleep. I guess you try whatever works first and then move on. I guess this is a stage that every child goes through. Thanks for all the advice. I am glad we don't have to transition both of them to the bed right now.
Time to get real beds! My daughter was sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor at 14 months, because that was the only way she would sleep. Then after we were comfortable that she was rolling out, we raised it (actually, she told us to raise it!)
I"m sorry the girls have been sick and hope they're better very soon!
Once a child can get out of the crib, it's time for the crib to go. I'm no fan of crib tents either -- if they are going to try to escape, a tent poses another hazard they could get tangled in, in my opinion.
Put up the side of the crib. Now look at the distance from the top of the raised crib rail to the floor. Imagine your 23-month-old falling that distance. Pretty far for a small child, isn't it? If she falls on her head or neck it could be disastrous. That's why I think once they are climbing out it's time to end the crib. A friend's 18-month-old was climbing out and fell and broke her arm - it could have been much worse.
Whether you go with toddler beds, a regular bed mattresses on the floor (an option I know some parents really like -- no worries about falling out of an adult-height bed), I'd say, goodbye crib. It will be tough for a while, because the girls will realize they can get up and come to you etc. and you will need to work with them to train them to stay in bed or at least stay in their room. That can be tiring! But it has to be done at some point, so do it now, since they are at a stage when the crib's no longer safe.
I would say get the regular bed. Buying the crib tent or toddler beds are costly, and they wont be using it for a long time. I did those when I had my son but when I had my daughter and she was at the age where she likes to move around a lot, I decided to jump right away with a regular twin size bed. I used a side rails I had previously used with my son when he was about 3-4 yrs old to my 3yrs old daughter. Hope this helps.
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I would say get the regular bed. Buying the crib tent or toddler beds are costly, and they wont be using it for a long time. I did those when I had my son but when I had my daughter and she was at the age where she likes to move around a lot, I decided to jump right away with a regular twin size bed. I used a side rails I had previously used with my son when he was about 3-4 yrs old to my 3yrs old daughter. Hope this helps.
I think I would sleep better by putting them in a bed. My two boys shared a twin bed for l they were 3 and 4 and then I got them bunk beds afterwards.
Once they start crawling out of the crib it's just too dangerous to leave them in there. Even if you think they climb out professionally and wont get hurt, when they are groggy in the middle of the night and decide to do it there's a good chance of them getting hurt.
My oldest went into a bed at age 1.5 (due to climbing out of the crib) and slept through the night with no problems. I put one of those guards on the side so he wouldnt roll out in the night.
Get a regular bed, At age two they don't need a tent, they are able to walk, crawl, climb and it's better if they have their own bed. Kids like to move around a lot when they sleep and having their own bed is so much better for them.
I'm going to go with the mamas who say it's time to get a twin size mattress, either on the floor, or framed.
One thing I'm not clear on, though, why do they BOTH need to transition if only one of them is climbing out? I realize it would probably be easier on you (the parents) to do the transition all at once, but maybe your other daughter isn't ready yet? I don't have twins, so can only guess as to what I would do, but I like to think if I did they would grow/pass milestones at their own individual rate. Yes, they are twins, but they are also individuals who have differing needs.
No, no, once a little one climbs out of the crib, it's time to dismantle it. While your 23 month old may become a "pro" at climbing, one slip and fall could mean something broken. I know, my second daughter broke her collar bone. Dismantle the crib and forget about a toddler bed. What a waste of money in my opinion. Just leave the crib mattress on the floor. This is what I did until my child was old enough for a twin bed.
We went right to a regular bed at the age of 2. I didn't see the point in wasting money on a crib tent when you won't use it that long. My daughter was fine going right to the regular bed. I didn't even convert her crib to the toddler bed because we already had a twin bed already set up, so we just went with that and it worked out great.
Get a crib tent. They are a little pricy, but they work! You can find one on Craigslist or ebay for a little cheaper.
Our daughter climbed out of her crib at 1 year old and had to go into a bed. I think you were lucky to get 2 years!
You can start with the beds up against the walls. Remind them to stay in their beds until you get them out of bed.. Do this very matter of fact. They may not realize to get up on their own if you make it seem like this is the way the bed works..
Consider yourself lucky! My twins started this at 18 months and I was too afraid of them getting hurt so I ended up switching the cribs to toddler beds. Had I known at the time there are these tent looking things you can purchase to put over the crib to prevent them from climbing out-that might suffice for a little longer -I don't have any personal experience with those things so I don't know how well they work. They are white and having like a netting material. Switching them to a toddler bed too may not be such a "bad" idea either.....just know that they will probably end up in the bed together. I have found alot of times they sought comfort with their sissy before mom.....I used to get upset when I would find them in bed together but I finally realized that eventually they will grow out of that on their own and so what if they seek comfort from their sister?? Pick your battles is what I say. They are 8 and I still find them in the same bed and I do say something to them but for the most part I don't go into it that much because I figure this too shall pass....I think like most with anything else consistency is the key and I understand you don't want her waking the other one up and that is why I suggested transforming crib into a toddler bed may not be such a bad idea........
My twins slept in their pack-n-plays for a few months between the crib and toddler beds. We weren't quite ready for the fights and lost sleep in training them to stay in the toddler beds, but they were climbing out of the crib. Turns out that our pack-n-plays were just a hair deeper than the crib so they kept the little munchkins contained just a bit longer. We also used them as incentive when we switched to the toddler beds -- "If you get out of your big-girl bed again, you'll have to sleep in your pack-n-play tonight." Just an idea. Good luck!
P.S. I totally agree with others about getting a twin mattress (maybe on the floor) instead of toddler beds. Many times I wished we had had that, but the room we were putting the twins in just wasn't big enough for that.
This is a tough call, but I would switch her to a bed. My twins boys both decided to start climbing out at 22 months (on the same day, the day before I went back to work in the fall as a teacher), so we switched them to a mattress on the floor. It was a rough transition for naps, but bedtime has been smooth. Maybe give her a week and see if she climbs out again. I was afraid my boys would get hurt or get into something and get hurt.
Our daughter did that when she was 17 months old. Our Pediatrician recommended a crib tent...she is now 26 months old and is still in the crib. I say try to keep them in the crib as LONG as possible. The Crib tent worked great for us....unfortunatly they dont sell them in stores...you can order them from walmart.com..I found on I use for traveling on Craigslist (so we have 2 of them)
They are actually a bit close for toddler beds since they are just about preschool agers now. If it continues to be an issue then go ahead if you already have the toddler beds but I would not go buy them at this late date. In a few months they'll be ready for twin beds.
