A few days ago, right at bedtime (us not them), Lonnie suggested we get Big Kid Beds for Elsie and Delia. He has also suggested they SHARE A BED.
His reasoning? Emma was sleeping in one way earlier than this (18 months). They could come get us if they needed us, so we could ditch the monitor. They are occasionally threatening to try to climb out of their cribs (more on this below). He shared rooms and beds with his (not same age) siblings as a kid, and thinks it was good. I am not sure if there are any other reasons he was thinking of…
Um, what? Panic panic panic. I spent a good 20 minutes thinking of all the reasons I do NOT think this is a good idea (while he fell peacefully to sleep). Here they are! For the record, Elsie and Delia will be two years old in a few weeks.
- they fall asleep at night and nap really great in their cribs right now!
- they like their cribs, a lot
- they are FINALLY starting to sleep through the night, having recently nightweaned (let’s not fix what’s not broke)
- their cribs are the only place IN THE HOUSE where I can put them when I need to separate them, or when I need a few moments where they are safe and cannot get into things (we have no baby gates up now).
- their cribs are the only places that are truly their own space, that their siblings cannot get into and take things from
- they have yet to climb out of their cribs, and are not really threatening to, either (mostly just play/pretending by lifting their leg up to try occasionally)
- I have heard HORROR stories about transitioning twins to big kid beds, mainly having to do with:
- How the heck do you keep them from getting into their sibs bed and keeping/waking them up? Right now my girls love to sit on each others heads, all the time, for fun (even when the other is NOT having fun).
- How do you you keep them from leaving the room frequently?
- Two two year olds left awake, alone and able to access a room full of clothes, shoes, toys in books sounds like a recipe for disaster…
- Also having them able to wake up, leave their room and have access to the whole house unsupervised at night is Not Good. We do not have baby gates up in our house anymore.
- Making this transition will likely add a fair bit of time to bedtime until they get into the new routine, both at nap and at night (I have heard from many folks that this can be up to an hour or two of returning them to their beds and staying until they fall asleep).
Its true, that this is going to have to happen eventually (waaaah!) Probably in the next 6-12 months! But man, I am JUST getting more sleep at night and I just cannot fathom trying to get and keep them in beds at bedtime and during wakeups through the night right now. True, Emma was sleeping in a regular bed by now, but she had never slept in a crib to begin with. And, we were still staying with her while she fell asleep, and would lie in bed with her and and often cosleep with her for wake ups. At the time that felt fine, but with three kids worth of bedtimes and (albeit occasional) wake ups, it feels a lot harder. Especially since Elsie and Delia will probably have smaller single beds, not a luxurious double (I am highly skeptical that them sharing a larger bed will work, at least at this age!)
The monitor issues is moot for me, because I am pretty sure I’d still want to use the monitor to hear them when they woke (and to make sure they are sleeping) even if they are in Big Kid Beds. The monitor is one of those necessary evils if your young kids sleep in another room — its annoying to wake when they make noises and then go back to sleep, but its better than the alternative — not hearing them when they need us or not knowing when they are awake and doing things I’d rather they not be doing. Lonnie sleeps through 90% of their wake ups on the monitor, too, so….?
I know we will have to deal with this in the coming year, and I know its possible the transition will go super smoothly, now or whenever it happens. But! I am hoping they will be a bit older, with more self-control and ability to understand and follow directions and routines.
What do you think? When did your kid(s) transition out of the crib? Anyone with twins transition around age 2 and not encounter challenges? We’d love to hear from you!
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DON’T DO IT!!! Seriously, your list of pros of keeping them in their cribs totally outweighs the cons. They are not climbing out and injuring themselves, which is the main reason kids have to transition to a big bed. T just moved to a big bed 10 days ago and it’s been a ROUGH transition and we only did it because he was climbing out of his crib all evening and throughout the night and did hit is head and get stuck a couple times!!! I think it’s like potty training…you can’t force it or it will back fire! Just my 99 cents…
I agree with Sarah! Don’t do it. Jack at 39 months is still very happy in his crib. He had a big boy bed in his room for over a year and says every night, “I love my crib!” He has climbed out once right after Sam was born and scared himself to death. No reason to hurry this transition. I agree do not fix what isn’t broken!
Yep, I agree with the sarah’s!
Mama finally getting more sleep = happy mama with more energy and patience = happy kiddos.
I’m a mathematician and in my professional opinion, I don’t recommend messing with this lovely equation
I don’t have multiples so I can’t comment on that. However, my son wasn’t moved out of his crib until he was almost 3. He was happy in the crib. He did fall out once but never tried climbing out again.
My 19-month-old daughter is still in her crib and I have no plans to move her any time soon. She’s also fallen out but hasn’t tried to get out again. She seems happy in there and I’m happy that she’s contained.
If the kids are happy in the crib I say leave them. Move them when they don’t seem happy in there any more.
I have zero input from a twin angle, but Adam moved into his full sized bed around 27 months. He didn’t transition from a crib, though. He slept in a crib briefly, then we coslept, and then we transitioned him to a mattress on the floor in the master bedroom before he went to his own room.
It was all his decision, however (just like cosleeping was.) When he was ready to move into his “big boy bed” he let me know, and we set it up that day.
We’ve never had to deal with the getting out of bed thing, though, since Adam sleeps (even now at 3 yrs, 3 mos) in a sleep sack. We put him in bed at night, and he doesn’t get out of bed until I come get him after he wakes up in the morning. I don’t think it’s ever occurred to him to try to escape from the bed.
It sounds like your girls are happy in their cribs, and you are getting some much needed sleep as a result. Why mess with it until they show a desire to move?
And on the monitor issue, I think I’ll be keeping mine for the foreseeable future. I have a video monitor, and I like knowing what goes on in there. I think I would get less sleep without it.
Oh, and there’s no way I’d consider having twins share a bed. Heck, I sleep better by myself. I know Adam would never sleep well with another toddler in bed with him. And neither would the other toddler. Adam’s just too much of a mover for that.
I would think it would be extra hard for them to settle down if they were in the same bed. I know people who have trouble from having twins share a room (a necessity I’m sure for a lot of people) but sharing a bed has got to be harder.
Don’t do it. Big kids beds can wait I think. And if you are the one getting up with them then it’s your call in my opinion.
My oldest daughter, now 5, would climb out of her crib around 18 months or so I can’t remember exactly. My youngest, 20 months, hasn’t expressed any intent to get out. They like it in there I think and if they need you they can cry or yell rather than get up and wander around the house.
My boy/girl twins will be 3 in 3 weeks. I would keep them in cribs as long as possible, because mine were/are destructive. The brokw their cribs, and were climbing out a little after a year, then we switched to toddler beds at 18 months and they worked together to throw them upside down and always ended up sleeping on the floor after the toddler beds were destroyed we put them in twin beds with just frames and they have broken part of one of the box springs already!! I do not have gates up either but put a childproof doorknow thing inside their room, so they could not open the door to get out until I got there. But they do not have dressers or anything other than the beds and toys in their room, because they broke the dressers and tables, so until they split rooms next month and show me they will not destroy everything once into their own room, just a simple bed they keep! Good Luck, and hopefully yours are not as destructive as mine. lol