The week of Thanksgiving we finally moved the twins to toddler beds. I had wanted to wait until they were 3 to make the move since we had crib tents and I Lily was still little, but we were having big issues with Abby during nap time at school. So in an effort to do our part and help the school help our kids, we made the switch.
A month or two before the switch I got the bedding picked out and ordered. We were set. The kids went to school on Monday that week so while they were gone we converted their cribs to toddler beds. John had the week off so we were ready to tackle any issues together. They came home and were super excited about their new beds. At bedtime, we read our stories then climbed into bed. We kissed them good night and told them we'd see them in the morning when the light turned green (Their little alarm clock...it's the coolest thing, it glows green when it's okay to get out of bed. There's an "alarm" in the morning at and then a nap setting too. Jake totally has it down and stays in bed in the AM till the light turns green.). They were a little confused at first and we watched the monitor nervously. Jake got out of bed, walked to the door, then walked back to bed, climbed in and cried for a few minutes before falling asleep. Abby kept laying down then setting up and looking around, laying down then setting up and looking around. She did this for 30 minutes then fell asleep too. That was it? Wow!
The second night Jake climbed into Abby's bed to sleep. When I moved him back he said he was scared. I told him there was nothing to be afraid of and he's slept in his bed ever since.
Bedtime has gone way better than we ever thought. I was really worried how I would chase them back into bed while nursing Lily and putting her to bed, but we rarely have issues.
Nap time on the other hand is a battle. The rule is they must stay in their room and lay in their bed for 2 hours. I'd love for them to sleep, but you can't force that. They must however, have some "quiet" time. The first nap was horrible. They played, ran out of bed, pulled on the curtains, etc. for an hour and a half before falling asleep. Some days are better than others and they nap better when Daddy's home. However, there have been several days they don't nap when it's just me. Nap times are tough for me alone as Lily gets up when the twins go down. When she gets up she's hungry and ready to nurse and have lunch. I would also like to eat. However, many times, I'm chasing the kids back in bed with her on my hip. Thursday last week was the worst and I finally turned the monitor off and just let them run wild in their room - Lily and I had to eat and their "quiet time" was up in 30 minutes. When I got them out of their room, they had emptied their dresser. Socks, pajamas, sheets and underwear were everywhere! I looked at the mess and didn't say a word. Instead I grabbed some socks, their shoes and loaded them up in the car. I'm not sure what Abby thought was going to happen but she cried all the way to the car. We just ran to Walmart (a two minute trip) to get a few things. I sure wasn't in the mood after that to hang out at the house with two cranky toddlers and a super cranky momma. When we got to Walmart, Abby was asleep in the car . I woke her up and put everyone in the stroller. Half way thru our shopping, I noticed Jake was asleep sitting up in the stroller. Ugh! Why couldn't they have napped in their room.
We ended up going to bed half an hour early that night, but could have done it sooner I think. The kids started asking to go to bed at 6:00 that night! The next day at school, the teacher said Jake fell asleep in 5 minutes at nap time. The quickest ever for him! He was still tired from the day before.
On a good note. Abby has done great at school during nap time since we switched. Jake however has become more challenging (and we didn't have issues with him at nap time before :-). Oh well, they like to keep life interesting!
Of course Jake had to have firetrucks.
Abby got butterflies and flowers.
They both LOVE their beds and want to play in their room a lot now. They read books and play with their toys on their beds all the time.
1 comment:
Cute beds! I'm sorry for those days when they are keeping things "interesting"; I can totally understand that frustration. And to have it doubled! Yes, I think I would have just shut off the monitor at that point too LOL! Audrey has napped pretty well in her big girl bed, but then again she hasn't had a constant playmate in there to encourage not staying in it : ) Hang in there Wendy. You're an awesome mommy!
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