tips on moving twins from cots into beds - aagh!

[nimbs]

DT2 has discovered the joy of climbing out of her cot - DT1 can already get out of her cot but since doing it once is more reserved about doing it again - it hurt! We have a mattress down between the cots so she can't hurt herself if she tried again.

DT2 however is a totally different kettle of fish and is out all the bloody time - so I think we need to move them into beds. Having only ever done this with one child before I'm anticipating that it will be harder with two! So any tips will be much appreciated on how to keep the little buggers cherubs in their beds!

Watching with interest. DTs 16 months.

We are going for stripping the nursery of anything not bolted down and putting up a baby gate across the door.

How old are they?

I only have singletons and left them in cots until they were nearly 3 and then just took the side off the cots so there were no other changes.

I guess you have to do the ultimate in boring super nanny rapid return technique.

Problem is they play off each other. I.e it (the rapid return thing)would become a game for them - one in, one out of the bed - you can see how it might go!

2 adults, 2 weeks off work

It's a game even if it's just one child though isn't it

Sorry - they are 25 months - daretodream you've hit the nail on the head about the game - that is my worry as they still have good day time naps and I NEED that time!

They already have a stair gate after DT1 got out of her cot at 17 months - and neither cot are cot beds. Am hoping that they might not notice the difference if put up huge bedguard??

Mine weren't cot beds, I just took the drop side panel off, I had 2 cots and they were both fine like that as they actually only use 3 sides to be sturdy.

I would leave them in cots another 6 months are the bases on the lowest setting?

perhaps you can crack rapid return with DT2 and leave DT1 in the cot for now?

I would LOVE to leave them in cots - maybe until they're 12 or so?!! Think rapid return with DT2 maybe the answer - thanks :)

Got them toddler beds form kiddicare and put a child gate across their bedroom door.

Picked them off the floor a couple of times, they chose to sleep there for the first couple of weeks. Now no probs most of the time.

We moved our DTs into beds when they were 2 and a bit and jumping out of cots.
We took them to a shop and made a big deal of choosing the beds, duvets, pillows, duvet covers etc.
Then we put the beds up in their room, and in the spare room put a travel cot with a sleeping bag in it and another travel cot with sleeping bag in our room.
We told them if they got out of bed (or put so much as their big toe on the floor) they would be moved into the travel cot.
I had to do it once (amid much wailing of mummy i'm sorry which was ignored) and they stayed in their beds ever since!
I kept the travel cot up in the spare room for a month as a deterent!

Hi we put ours into beds a few months ago, I was anticipating a lot of jumping around and getting out of bed and we haven't had any. My suggestions are:

-make the bedroom as safe as possible (i.e so they cannot get to anything dangerous) and put a stairgate on the bedroom door - even if they do hop out of bed and run around, there is limited damage that can be done and they cannot leave hte bedroom.

• explain that now they are in big childrens beds, big children stay in bed after they have gone to bed etc etc

-follow your normal night time wind down routine and don't get them all hyper about the new beds- allow them some time in the day to go in and bounce around and 'explore' the beds so that they aren't doing that at bedtime on the first day

-with mine, they get a sticker in the morning if they stay in bed. It does work a treat. for yours, if a sticker is not enough of an incentive then another type of reward e.g if they stay in bed nicely for 3 nights could they choose a comic at the shop/go to the park/soft play/watch a dvd?

You may find its not as bad as your expecting, mine went surprisingly easy.

good luck!

Oh love those tips twinterror and twinmumplus - laughed at the travel cot 'deterrent'! Mine are nearly 3 and im considering removing one side of cot soon to see how it goes....very scared also...like you say though its probably worse just the idea of it. Shall keep my eye on this thread, thanks for starting it nimbs:)

I removed everything from the triplets' bedroom bar the beds and they just had their blankies and a book. They got their story, lights out and I stayed in the room with them the first night. I also pushed their beds together cos they wanted to be close. There was no messing, cos if one sat up, they were instantly told to lie down, very quietly.

Mine were 2 .....we put them in toddler beds, put a stairgate across the door. After about a week of high jinks and falling asleep on the floor they worked it out and stayed put. However it meant they stopped their lunchtime sleep as they spent the whole time arsing around!

ds climbed into bed with dd until she was about 7 i think.

i'd just walk in some mornings and find the bed empty

MY twin boys are 23 months and we have just (this evening) converted their cot beds into beds. They had started climbing out last weekend. I cannot say how it is going to go through the night but we kept them up an extra hour late and made a big fuss of them going into big boy beds and let them choose Pooh Bear covers. They spent the first hour and a half pulling what they oculd out, one wanted to lie in their bed but the other kept getting in and taking their duvet and pillow. Have just gone in and one was lying in the bed, one on the floor, have lifted them into their beds now, only taken an hour and a hlaf which is much much better than what I expected. With regards the stair gates on the doors this is one suggestion although if they can climb a cot they may be able to climb a stair gate. One suggestion we had was to move the door handle further up or put it on upside down so they would have to push it - makes it much more difficult for them!