Moving twins from cot to bed - having a nightmare

[Anjelika]

Due to DTs climbing out of cots, we have removed 1 side from each cot so effectively they are now in beds. Settling them in the evenings is much more difficult now but manageable I guess - stairgate on the room then a combination of returning them to beds, ignoring them or sitting in with them until asleep but it's the early morning waking that's getting to me. Previously DD would wake between 6.15 and 6.45 but now it's more like 5am and there she is standing at the stairgate crying. The other morning I took her in with us and she slept but she managed to wake DS so I took him in too and he didn't sleep again. This morning we had them both in bed with us from 5.45 but neither slept and DD had me up in the night too because DS had got into her bed I think. I have an older DS in the room next to theirs so I'm loathe to leave the DTs crying for fear of waking him. I've ordered a Gro Clock today but any tips would be most gratefully received!! The DTs have just turned 2.

Mine are similar age to yours although still in cots as I can't face the move yet! So hopefully someone else will have more useful advice, but I'd be inclined to treat anything before half six as a night waking, ie go in, put back to bed, give back dummy/teddy etc and say 'It's not morning yet/not time to get up/still sleepy time/insert lame phrase of choice' and repeat as necessary... clock will help with this obviously.

Im wondering about putting them in separate rooms when they go from cots into beds, to avoid the bedtime shenanigans. Don't know how that would go down though

Mine are 2.6 and still have the sides on their cots. They seem very happy and at the moment I'm working on dropping daytime naps before I think about taking the sides off the cots. Once we no longer need the cots in the day I will put a stair gate across the door of their room and pray that they stay in bed until morning. If they wake too early then I would do what tartiflette says and just treat it the same as night waking. I think if you are consistent then the message should get across eventually . Good luck!

I feel your pain, my 2 are 22 months and were climbing out of their cots aswell so made the move to toddler beds a couple of weeks ago and it has been tough.

At bed time I have pretty much left them to it in the hope that the novelty of freedom will wear off eventually. It takes them 30mins - 1 hour to settle and fall asleep now ( at first it was 3 hours) they usually settle in their own beds but sometimes get in together.
We have the same issue in the mornings - the early sunrise dosnt help we have got black out blinds but have rolled them half way up the window as they kept on pulling them down. I agree with what others have suggested and think its going to be one of those things we just have to ride out.

Good Luck hope you get some sleep soon.