How do you manage one twin climbing into the others cot and bothering them repeatedly (15months)

[lulururu]

my DTS are 15mths B/G. DT2 (son) has mastered getting in and out of his cot (with some bumps and bruises) and hitching a leg right up and over into DT1's (daughter) cot. she is a great sleeper and wants to go to sleep as soon as she's put in her cot. he has always stalked the perimeter of his cot for a while happily before lying down and going to sleep.

until now that he can get out no problem. doesn't make a difference if i put her in his cot and him in hers, he just wants to be in with her. she puts up with it and plays with him for a while but then desperately wants to go to sleep and howls. she won't go to sleep if she's being touched/held or obviously stalked over by him trying to do horsie rides etc (fair enough). it seems as if he NEEDS a bed but she's not ready. he's up on the windowsills and swinging on pictures etc. a complete monkey.

i haven't room for 2 singles in their room. cot mattresses on the floor don't suit her as she handbrake turns all the time in her sleep and settling and keeps rolling out plus he's still bothering her then anyway. last resort i put her cot in my room and she was able to go to sleep. however that seems mean to both of them - mean to him in that she has been taken away and that she is in MY room as if i prefer her (which also means i can't spend time in there) and mean to her in that she does seem to actually miss him as well even though he can't bother her when she's in my room. any ideas???

i've got touchwood cots that convert in that you can take one or both sides off but that obviously wouldn't work for her. really just want him to stop hassling her without separating them in different rooms. thanks in advance!!! any tips appreciated!!!

I don't have multiples - but have had children sharing a room including one older one that used to climb into his younger brothers cot.

I solved it by putting the older one down to sleep first then once he was settled put the baby/toddler up.

Did that until DS1 had "grown out" of the habit of climbing in with DS2 and then put them down together again.

thanks FAQ - i can see what you mean but DD is desperate to go to bed by about 6:30 whereas DS (cot invader) could stay up for much longer. in fact maybe i need to let him stay up longer until he would stay in bed?...mmm. oh but i love my evening "sign off" time when they used to both go to bed at the same time.

last night i put both of their cot sides down and they both clambered about in and out of cots with her getting increasingly upset but at least she wasn't trapped with him in hers and they were both safe for in and out trips. kept going in and repeatedly putting them back in their own cots. thats what you'd do for a singleton right anyway so i'm just doing it with two?

any other tips from anyone?

Can you put a gap between the cots, so he can't get directly into her cot?

Have you tried sleeping bags? The toddler ones are fairly difficult to get out of, and it would stop him getting his leg over so would not be anle to climb out. Let them go to the shop and choose which design they want. Make it like it's a big boy/girl thing and get them all excited about having sleeping bags!! Mine were in them until 2 1/2. TK MAXX do cheap ones.

You could go in every time he climbs out and lay him back down and say 'no!' This would be good practice for when they go into beds. I would be very strict, because it's dangerous him climbing out! When mine first went into beds, I would go in every 5 mins and lay them back down. It took ages the first night, bit quicker the 2nd, and then it was pretty good after that!

My BB twins are 15 mo and climbers extraordinaire (in 5 seconds flat they both find their way on the window sill..., sofas etc. are for babies ), but I can't for the life of me imagine how could they ever climb out of their cots?
The rails are up to their chins and they are very tall boys. We set the bottom of the cot down to the floor level when they first started standing up.
Do I have to take off my rose tinted glasses and prepare for the Great Cot Escape soon?

hi kathryn - i did use to have them in sleeping bags but its summer here now (in nz) although i guess i could put them in very light ones with very little underneath...mmm something to think about.

their cots are on either side of a very small room (so not enough space for two single beds at the moment anyway).

rollmops - can completely relate to the windowsill debacle!!! my DS is up and along any windowsill that has anything near it. at least he is so good at climbing now he doesn't seem to fall anymore!! well thats what i tell myself at least!

i have kind of resigned myself to them "playing" for a couple of hours before they fall asleep at the moment. i started with going in every time he got out and putting him back in but he was out again by the time i had got to the door and i really really didn't want to stay there all night doing it as he thought it was the best game ever! oh dear! and now that DD can also get in and out, it was tuck one in and turn around and other one was out and vice versa!

i've put the sides completely down on both of their cots (and the cot level is as low as it can go to the floor) so that they can both climb in and out safely (i'd take the sides right off but they need them to not fall out once they are actually asleep and do that handbrake kind of turn as they sleep so don't want them to tumble out) and also so my DD isn't held captive with DS in her cot as she can't get over the fully up cot side while he can get out of his fully up and over and INTO hers fully up from the floor!! he's got sweaty feet that seem to stick to things - he can literally climb walls and get onto the windowsills!!!

so now they both play in their room very happily together in and out of each others cots, making beds in corners of the room with extra blankets and carting things around and climbing on and off things and generally having a ball (even though i've put them to bed looking very tired) and then they get back into their own cots and fall asleep - well i lie, occasionally DS just falls asleep on the floor and i tuck him in then back in bed. this all interspersed with me going in and putting them back in bed every 10 mins or so.

i'm just hoping that this game or novelty of being able to get in and out will wear off at least a little???? is this what happens when you go from cot to bed? do they eventually think its not that exciting to get in and out all the time?