Getting them to sleep in their cribs ?

[Momof4]

Hi, I signed on hoping I may get some suggestions. I am a mom of a 18 yr old, 16 yr old & twin girls that are now 26 months old. The twins WERE on a good bedtime routine until we moved from FL to WA. The long days in the car & nights in hotels & finally to a new place did it in for them. They both now have to go to bed with my husband and myself & in different areas of the house even. They can just look at each other while trying to go to bed & they will have a fit of giggles & playing & carrying on. So, thats why we have to take each one to a diffrent room at night. They refuse to get in their cribs without crazy kicking & screaming now. If they wake up in their cribs of course they scream & I have to bring them out of the room in hopes one doesn't wake the other. Of course one ALWAYS wakes the other. Once they fall asleep & I put them in their cribs then its ok until they roll over & see where they are or if they open their eyes while I am putting them in their cribs.. they flip out of course. If there is anyone out there that can tell me how they got there twins in their own cribs at the same time & at a decent hour or any suggestions .. I would so love to hear! I never had a problem with my older kids like I am now. Then again.. I was only working with 1 at a time in the beginning. If one of the twins is tired & laying quietly getting ready to sleep all the other 1 has to do is make a noise & the other is jumping up wanting to play. I love that they love being with each other like they do BUT that is also making it very hard at bedtime.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have. I will try anything !

[4R3KIDS]

No twins here, but I agree with waiting it out. They are getting at the age when just the comfort of knowing you are still there is enough. If they are not napping during the day. At bed time put them down with the initial explanation of your expectations. Set a timer if they last 5-10 minutes go in and talk to them. (Don't get them out of their cribs) Again explaining what is acceptable...

Then extend the next check to 10-20 minutes, again explaining what is acceptable... I wouldn't go longer than 30 minutes.

If you reach the 30 minutes try speaking to them just outside their door (out of sight) explaining what is acceptable.... Now this may take a few days, but if you are consistent it should work for them.

If you've had the patients through the teen years, you'll master the "Duo Princesses".

Best of luck!!!!

[rmschmitt49]

Maybe try toddler beds or twin size...they may not like being confined in a crib anymore. We had to put my son in a toddler bed at 20 months because he kept crawling out and sleeping on the floor!