Transitioning Twins From Cribs to Toddler Beds: Here's Our Experience
How did I know it was time to transition our twins from cribs to toddler beds? One night when the twins were about 22 months old, my husband and I were putting the kids down to sleep. As soon as we put them in their cribs, our son immediately climbed right back out—but with COMPLETE finesse! He was a pro from the get-go. For the couple of weeks leading up to that moment, he had been putting his leg up, slowly trying to reach the top of the rails. Somehow, he had figured out how to get himself completely up and over. Our daughter, who shares the same room with him, watched and learned. About 1 week after our son perfected his exit, we magically found her on the floor one afternoon after putting her in her crib for nap time. And their mattresses were already on the lowest setting! THAT was the moment we knew it was time to convert. Both kids knew how to get out—which meant both kids were then at risk for potential falls and injuries. To give you reference, most kids transition between 18 months-36 months. And here is a video of our son, Ames, making his escape the very first time on camera:
Before the kids were born, we planned ahead and picked out cribs that could be converted to toddler beds at some point. In our case, we chose Pottery Barn Kids’ Kendall Convertible Cribs and also purchased the conversion kits at the same time. We stored the conversion kits in the attic until it was time to make the change. Essentially, with this kit you remove one side of the crib’s railings and replace it with a very short railing that has an open space for the child to safely climb into the bed. So, while it still looks like a crib to some degree, it’s technically considered a toddler bed after that simple conversion. Keep reading to find out how we made the transition and the key takeaways I recommend based on our experience!
The transition:
We transitioned the twins’ cribs (that are in the same room) to toddler beds with the FIRST sleep in their new beds being at NIGHT time (not nap time). We did this because we knew that they’re usually much more tired at night—and would hopefully be too tired to pay too much attention to their newfound freedom.
I continued their nap/bedtime routines as normal, including baths, reading books, rocking in the recliner, etc.
At both nap and bed times, I would have them lay down awake in their beds (as I always do) as I was leaving the room—although, realistically I knew they were about to get right back out. This part was hard mainly during the daytime naps when they still had energy.
We locked their door with a child proof lock, so we never really had an issue with them running out of the room and waking us up or roaming the house at night.
I’d often watch them on the baby monitor during naps and until they fell asleep.
If during nap time I heard them giggling loudly and/or saw them getting into trouble in there, then I would go back in and tell them to get back in bed. Otherwise, I just let them have quiet time in their room—because Mama deserves a break, too!! Let me forewarn you, though. I’ve walked in to find SO many crazy things going on—from them climbing on the mounted furniture to smearing butt cream on themselves and the walls to books being torn to shreds. If things like that were happening and it was very clear that a nap wasn’t going to happen that day, then I just let them out and put them down for bed a little early that night. Those days were always pretty tough.
I’d say they completely skipped 100% of their naps for SEVERAL weeks at the start of the transition. The honest truth? It was brutal. At bedtime, it would take 45 min to 1 hour (after our bedtime routine) for them to finally fall asleep – often on the floor. But, after skipping naps, they definitely slept well at night!
I kept a few books on their bookshelf and allowed them to bring a couple of toys to bed to allow for entertainment should they not be tired for a nap or if they woke up early. I don’t let them have too many items to play with for naps/bedtime, though, because I want that time to really be about sleep.
The way we know they’re awake these days is they lay on the ground next to the door and holler for us from under the door.
Now, at the time of me writing this, the kids are 25 months old. We still have napping difficulties a few days a week, BUT it’s a huge improvement from those first few weeks where they skipped EVERY nap! The best news is that bedtime at night is now a VERY smooth process in their converted beds. They go to sleep right away.
My Recommendations:
From one twin mom to another – keep your kids in their cribs for as LONG as you possibly can!
If for safety reasons you can’t wait to transition to toddler beds, then try to split them into their own rooms—even if just for naps. If they’re kept together, they will inevitably just play together and stay awake for longer periods than you would like.
And if you can’t split them into their own rooms, then just be patient as we had to do and know that they eventually will adapt within a few months. Make sure you make their room extra extra child proofed, though!
If you have safety concerns and you don’t think your kids are ready or able to transition to toddlers beds, you can also consider a safety tent to place over their cribs to prevent jailbreak. Hey, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures!
Try to tire them out AS MUCH as you can during the day when you’re starting this transition. The more tired they are, the less they’ll want to goof around instead of sleep.
Be patient. This transition might take a while. It took nearly 2.5 months for our kids to fully transition—and we still have tough nap times here and there. I think it could have been shorter for those that only have one child per room. However, with our twins sharing the same space, we knew it was going to be a little more challenging. I’ve talked to other twin moms with twins that share the same room that said their transition took closer to 3 months. I think 2-3 months is a reasonable timeframe to expect things to become a little more calm and routine again.
Consider your timing. If there’s a big move about to happen or another baby is on the way, then just know the transition might be a little more challenging and timing of the transition might need to be shifted.
Double check that you have ALL your heavy additional furniture in the room (bookshelves, chest of drawers, etc) bolted to the walls. If they can climb out of the crib, then they can climb a bookshelf. Nobody wants to rush their kids to the ER for injuries related to falls!
Also, make sure you’ve emptied out drawers that they could potentially rummage through. Otherwise, you might end up like us with butt cream all over your child, walls, and carpet. ;)
Be prepared for cuteness, too, because there’s a chance you’ll also find your twins snuggled up in bed together like ours!
Best of luck to you on your transition from cribs to toddler beds. And if you have great success or some additional thoughts or recommendations, then please feel free to leave them in a comment below!
