Anyone else have trouble calming them down at bedtime?

[crazytwinmomma]

My 2.5 year old twins have been in toddler beds since the summer.  They seemed to be doing pretty well after their initial adjustment, but lately things have taken a turn for the worst.  What I've noticed is that if we get them in bed when they are relatively calm, they chatter for a little bit and then fall asleep.  If they get at all riled up during bedtime, then they run around the room, jump off the beds and take a good hour to fall asleep.  We don't have any wild play before bed, so I am not sure how to enforce them to stay calm.  Our routine is basically:

-eat dinner

-quiet play

-pj's on

-snack

-upstairs to brush teeth

-read stories

-bed

The problem is that some nights they start running around when we get upstairs and no amount of discipline seems to calm them down.  Even if we make it through the teeth brushing, things go haywire while we are reading stories.  Usually it is my son acting up...he will jump on the bed, try to distract his sister, chase the cat, try to climb into the baby's pack n play, etc.  I've tried time out but he doesn't stay and then his sister gets wound up while I am focusing on him.  I've tried having him pick the story but he still only lasts halfway through before he starts clowning around.  I welcome any advice!

[Shuli]

We do dinner, bath, bed. Have you tried making snack time earlier or trying different foods? Some foods get my kids all riled up. I also don't make it a long ceremony. We brush teeth in the bath, which is a very calming thing for my kids. No matter how wild they are before bed time, once they hit the bath it calms them. I usually read a story while they are putting on their pajamas and then lights out. The longer it takes, the longer it takes them to fall asleep.

Also at about that age, we put them to sleep in different rooms, that helped the one playing off the other.

Hope that helps.

[Red Pajama]

Our bedtimes were like a war zone for awhile. We did the story time, quiet, etc. They would talk, giggle, bounce and what ever else to stay awake for the longest time. Some things that helped in the short term:

glow in the dark stars on the ceiling

"Can't you sleep little Bear" audio CD

We finally started moving one out to start the night on a pallet on the floor in our room. That helped a lot. THey have been sleeping together in the same room now for about two years again, and are fine. I think it's a maturity thing at this point. They can actually understand what it means to "be quiet and go to sleep. NO talking"

[at-home]

Sounds oh so familiar!  My daughters are 5 now and we still have crazy nights once in a while, but usually things are fine.  These are the things that helped us the most:   Make sure they are tired enough at bedtime  - outdoor exercise during the day, maybe no more naps (worked for us).  No distractions in the room - we have nothing permanent in their room except their beds.  Toys and clothes are kept elsewhere.  Comfortable scenario - although I realize it is not recommended, we allowed our girls a little sippy cup of milk when they went to bed - it helped them to be quiet for a few minutes, which helped them to relax and, if tired enough, fall right to sleep.  On nights when they can't settle down, we separate them (one goes to sleep in the hallway outside their bedroom) until they are both asleep.  As someone else mentioned, we keep it short and sweet and this helps, too.  We do the pjs, teeth brushing & potty,  THEN a story out on the livingroom couch, then into their bedroom where they are immediately tucked into bed. Best wishes with your sweeties!

[lesliesara63]

Oh my I am scared for triplets at that age!

[13pumpkins]

Originally Posted by lesliesara63 

Oh my I am scared for triplets at that age!

You and me both.  Reading one place that trips rip doors off hinges at bedtime had me joking I'd take our smallest room and put a giant mattress and nothing else on the floor for sleep time.  Joking aside, they are only little for such a short time and I just remind myself that as much as I can with my girls (almost 5 and 2.5 currently) right now.  I think it will be my anthem when the trips hit toddlerhood.

[tipper]

In my experience, crazy kids at bedtime are overtired kids. Ironic! I'd do what I could to make sure they get more sleep - probably by moving up bedtime. We initiate bedtime right after dinner... or used to. Since I had our twins the big kids (4.5 and 2.5) go to bed when their father gets home from work and can handle that part!