Twin Toddler Sleep Archives | Twiniversity #1 Parenting Twins Site

Toddler Bed For Twins: Which One Is Best For Our Family?

Twiniversity — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 10:30:00 +0000

Shopping for a toddler bed for twins can be a tough experience. Which one should you buy and how exactly should you transition them to it? We can help! If your twins are nearing their second birthday, you might be wondering when you should introduce toddler beds. Like every other baby product out there, there are many different styles to choose from and it can be a bit overwhelming. As always, we have broken down the basics of picking a toddler bed for twins to help you make the right choice for your twinnies. Need more content on the go? Check out one of our two FREE podcasts available for download here! Most common toddler bed for twins There are a few most popular kind of toddler bed to consider for your twins. When looking into which toddler bed for twins you might want to purchase, you should take style, comfort, cost, and your twins’ personalities into account. You can choose a convertible crib, which will begin as a crib and then convert to a toddler bed for twins when they are ready. You might like a platform toddler bed for twins. These beds have room to store things underneath. If neither of those appeals to you, try a storage toddler bed. These beds are just a smaller version of the popular captain’s beds you see all over. The built-in storage drawers give them storage without worry that they will simply shove everything under the bed when its time to clean up. Are you struggling to create a nighttime routine with twins? Check out these sleep routines from birth through childhood today! How can I get my twins to sleep in a toddler bed? Many parents, especially twin parents, worry about putting their littles in a toddler bed for the first time. They worry that all the extra freedom will lead to a lot of play and not much sleep. This is a transition and must be treated as one. It will take a little time to get used to sleeping in a toddler bed for twins. Some twin parents find that starting with a convertible crib and converting it to a toddler bed for twins is a good way to stay consistent and ease the transition. Other parents find that letting their little ones pick out their toddler beds and their new bedding may give them a sense of control over the situation and may encourage them to sleep in the “big kids beds” themselves. Either way, there are a few things you can do to encourage everyone to get a good night’s sleep. You want to stick to their nighttime routine. This may look a little bit different now that they are in toddler beds, but keep things as close to the same as you can. Make sure they have soft, low lighting, and a white noise machine if they are used to it. Lastly, allow them a bit of freedom. The first night they may be up and down a bit. Maybe let them have a small, quiet toy and make the rule that they must be quiet and in bed. The excitement will wear off and they will be sleeping eventually if you are patient and consistent. Never miss another Twiniversity post or GIVEAWAY again by subscribing to our email list now! Can I put my 2-year-old in a toddler bed for twins? When you begin to look into a toddler bed for twins really depends on the child. Many littles are ready for a toddler bed at age 2. The average seems to be between the ages of 2 and 3 but it is not unheard of for an 18-month-old baby to sleep in a toddler bed. Further, if your baby isn’t ready until the age of 3 1/2, that’s okay too. That being said, 2 seems to be the most common age for parents get their children toddler beds. If your twins are nearing this milestone, it might be time to start your research now. Are you pregnant with twins or do you know someone who is? Check out our online expecting twins classes live or on-demand today! Can a toddler sleep in a twin bed? Your toddler could go from a crib to a twin bed without you even needing to buy a toddler bed for twins. This may work for lots of toddlers, but not all. The size and height of a toddler bed are often more desirable for smaller children. That is NOT to say you cannot skip the toddler bed for twins altogether. Many people opt to skip ahead to twin beds as a way to save money. After all, you will need to get them a bigger bed sooner than later. Many twin parents get a regular twins size bed and then purchase side rails like these that help prevent falls. It really depends on your personal preference. Do your twins need their own play space in your home? Check out our best tips to create the perfect playroom for twin toddlers here! When should a toddler move to a twin bed? If you do decide to make the switch from a crib to a toddler bed, you may be wondering when you should switch your kids from a toddler bed for twins to a twin-sized bed. This is a personal choice and there really is no right or wrong when it comes to making that leap. Some toddlers are ready sooner than others for a twin bed. Many twin parents wait until around age 4 but that is certainly not a hard and fast rule. Of course, some toddler beds have a weight limit so if your toddlers are reaching that limit, it is best to get the twin beds and get ahead of any potential safety concerns about being too big for the toddler bed. That transition can be made easier by placing the mattress directly on the floor or putting up a side rail if… Continue Reading Toddler Bed For Twins: Which One Is Best For Our Family?

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Try Quiet Time Boxes If Your Kids Don’t Want to Nap

Twiniversity — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 04:00:43 +0000

Learn about quiet time boxes and how they can help if your kids have stopped wanting to nap but you still need a break in your day. For many parents, naptime is that glorious hour or two when you get to be productive, relax, or finally drink that hot cup of coffee. As a stay-at-home parent, I cherished naptime. When we added a third baby to our family when my twin girls were 3 years old, I knew I would eventually need a strategy to keep them occupied and quiet once they stopped napping. A quick internet search led me to the concept of quiet time boxes, which are simply a tote full of quiet activities for kids to do without supervision. I’ll admit I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought at first, especially seeing all the elaborate and creative boxes other parents had put together. I didn’t want to necessarily buy many more toys, but I wanted enough activities to keep them engaged for at least an hour. After some thought and a quick scour of things I had around the house, I decided to create boxes based on themes that naturally emerged from the books, toys, and puzzles we already had. I made a trip to the dollar store to find coloring books, crayons, and a few other items, and I was able to create 6 boxes full of activities for my children to rotate through each week. Have you downloaded our podcast yet? Click here to check it out for FREE today! Eventually, I added two more boxes based on other things we had acquired from gifts, garage sales, thrift stores, and the dollar store. As for what I kept in the boxes, I included activities I knew my girls would enjoy. Since they were 3.5 years old by the time I started really using the boxes, they loved puzzles, coloring, stickers, and were getting more into “pretend play” with figurines and dolls. What’s in the Quiet Time Box? Include Toys You Have around the House: More Quiet Time Box Activity Ideas What Kind of Boxes to Use I used clear totes (8 gallon or 32 quart size), but these could be easily made using old diaper boxes. I chose the boxes I did for easy storage and stacking in the closet. Expecting twins? Don’t miss out on our online expecting twins’ classes! Click here to sign up for our live or on-demand option. Quiet Time Boxes Themes For those that like the idea of a themed box, go with what you have a lot of around the house and start a box based on that! You can always add items as you find them or the kids are gifted them, or even add new boxes with different themes as you go. I liked the idea of using themes to get my girls excited about quiet time and choosing which box they wanted. Here’s the themes I used: More Quiet Time Boxes Themes Don’t want to use a theme? Then don’t! You can easily make quiet time boxes by adding any quiet, independent play toys and activities your child likes and is appropriate for their age. Have you heard about our Twiniversity membership programs yet? Click here to check out all the amazing benefits! I have been using these boxes for 8 months now and the girls still enjoy them. It was a struggle at first to help them understand how long to use their quiet time boxes, and these 60-minute sand timers really helped. Now they know when their timer is up, they pack up their boxes and can come out of their room. I can be reassured my youngest will have some quiet time for her afternoon nap, and I can have some quiet time as well! (Well, most of the time, at least.) Whether you are nearing the end of naptime or have older kids home for the summer, assembling some quiet time boxes will give you the reprieve you need to recharge your batteries for the rest of the day and will provide your kids some quality independent playtime. It’s a win for everyone! Kathy Schommer is currently a stay-at-home mom to her 4-year-old twin girls and a one-year-old girl. As a social worker, she is still passionate about helping others and serves as a volunteer Support Coordinator for Postpartum Support International and is a Twiniversity mentor. Related Articles – Try Quiet Time Boxes If Your Kids Don’t Want to Nap

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Preparing Your Twins for Big Kid Beds

Twiniversity — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 04:00:39 +0000

Moving twins out of their cribs and into big kid beds is a huge milestone. This is their first real taste of freedom. Toddlers are very curious about the world at this age. Before you even bring in the big kid beds there are several things that you will need to consider in order to not only keep them safe, but to ensure that they will in fact sleep. Change Your Expectations Kids are going to get out of their beds. Especially kids who share a room. They are likely to get out of their big kid beds and play a little, or even run around making noise before falling asleep. We as parents need to accept that. It is part of growing up. They are getting used to their newfound freedom, testing boundaries and starting to make some of their own choices. It doesn’t mean that they won’t fall asleep. It just means it may take them a little longer at first. Clear The Room It is important that you clear the room of all distractions. Take out the toys, put a toddler lock on their closet, and clear their bookshelf. If you have any step stools in the room to help them get into bed, either attach them to the bed or get rid of them entirely. After my twins stacked both of their little IKEA stepstools on top of each other and unlocked the window we bolted the stools to their beds. Kids will stack absolutely anything in sight in order to reach what they want. Get a Video Monitor It is a good idea to purchase a video monitor and affix it somewhere high up that has a full view of the room. You can purchase a number of these well below $100 and they come with lots of bells and whistles. If you opt for a web cam instead, those can stream over wifi and you can log into the camera from your phone anywhere. Whether you are downstairs or out on a date you can check in on them at any time without any additional hardware. Many also have a microphone so you can get on and tell one of them to stop bothering their sibling or to lay down and go to bed. I find the camera very helpful. Not only am I able to cut short any mischief, but I can determine whether or not a cry or call for me is because they don’t want to go to sleep or because something happened. If you frequently go into their room to check on them, or to tell them to lay down in their big kid beds, it restarts their “calm down” timer and takes longer each time to get them to settle. Bolts and Braces Any furniture in the room (other than the beds) needs to be bolted to the wall. Toddlers climb anything and everything on hand. I have frequently caught my twins climbing their bookcase to get something that was on the top shelf (another reason that they now have no bookcase) and if it hadn’t been bolted to the wall we could have had a serious incident. If they have a nightstand I would recommend either removing it or bracing it to the wall as well. Toddlers often use these to jump off of or to reach things that they are not supposed to touch. Their dresser is a big concern because of the weight. Several retailers came out with warnings and bolt kits last year after serious incidents involving dressers falling on children. Not all dressers are weighted properly and are prone to tipping. Of course any dresser will tip with enough drawers open or even just a toddler climbing up the front. With this newfound freedom of being out of the crib comes a newfound curiosity of their surroundings. Door Knobs Expecting a toddler to stay in their room when they know they can get out is unrealistic. In the beginning you can just place a doorknob safety cover on the inside of the door. This prevents little hands from being able to open it themselves. As they get a little older they figure out how these locks work and easily remove them. The simplest and most economic fix to this problem is to reverse the doorknob on their door and lock it from the outside. This allows you to finally tackle any tasks that have stacked up without the fear that you are going to find them in the bathroom in a mound of unrolled toilet paper. Potty trained children will need to get out to use the bathroom during sleep time. You can either leave the door unlocked or leave it locked and ask your kids to call for you and/or knock on the door when they need out. This requires you to be within hearing distance. Locking the door when they are little is a way of expressing boundaries and training them to understand that sleep time is to be spent in their rooms. My twins’ door is now always unlocked and when they get up to use the bathroom they go right back into their room and into their big kid beds. Enjoy this new period of discovery and independence with your children. Childhood is a series of firsts, but the first sleep in a big bed is a really important one. Related Articles

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But Mom, the Sun is Still Awake! Bedtime Tips for the Summer

Twiniversity — Wed, 30 May 2018 05:00:46 +0000

Daylight savings time is a blessing and a curse. As adults, we love the extra sunlight hours. We leave work and it is still bright out. We can take the twins to the beach or the park for a last-minute activity before dinner. Dinner can be outside on the patio while the twins run around the backyard with their pup-pup. This blessing turns into a potential curse when we realize that our twins may not understand that it is bedtime when the sun is still up. Explaining this concept to them can be a real challenge. “But the sun is still awake, Mommy,” is a comment I hear often from my two. My response, “I understand, but it is time to get ready for bed because the sun goes to sleep very fast.” The Key to Success Is Routine, Routine, Routine! The first step, your twins will associate bedtime with their daily schedule. We eat dinner as a family between 5:30 and 6:00 pm. This is the beginning of our evening routine. After dinner, the twins march down the hall to prepare for bath time. Clothes in the hamper, take daily inhalers, and into the bath they go. Bath time should be a relaxing time. Toys, sometimes bubbles, maybe a little lavender Epsom salt, soft music in the background. Whatever you need to do to help them understand that they are working towards the end goal – bedtime. After the bath, they brush and floss their teeth, get a little saline up the nose, brush hair, and put on their pajamas. We have bins filled with pajamas so that the twins can pick out their choice for the night. Letting them feel like they are active participants in the routine, not just following Mommy and Daddy’s instructions, is also a way to get them to buy into the nighttime activity structure. Once everyone is settled, the twins head to the bookshelf to pick out a few books to read. Since starting Kindergarten this year, the author Mo Willems has become a huge favorite in our household. Because the rest of the house is still sunny, we do reading time in the twins’ bedroom. Here are some tricks to set the bedtime mood: After reading time, everyone goes potty one more time, then climbs into bed. The lamp goes off, the night light takes its place, and the sound machine begins to play ocean waves. As everyone gets tucked into bed, I sit on the floor and sing a few of their favorite songs – “You Are My Sunshine” (no pun intended!) and “Mommy’s Girl”, a song my Mom used to sing to me. As the twins drift off to sleep, in their darkened, peaceful bedroom, they no longer realize that the sun is still awake! It’s 7:30 pm and everyone is fast asleep. Twiniversity Tips to Help at Bedtime Amanda Foster is the mom to 5-year-old fraternal twin girls. After practicing law in New Jersey for many years, she and her husband moved to South Florida in 2010, so that she could transition from full-time attorney and adjunct law professor to full-time law professor at a law school in sunny Fort Lauderdale. Now she spends her time juggling her law students, twins, husband of 12 years, and Goldendoodle puppy while stealing moments away at the beach to recharge. She calls it sun therapy! Amanda Foster is the mom to 5-year-old fraternal twin girls. After practicing law in New Jersey for many years, she and her husband moved to South Florida in 2010, so that she could transition from full-time attorney and adjunct law professor to full-time law professor at a law school in sunny Fort Lauderdale. Now she spends her time juggling her law students, twins, husband of 12 years, and Goldendoodle puppy while stealing moments away at the beach to recharge. She calls it sun therapy! Related Articles

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Are My Twins Ready for Bunk Beds?

Twiniversity — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 05:00:51 +0000

With multiples, shared rooms are common, if not inevitable, for most families. Two cribs in one room usually isn’t a huge problem, especially if you have mini cribs. However, moving from two cribs or toddler beds to twin sized beds can take up serious real estate. Bunk beds are incredible space savers, but when is it the right time for your twins (or more) to make the transition? What makes bunked life easier for everyone? Start with Twin Beds When shopping for bunk beds, look for convertible bunk beds that work as two separate twin beds or bunk beds. This allows your kids to get used to sleeping in big kid twin beds before someone stakes claim to the top bunk. If you’re not quite ready to drop money on bunk beds, you can start with twin-sized mattresses on the floor first. It’s not uncommon for kids to roll out of beds onto the floor when moving from a crib or toddler bed to a twin sized bed. To help with this transition, you can duct tape a pool noodle to the mattress for a few weeks to discourage rolling. Keep in mind; it’s best to use a low-profile mattress for bunk beds to reduce height on the top. Judge Climbing Skills In order to safely use bunk beds, children need to be able to safely navigate a ladder independently. Skilled climbers, however, can pose a danger of a different sort. It might not work in your favor to bunk beds if your children are aspiring Cirque du Soleil troupe members. Children need be able to respect the height of the top bunk and follow basic safety rules (e.g. no jumping on the bed or off the bed). Modify the Furniture If you feel confident that your kiddos will not roll out of the bed, are ready to use a ladder, and will follow safety rules, then it’s probably time to transition to bunks. After purchasing and assembling bunk beds you may realize the height of the top bunk is still a bit much or is far too close to a ceiling fan or light fixture. You may be able to remove feet from the bottom bunk, lowering the overall height. If there aren’t removable feet, you could also cut the legs to shorten them. Sometimes, the top bunk railings are low, but you can always add an extra bar to thicken the railing of the bed. A Bunkie board (or piece of plywood cut-to-size at a home improvement store) helps add stability to the top bunk, and is more attractive when seen by the bottom bunk, especially if you paint it. Personalize Each Bunk If your multiples argue over who gets which bunk, come up with a fair way to decide who gets what. You could draw numbers, flip a coin, or pick names from a hat; anything to make sure it’s equitable. Once beds are assigned, find a way to customize each bunk. Fun options for bunk personalization are lights, pictures, wall mounted night stands, or unique bedding. Bedding Speaking of bedding….let me warn you about sheet changing day. It’s practically an Olympic sport to change the sheets and make the top bunk. As soon as possible, enlist your kids to do as much of the job as possible. For younger kids, it might be just stripping the dirty sheets. Older kids may be able to strip, wash, and replace bedding, making your life easier. Whether you or your child is in charge of changing the sheets, there are several products that make it easier. QuickZip fitted sheets include a wraparound base that stays on the mattress and the top zips on and off. Zipit, Zippy Sack, and Beddy’s offer all-in-one sheet/comforter combinations similar to a sleeping bag that make the process easier as well. If you don’t find bedding that goes with your décor, quilts are a good option, as they are smaller and thinner, reducing the amount of fabric to stuff around bunk bed edges. Once you transition your multiples to bunk beds, enjoy the additional space! It’s a total game changer! Amber Shawver and her husband, George, are the proud parents of girl-boy-girl-boy quadruplets who debuted in 2012. In an effort to maintain professional skills and a stitch of sanity, Amber continues to practice school psychology part-time. She finds that her professional training and experience are often handy managing the quads at home. In her spare time, Amber chronicles life raising quadruplets on her blog, Four to Adore. You’ll also find Four to Adore on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. For articles by Amber on Twiniversity, click here.

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5 Things to Know About Night Terrors

Twiniversity — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 05:00:05 +0000

It’s a terrible feeling when you can’t comfort your own child. Besides the obvious concern for your child’s well-being, it is natural to feel inadequate as a parent, and to stress about why you can’t ease their fear and suffering. This is something that parents of children who suffer night terrors often experience. They can feel helpless and hopeless. The root of a lot of these feelings is the lack of understanding that often surrounds night terrors. Here are five things to know about night terrors. 1. Night Terrors are not the same as nightmares. Almost everyone has nightmares but, according to the American Psychiatric Association, only 1-6% of children suffer from night terrors. So, how do they differ? When children suffer from nightmares, they will wake up, screaming or crying for the parent, and will usually be able to explain the nightmare (depending on age) and be soothed back to sleep by the parent. They will also often remember the episode the next morning. Children suffering a night terror may also scream or cry, and may even have their eyes open and seem to be engaging with the parent, but they are not actually awake. They will often refuse any type of comforting, and may have no idea that the parent is there. When my daughter has a night terror, she will look right at me, without a flicker of recognition, and then often look over my shoulder intently (yes, it’s as creepy as it sounds). She pushes me off if I try to pick her up, and screams loud enough to wake the dead, or at least her sister in the next bed (and sometimes the neighbors next door.) The next morning, she has no recollection of what happened, although her sister sometimes snidely informs her, “You woke me up!” 2. Symptoms of Night Terrors are not the same for every child. While night terrors are most common in children aged 3-12, they can occur in younger children, and can sometimes last into adulthood, although this is quite rare. My daughter experienced her first night terrors before her first birthday. As a completely inexperienced mom, I felt completely useless when I could not comfort her, and often ended up crying on the floor of the nursery. At that time, she mostly just screamed, but even then I could sense it was something different from her usual cries. As she got older, her terrors have included thrashing about and hitting me. Her terrors typically last around 10-15 minutes. For some children, a terror can be as short as a minute or two, while for others, they can last as long as 30 minutes. Other symptoms that children experiencing a night terror may show include rapid breathing, an elevated heart rate, and even sleepwalking. 3. Causes of Night Terrors are still not fully understood. Once again, as parents, we just want to fix things for our kids. Their pain is our pain, and we would do anything to end it. Unfortunately, with night terrors, there is little concrete information on why particular children suffer them and others do not. Some external factors that can bring on night terrors include illness and overtiredness. Major life changes can also bring on a period of night terrors, which is something that I have definitely recognized with my daughter. Her most recent period of terrors took place in the weeks following our cross-country move. Some research also indicates that night terrors can run in families, but they may not affect all children in a family. My other twin has never had night terrors, regardless of what might be going on. Her tantrum level is unmatched during the day, but she sleeps like an angel most nights. 4. An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure. There is no cure for night terrors, but don’t lose hope! Parents can do a great deal to try to prevent night terrors from happening in the first place. Simple things like a consistent bedtime routine and eliminating sleep disturbances can help. Ensuring that the child’s sleep environment remains free from hazards is key to keeping a child safe, should he or she sleepwalk during an episode. That said, my girls have had a pretty consistent bedtime routine for most of their lives, and sleep in near-darkness with a white noise machine; this has had little effect on eliminating the night terrors. By the time my twins were nearly three, I was at a loss for what to do. At this time, a NICU nurse and fellow mom talked to me about a practice of disrupting the child’s sleep before a night terror can occur. Understanding the timing of night terrors is vital for this strategy to be successful. Night terrors usually happen 90 minutes to three hours after a child falls asleep, during non-REM sleep. If the child has a consistent pattern, parents can wake the child 15 minutes before an expected night terror, and keep him or her up for at least 5 minutes before going back to sleep. This disrupts the sleep pattern that leads to the night terror. After a while, the child will hopefully no longer need to be awakened, and will be able to sleep through without the night terrors. 5. There is help out there. The important thing to remember about night terrors is that you are not alone, even though it may feel like it when you are sitting in that darkened bedroom, helplessly watching your child flail and scream. The strategies discussed above can help. However, if a child does not respond to these methods, there are other options. We finally found relief using a product called the Lully Sleep Guardian, which automates the sleep disruption strategy. It consists of a small vibrating pod that goes under the mattress, and an app. After answering a few questions about my daughter’s typical bedtime, and how long it takes her to fall asleep, as well as when her night… Continue Reading 5 Things to Know About Night Terrors

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Bunk Beds Your Twins Will LOVE

Twiniversity — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 05:00:34 +0000

If your twinnies are old enough (5+) and their toddler beds aren’t cutting it anymore, you’re probably starting to look at bunk beds. Most twin parents do. Even if you have two extra rooms for them, twins often like to stay together for a bit longer than folks expect. So why not make an extra room a playroom and get some bunk beds? Here are some ideas that think outside of the traditional bunks and add a little fun and whimsy to your twinnies room. Cordova Kids Twin Over Twin Bunk Bed If you are a Pinterest Mom or Dad, the expert look of this bed is going to make you happy. While it looks like it can be made at home, it would definitely require more than a few trips to Home Depot. Save yourself time and energy, make the jump, and get this awesome bed. Why it also rocks is that the lower bunk is floor level, and the upper bunk is WELL protected to prevent little bodies from taking a tumble. Twin Bunk Bed with Trundle and Drawers If space is an issue, check out this bed. It has THREE large drawers, a trundle (yep, that’s three beds!), and a ladder instead of stairs, so it will take up a lot less floor space. Bebble Kids Twin Bunk Bed Your twinnies will love this Nordic-style-inspired two-tone bunk bed. The small openings in the panels, which act as guardrails, are just one of many features that give it a lightweight look even though it’s tall. The natural wood makes it easily fit into ANY decor you choose while still looking modern and fun. Evanthia Twin Over Full & Twin L-Shaped Bunk Beds Tired of hearing, “I want the top bunk!” well, you won’t have to anymore. This bunk bed has TWO top beds and a built-in-desk! Rukadikar Kids Dollhouse Bunk Bed Little princesses in the house? They will fall head over heels in love with this Dollhouse bunk bed. They can sleep and play pretend all day long…trouble is…they might want to play all night, too. The bottom bed comes with 2 twin size beds, perfect for sleepovers. Heustis Kids Twin Over Twin 4 Drawers Wood Bunk Bed with Stairs If you are worried about little feet climbing a ladder, this bunk has a FULL staircase with plenty of storage built in! Kali Kids Twin Loft Bed What a PERFECT bed for our twinnies to play in all day long. A perfect room for rough and tumble little dude, this will act as a playhouse AND bed, and with the low price point it will make your wallets happy! Henal Kids Twin Over Futon Bunk Bed This bunk gives you room to grow. When the twins do eventually move into their own rooms, the bottom bed converts to a futon so that your cool tween or teen can have a couch in his/her room. Harper & Bright Designs Twin Over Full Bunk Bed This bed has EVERYTHING, storage, two beds, and an entire dresser! And if that wasn’t enough, the full-size bottom bed is designed with wheels, so you can put the bottom bed wherever you want. We hope that these choices make your time picking the perfect bed for your twinnies an easier one. Sweet Dreams! Related Articles

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9 Screen-Free Bedtime Routines

Twiniversity — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 04:00:48 +0000

Hey, moms and dads! We’ve got a great article for you today on establishing screen-free bedtime routines for your kids (and YOU!), brought to you by our friends at Naturepedic. They’ve got a great new mattress that’s perfect for your big kids – The Naturepedic Verse. If you’re in the market to upgrade your little ones to their first “big kid” beds, or if you’re just unhappy with the mattresses you’ve got, you’ll definitely want to check out The Verse. The Verse organic kids mattress features firm support, which is ideal for your growing child or teen. Organic cotton filling provides additional cushion and support over premium encased coils for a comfortable design that promotes airflow to reduce overheating. The Verse is certified organic and is designed without common allergens, glues, adhesives, flame retardant chemicals, or other questionable materials. With its comfortable and supportive design, your twinnies will be dreaming in no time at all. The Verse is compressed and roll packed for easy delivery and set up (watch how easy below), and is available in Twin, Twin XL, Full, and Queen size. The importance of a bedtime routine isn’t just for newborns. Developing good sleep strategies is important for babies as well as adults. Now that technology has become more accessible than ever, and we are raising a new generation of screen time lovers, we wanted to give you some alternative choices to replace your nightly Candy Crush game. 1. Family Book Club No matter if it’s Goodnight Moon or the Twilight series, starting a family book club is a great activity. Reading a few pages each night before bed will help relax your mind and body and give you a great topic to discuss at the next night’s dinner table. 2. Drawing Have you ever found yourself doodling while you were on the phone or in a meeting? Give your imagination a chance to really come out and play. Get yourself a lap desk and a big kid coloring book. Sit up in bed and let your mind go free. 3. Journaling As they say, “There is a book inside everyone.” No matter if you are eight or eighty, journaling each night is a great way to get your thoughts out for the day and a great way to leave a small legacy behind. You can write fiction, fantasy, or literally a to-do list for the next day, but keep a journal and give yourself time each night to jot your thoughts down. 4. Meditation Meditation doesn’t have to be something you study, or even something you do daily, but letting your mind settle down with some breathing or mind relaxing music will help you fall asleep and stay asleep. 5. Gossip What tween doesn’t love to tell you all about who wore what at school or who told what to the teacher? Get the scoop on your kids’ lives by taking time each night to sit with them in bed and get the skinny on their day. It will give you an opportunity to have a real discussion on any issues they are having, and you can help them come up with strategies to deal with them. 6. Story Time Go old school! Grab your favorite book and read out loud to them. It doesn’t have to be a traditional kid’s book, it could be the Da Vinci Code or whatever you think your kids can handle. Have them lay comfortably in their beds and you can sit right beside them and channel your inner Orson Welles and read to them. 7. Play “Did You Know” Bedtime is the perfect to capture your kids’ attention. Play a family favorite game of the Diaz Gang: “Did you know…” You start off by saying, “Did You Know…” and you tell them a true fact about a family or friend. Example: “Did you know your great-grandmother used to cut lace for 10 cents an hour while Meema was little?” This is a great way to share stories of previous generations and turn it into a fun game. 8. Plan Ahead Bedtime is the perfect time to go over what you have to do the next day. Adults should do this right next to their kids. Being prepared is a great way to get a jump on the next day before the clock strikes twelve. Prepare them for any exciting events in the future, and try not to talk about anything that may be anxiety-producing, like a doctor’s visit or an upcoming school test. 9. Snuggle Who doesn’t love the smell of a freshly washed child? From a toddler to a (hopefully) clean tween, snuggling gives you a chance to reconnect with your favorite people on the planet. Related Articles

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How Dream Catchers Help My Kids Sleep

Twiniversity — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 05:00:10 +0000

As someone who has suffered from nightmares all of my life, I was not surprised when my children started waking up in the middle of the night with vivid, terrifying dreams. Sometimes when I tell people my children have nightmares they laugh, what can a three year old possibly have a nightmare about? Crusts still on the peanut butter sandwich? No. Their nightmares are legitimately terrifying! I wanted to give the kids some ways of managing their fear and changing their dreams. For kids this young, the line between reality and fantasy is very thin. A dream can seem very, very real. As a child, I learned how to recognize when I am having a nightmare. What is a dream catcher? Sometimes, having recognized a nightmare, I can change the end of the dream. Sometimes just waking up and having a drink of water can solve it. But my children are too young for this; I needed another solution. I decided we would make dream catchers. Of course I didn’t invent this, it isn’t even from my culture. But it was useful for me as a kid when we made them in school, and I thought it might be useful for my own kids. Not only would the dream catchers hang over the bed, but the kids and I would decorate them together as a fun project. And, if they still do have a bad dream and the dream catchers need a little “tune-up,” we can add to them. This way, the kids have power over their own dreams, and doing the project together gives me a chance to talk about them. Dream catchers have been used to help children with sleep for hundreds of years. They originated with the Ojibwe nation in North America and spread across the continent. Overnight, the dream catchers filter out the bad dreams, only letting good thoughts through, and when the sun rises all the bad dreams disappear. For the full story behind dream catchers, search for “Ojibwe Dream Catchers.” This is a relatively easy project that requires a few minutes of set-up. You will need to make the base of the dream catcher yourself in advance, and then decorate them with the kids together. My kids did not want to paint them, but you can if you think that is something you can manage (it is messy)! We have added a few strings of beads over the past year. When they wake up with a particularly bad nightmare I can assure them we will add some beads the following day to make the dream catcher “stronger.” There is a lot of power in making something like this together with your children. It shows them that you care about them, legitimizes their concerns, and gives them confidence that they can learn how to manage their own night time stress. If this exact project is too challenging, try making a painting together, or find a special rock that can be “magically” imbued with the same dream-filtering quality. There are no limits! Good luck and good night! How to Make Dream Catchers Materials Directions In advance: Take the outside of the embroidery hoop off. Using the inner hoop, wrap the string across the middle of the circle, working your way around. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you want it to look like a spider web. Just make sure the string is wrapped tight so it doesn’t move. Once you’ve made a web, tie off the string. Put the outer hoop back on and tighten the clasp. This will keep the string from sliding around while you decorate it. With the kids: Make strings of beads and tie them onto the web. Paint the strings and/or hoops. Hang up over their beds! Related Articles

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Back to School Sleep Routines

Twiniversity — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 05:00:47 +0000

Hey gang, listen up! We’ve got a great article on getting your kids back into a healthy sleep routine for back to school. The Naturepedic 2 in 1 Organic Cotton Ultra Mattress – available in twin, twin XL, and full size – is highly versatile, combining waterproof and quilted sides for an ideal children’s mattress. Use the waterproof side when they first come out of the crib and while they’re training (the waterproof side also functions as a dust-mite barrier!) When your twinnies get older, flip the mattresses over for a more luxurious comfortable feel. The top side is made with organic cotton fabric with an easy-to-clean 100% polyethylene waterproof surface, which is great for training toddlers and bed wetters. This provides the ultimate non-toxic and stain resistant waterproof mattress cover that also functions as a dust mite/bed bug barrier. The bottom side features a luxuriously quilted organic cotton fabric for a more mature mattress feel as your kids get older. The finished mattress is certified organic to ensure that all components meet a healthy non-toxic standard. Certified by OTCO to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). All Naturepedic products are tested for chemical emissions and certified according to GREENGUARD® Gold certification standards. Learn more about this fantastic mattress! Back to School Sleep Routines We all know that sleep is very important, especially for children who are going to school. Getting back into the swing of things when the school year begins can be difficult for some children, especially if your kids have finally mastered the fine art of “sleeping in” during summer break. For those of us who have kids like this, a routine of getting up and out the door for school in the morning with minimal issues can be tricky, especially the first week back. Here are some simple routines to help the transition go smoothly: Making sure that your kids get a good night’s sleep is just one of the key factors they need to succeed in school. A good routine for them (as well as for you) can make a huge difference in whether or not your adjustment back into the school schedule is a success.

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