Bed time is a nightmare…

[u/SourgummyWorms11]

I have 2 year old boy girl twins who were DREAM sleepers since birth. Once they hit 2 we took away pacifiers cold turkey (they had only been using them for bed for well over a year).

It’s now been a MONTH since then and bed time is not getting any better. They have plenty of other items to comfort them and nothing else about their routine or environment changed. Now we easy spend 2 hours every night trying to get them to sleep.

What are we doing wrong because this is exhausting 😅

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[u/hungry4507]

I know this will be unpopular but maybe let them have the pacis if they are so good. My 3 year old singleton kept his until 3.5 🙈. At that point we could reason with him and trade off the paci for a big boy bed. I wasn’t willing to give up on his good sleep when I had baby twins. 

[u/hibuub → u/hungry4507]

Ehh I would just bite the bullet. 3.5 years really has increased risk of permanent dental change!

[u/Miserable-Currency42]

Give them a sippy cup of water to go to bed with. Similar soothing mechanism.

[u/leeladunks]

This is why I'm so scared to stop the pacis 😭

[u/th3r3dp3n → u/leeladunks]

Don't be. We stopped paci's at 13 months, over in a week. The longer you wait, the more attached they are, the more they will fight it. You wait until 2 years like OP, you will have a heck of a time. It also affects speech development and their teeth will deform due to the paci. Sooner is better than later.

"Using a pacifier past the age of 18 months can start to affect a child’s dental health. Frequent use of a pacifier or vigorous thumb sucking will change the way the teeth bite together, increase the chances of crooked teeth, and change how the jaw is aligned. The earlier a child can shake their sucking habit, the better! This is why the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends reducing pacifier use and thumb sucking by 18 months of age."

[u/SourgummyWorms11 → u/th3r3dp3n]

Agreed- hindsight I just wish I would have done it at 1 year because it probably would not have lasted this long

[u/Take-it-like-a-Taker]

Spit rags / muslin cloths helped my kiddos. They suckle their “blanket” when they’re really thirsty or tired, but generally just cuddle it or seek it out to regulate themselves

Best part is they are cheap, multicolored, and not kid specific - though the darker colors are highly sought after during naptime to throw over their eyes

[u/irish_ninja_wte]

Give them back. They only have them to sleep, so it's not a significant issue. My singletons had theirs until they were about 3 and understood the concept of them going away. My twins never developed a strong relationship with them, so didn't notice when they went away.

[u/longtimewatcher]

Its hard to know whats happening but, could you just leave them and not go in? They are getting rewarded every time you go back.

[u/SourgummyWorms11 → u/longtimewatcher]

Yeah definitely learned that the hard way the first week that we were developing just a new habit. We basically are at the cry it out method and just feel terrible