Bedtime and Sleeping Through the Night

If they are napping still, which they should be, DON'T eliminate it! Overtired children have a harder time falling asleep and wake more frequently that kids who are getting the sleep they need.
I had a similar problem with my then 2 year old, and bought a great book called 'Healthy Sleep habits, Happy Child' (I got it on Amazon.com)( he had never slept through the night without waking)
The technique he describes for 2 year olds is this;
(start this on a Friday night, or whenever you don't need to get up early the next day)
Explain to your twins that they need their sleep and so do you, and that things will be changing from this night forward.
Do their normal bedtime routine (maybe even start a little earlier than you normally do) and then when they are ready to sleep, turn out the light and walk out of the room. When one of them pops out of bed, calmly walk them back to the bed and put them in. Here's the important part: DON'T SAY A WORD! You have to be absolutley silent! Not angry or disapproving, but silent, like it's no big deal. The first night I tried this my son probably got out of the bed 30 or 40 times, with every excuse in the world why he had to be up (and crying, etc). I never said a word to him, just returned him to his bed. I stood outside his room where he couldn't see me, but I could hear him when he got out of bed and was able to quickly get him back in bed once he made it out of his bedroom. Eventually he fell asleep from shear exhaustion! This was the first time in his life that he had ever fallen asleep on his own. The next night, he got out of bed twice, shortly after I put him to bed, then slept through the night.
I don't remember if there was a special section for twins in this book, but buy it and read it! In the meantime, try what I suggested and within a few days they should be sleeping better.
Good luck!

Just a thought...
my daughter was always climbing into bed with us so I got a toddler (or crib) mattress and kept it under my side of the bed. Whenever she would come to our room I would pull that thing out and let her sleep there. Eventually I made HER pull it out from under the bed (we transitioned to a blow up toddler mattress - so easier for her to move). It took a few months of that before she got tired of sleeping on our floor. But she would come in the middle of the night with her blankie and stuffed animal she had chose to take to bed that night and not even wake us and I would end up waking in the middle of the night for whatever reason and she would be there. It gave her the independance she wanted, she was close to me, yet I wasnt being bothered anymore. If its the dark they are scared of, I HIGHLY recommend the air wick light show. It keeps their rooms smelling fresh, and the colors are pretty for them (I have one in both kids rooms - my son is 8 mos and LOVES LOVES LOVES that thing!) It doesnt get hot and we let it go all night long (I put hers up high so she cant get to it). I tried the sticker thing and she wasnt into it but I've heard great stories about it so Im not saying it wont, it just didnt for her. I would check on Jaz every 10 or so minutes (till I went to bed), let her know I loved her and that kinda kept her in bed too. Like another person said, all the while you are sleeping on their floor, you are enabling them to act that way. We would go about our regular routines and let her know she wasnt going to get out of us what she wanted and she grew tired of the game. With you going to bed in your room, they will naturally go to your room, and thats when I did the while toddler mattress thing. Its a lot of work but by golly, it worked! I mean, my daughter was up all night every night for YEARS (thankfully my son is sleeping thru the night). But by sticking to my guns I think she realized I wasnt playing anymore. Good luck!! ~ Nik ~

If they are still taking naps during the day I would either cut off the naptime completely or take it down to no more than 1/2 hour - preferably before 3:00 p.m. so they are nice and tired by bedtime. You also might try to bathe them just before bedtime so that they get relaxed and then read them a bedtime story. Use the same routine every night and eventually they will get used to it. I have also heard that putting a gate on their bedroom door might be a good idea, that way if they get up from their toddler beds they know they still have to stay in their room. I have two-year old twins also and they are still sleeping in their cribs. I'm hoping that by switching them to toddler their beds within the next couple of months I won't have the same problem you are!

L.,

My twins are now 4 years old. I have boy/girl twins. I found letting them sleep together worked real good, as they were fisrt learning to do the big kid bed thing. Then we introduced seperate beds as a reward for doing so well. Now, I also have a husband that has one of those voices that kids respond to. He can say "Stay in your bed" in that voice that is Low & makes them think twice about disobeying, so I have a leg up on you there. But I will tell you, you must be strong, make them stay in their beds. If there is a favorite toy, take it away until they stay in bed. Tell them that they can only have that if they are in bed. Give them a real reason to want to stay there. You sleeping on the floor is not a good idea, you are reinforcing that they can not stay there without you. I get my twins up @ 6:30 am (I have other kids to get ready for school) and they go down for a nap @ 12:00 - up by 2pm & in bed again @ 8:30pm. Seems to work out well for us. I had a problem with my daughter as well, wanting to come sleep with me, I thought it would take until college to break her. I just started sending her away & not getting up to put her back in bed, it took a while, but she is getting the idea.

It's a hard thing to raise the double trouble of twins, I feel for you & hope I have been of assistance.

Good Luck.