Big Girl Beds

Well, we made the plunge to toddler beds last week and took off the side rail of their cribs. I figured if I was going to be up all night, it would be best if I didn't have to go to work and could nap during the day.

Based on my other friends' experiences, we've been pretty lucky. They stay in their beds at bedtime and don't get out of bed until I tell them to get up in the morning. That's 90% of the problem right? So what's left?

Falling out. On average we're going in 2-3 times per night (1 1/2 times per girl) to pick somebody off the floor. I feel kind of bad for not even trying this with a rail of some sort, but I was under the impression it was just a matter of getting used to it and after a few weeks they'd do better. We've put pillows down on the floor, so it's not like they're landing on something hard.

Madeleine's the crier. She'll just lie there and get upset. Lily's a trooper and will attempt to get back in on her own if we don't get there first. But I feel awful about the whole falling thing.

So I looked online at rails today, and the one I really like is super-expensive ($100 each). I don't think I want to pay that much for something we'll probably be using less than a year. I've posted online in some other forums to see if anyone else has any advice, but I haven't gotten anything useful yet. Singleton moms seem to forget I have TWO in the same room, so I can't just buy two full beds and call it a day. Others have suggested trying to find cheaper rails, but I've seen things online about how hard it is to get them to work with my brand of crib. I don't really want to put the mattresses on the floor either.

So, we'll keep at at a while. I'm at home for another week.

While the beds haven't been keeping me awake, Madeleine's coughing has. The few days before Christmas, she was up coughing every 1 1/2 hours at night. The only thing that stops the episodes is water. The past few nights it's been just twice, but I'm still not getting more then 4 hours of sleep at a stretch.