Fast forward two years and one baby climbed up and then fell headfirst into the other crib (they were pushed together in an L shape). I guess we were lucky she didn't climb out over the side that faced the floor! Seeing that our days of easy bedtimes were at an end, we felt like we had to prevent further dangerous escape attempts by giving them a safe exit route.
So we decided to create a toddler style bed by creating a climb through side. We bought a piece of wood (I believe it was a 1x12) and used a router saw to create little curved openings. (By the way, a router saw is an amazing device and not expensive! I'm not sure why it took us this long to get one.) I sanded everything to make soft edges everywhere, slapped some white paint on it, and screwed it in to the crib sides. I love the way it looks and it works great to keep them from falling out. But it doesn't do much to help them fall asleep easily, alas.