# what size is your family bed???



## red and lulu (Oct 6, 2009)

We're having a hard time over here... the queen sized bed is just NOT big enough for us and our sprangly baby. (ETA: we just spent the weekend in a hotel in a king, and we all slept the best we have in months.) So we're trying to figure out a way to make our bed bigger w/o spending a ton of money...

We're thinking we should get 2 twin xl mattresses and put them together on the floor (to make a king)... Is there a better way? What makes your family bed?


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## mariekitt24 (Nov 8, 2008)

We also have a queen, and I wish it was a king. We married young, slept on the floor for months before we could afford a bed, then we finally ordered a memory foam queen sized bed and were so happy. And thats when I found out I was pregnant. There was no way we were going to get a bigger bed at that point. So far, co-sleeping has not been as successful as I had hoped. DS spends most nights sleeping in his cradle swing, and sleeps with me on the bed while DH is as work. Every now and then we all sleep together, or I will have DH sleep on the couch, but I really dont know what to do either. I dont see the point in getting two small mattresses to put together, would it really be that much cheaper than buying a king? Perhaps you can find a used king mattress on craigslist or something similar instead. Otherwise some people connect their cribs to the bed and just take off the side of the crib thats towards the bed. Sorry, Im not much help!


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

We have a King now, but before that we co-slept, often with 2 LO's, in a Full. It was snug, to say the least.


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## red and lulu (Oct 6, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mariekitt24* 
I dont see the point in getting two small mattresses to put together, would it really be that much cheaper than buying a king? Perhaps you can find a used king mattress on craigslist or something similar instead. Otherwise some people connect their cribs to the bed and just take off the side of the crib thats towards the bed. Sorry, Im not much help!

we can't fit a king sized mattress up the stairs in our house-- the queen barely made it! And surprisingly, it is cheaper to do a "split king". Kings are over $1000, but it looks like you can find 2 twins for maybe $400. Then we'd put king sheets and a pad to hold it together. But maybe there's a better way we're not thinking of. We really want to keep her IN bed w/ us... the crib/cosleeper has never appealed.


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## azmomtoone (Aug 30, 2008)

Queen. 2 adults and a 3 yr old.


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## averlee (Apr 10, 2009)

We just have a regular "full" or "double" or "standard" and we all 3 fit just fine.


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## pixiekisses (Oct 14, 2008)

We have 300x210. That is one 180x210 and one 120x210.
Us and 3-4 kids sleep comfortable in there.


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## gentlecowgirl (Jan 17, 2009)

We are in the same boat. Our plan is to buy a twin put it right next to our queen bed and move her out in that. Then we get our lovely queen back to ourselves.... someday


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## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

We have a full (on the floor) with a crib mattress beside it. But the crib mattress isn't really "used", it's just to have an extra inch or two so no one accidentally ends up on the floor. It's a little tight with the 3 of us plus a pillow between DS & DH!! Some nights I do look forward to when DH gets up early for work so I can sprawl out a bit more!


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## major_mama11 (Apr 13, 2008)

We have a queen pushed up against a twin, which I guess would be similar in size to a king? For a while it was all four of us, but now it's me, DH, and the baby, with DD in her own room. Some nights the baby starts out in his crib, and on those nights it feels so good to have all that space to sprawl!







It sounds like a lot of space for only 3, except that the baby somehow takes up the whole queen, with me and DH on the twin.


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## crunchymama514 (Jan 7, 2010)

We have a king. 2 adults and at least 1 child. Sometimes 2 children. It fits us all just fine, but I can't imagine having a smaller bed


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## lonegirl (Oct 31, 2008)

We have a King Futon http://www.thefutonstore.net/buyonli...roducts_id=106 all under $400 and very comfy....we have the Royal Firm mattress. We just ordered the drawers to go with it too.


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## Artichokie (Jun 19, 2007)

we have a queen and a crib sidecared. 2 adults and a 24 mo old.


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## Oonah (Jul 28, 2004)

we have a king turned sideways to make it a bit wider, that fits all 5 of us.


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## red and lulu (Oct 6, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *major_mama11* 
We have a queen pushed up against a twin, which I guess would be similar in size to a king?

Are they just mattresses or are they on box springs and frames? How do you keep the two from separating? Or is it not an issue?


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## To-Fu (May 23, 2007)

We have a king, and I have a feeling that's going to feel pretty snug when #2 comes along in May.


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## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

We went from a queen to a king when I was pregnant for the third time. Thank goodness we did because we ended up welcoming twins and it's nice to have more room. Now that they're 18 months and sprawling out more even the king is tight. In your situation I would probably get a twin to put beside the queen and then you have a twin size bed for your baby whenever she is ready to get her own room.


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## petey44 (Nov 6, 2008)

When dd was little, we did the queen with the crib sidecarred. She never actually slept in the crib, it just provided some safety room. When she started to crawl, we put the queen on the ground (box spring in storage, as the two combined still puts you about 2 feet off the ground) and bought a twin box spring and mattress to shove up next to the queen. So now the twin is about 2-3 inches higher than the queen, whereas without the twin box spring, the twin mattress would be about 6 inches lower than the queen. I actually like this arrangement because dd and I sleep quite comfortably together in the queen, and dh sleeps in the twin. DH and I are still close enough to talk, hang out, snuggle, whatever, but when it's time to actually sleep, I feel like there's a safe separation between him (deep sleeper) and dd.
They shove together quite snugly- I have no worries about safety while sleeping. DD likes to run and jump around on the beds when awake, so there is a concern that her little foot will get caught between the queen and twin while doing that. That's the only safety issue, and that's obviously one that has nothing to do with cosleeping and is easily remedied.


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## almadianna (Jul 22, 2006)

we had a full when it was 3 of us, now that it is 4 of us we have a king but have made it work in queens before no problem.


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## aprilsnow (Jan 2, 2010)

Ours is a king. When we visit relatives and sleep on full sized beds, it feels pretty cramped. Can you get a used mattress from a nicer used furniture store?


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## toyarmy (May 8, 2007)

we have a full. 3 fit fine for us, we can (and regularly do) do 4, its definitely "snug".

id love something bigger, or at least a twin on the side or something, but mattress chemicals scare the poop out of me. (hence why we only have a full, it was get a full size that wasnt scary, or larger that was.) and i havnt been able to justify the cost of adding more mattress to our room with my standards.

that said, i also have a pp's issue, of stuff not fitting up the stairs. weve had to do the mattress on the floor because the foundation (boxspring) wont go up the stairs.


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## DangerMom (Jul 31, 2009)

We have a queen for my husband, my son and me. I'd love one of those huge California kings, but I also have this sneaking suspicion that no matter how large the bed is, little dude will still find ways to smush us by spreading out more.


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

Hmm- I was just coming on here to ask this question! Pregnant with # 1 and up until now dh and I slept on a full. We just bought a new expensive and awesome mattress- but a Queen! We just this morning moved it into our room and the guy helping us move mentioned how he and his wife sleep in a Cal king with their 2 LO's and hoe a queen might be too small! I am worried about this now as we just paid a lot of money for an excellent mattress and box spring. We are getting a co sleeper but I keep hearing that I will end up wanting the baby in the bed more than the co sleeper.
We cannot afford to get a new king mattress after paying all this money for our Queen and our Queen is non returnable (we got the floor model at 40% off). So this is what we will have. I hope we don't regret it- we just had no idea- some told us- get a king, yet others said- queen is fine- and the king just seemed so huge, especially since for the last 5 yrs dh and I have managed fine with a full. So that's what we did.


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## Bellabaz (Feb 27, 2008)

When we moved this summer we wanted teh biggest bed we could find because we knew the queen we had before was not big enough for us with one child, much less the occasional second. SO we went to Ikea and bought what I guess is a king. it is 2 meters (200cm)by 180 cm. Lots of room.


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## engineer_mom (Dec 22, 2006)

We have a Cali King. And we sleep sideways on it for more room. LOL
And now my DS is sleeping on a toddler bed next to us.

With one baby and the two of us, the Cal King was fine. At least for me. My husband would squish to the edge of the bed (even though he didn't need to) and then complain he didn't have room.

With two kids, it is tougher. Now that DD is older it can work out (at least when we sleep sideways). But no way can the two kids sleep next to each other...they wake each other up.


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## beebalmmama (Jul 21, 2005)

We're thinking of getting a twin and snugging it up next to our queen. We had a futon mattress next to our queen bed (off the frame) with ds 1. That worked okay but I'd like to keep our bed as one bed. We did eventually get ds 1 a twin and we had them together for a few months before we started the process of no longer cosleeping. So I figured we'll need a twin for ds 2 as he outgrows the family bed anyway.


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## To-Fu (May 23, 2007)

We have a king with one 2yo and another soon on the way. It's working great so far, but we'll have to see what happens when we add the new guy to it.


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## Jannah6 (Aug 29, 2007)

We have a king size that sleeps me,hubby and the 1 and 2 yr old. Sometimes our 8 and 5 year old creep in the bed at night,which is no fun for my poor back. I just found out that I am pregnant so I might be moving to the sofa


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## Oliver'sMom (Jul 17, 2007)

we have a king with a twin next to it. Both are mattresses on the floor. We're all very tall people and like our space







. I'm thinking of getting a crib mattress to put up next to the other side of the king once the new baby comes. I guess my goal is to have the entire floor be covered with beds









To the OP, I would highly suggest getting a twin to sidecar next to your bed. That way once your lo is ready to move to her own room, you won't have to buy her a new bed. I got ds' twin for free from a co-worker, and I see them for sale all the time for under 40 bucks on craigslist.


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## red and lulu (Oct 6, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Oliver'sMom* 
To the OP, I would highly suggest getting a twin to sidecar next to your bed. That way once your lo is ready to move to her own room, you won't have to buy her a new bed. I got ds' twin for free from a co-worker, and I see them for sale all the time for under 40 bucks on craigslist.

that's what we ended up doing and it is AWESOME. I LOVE our family bed


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

We have a queen mattress next to a full mattress. It is BIG









With babies, it is dh, baby, and me on the queen. Now that they are 3 and 9, they both sleep next to us on the full.

My parents have a king size mattress in "our" guest room, so we can all sleep together at their house (they specifically bought a king for our family...nice, huh?







). We fit, but I'm glad we have the extra space of a queen+full at home. I'm also very, very glad our apt has large enough bedrooms for the mattresses to fit comfortably!

eta...a while back, there was something in the media about Brad Pitt having a special bed made for their large family. He mentioned the dimensions in the interview. I don't remember what they were, but it inspired me to measure ours--and ours was a couple inches bigger


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## possum (Nov 23, 2004)

We have a queen sized Japanese futon on the floor. My husband, our almost 3 year old, and I sleep there (and the cats try but generally get booted out for being pesky). We also have a small mattress against that where my son used to start out the night. Now he wants to go to sleep in the middle, so I just end up partly on the small mattress when he gets possessive of the space in the bed.
We are trying to add to the family, and I was thinking to try to get a full or queen instead of the small mattress. I co-slept for a LONG time growing up. I seriously didn't sleep alone until I was probably 12 or 13. I slept with my little brother or my mom. When I moved into my own bed, it was a full. I had a twin in my college dorm, and that always seemed really small so I always figured we would transition our kids to fulls rather than twins.
With a full and a queen, there would be room for at least one adult and one child on each, and then we'd have a regular sized bed for whomever wanted to transition out later.
Has anyone tried this?


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *possum* 
.
With a full and a queen, there would be room for at least one adult and one child on each, and then we'd have a regular sized bed for whomever wanted to transition out later.
Has anyone tried this?

The post right above yours! That is what we have with our growing kids.

We also have a full sized bed in "dd's" room (the room she doesn't sleep in). So, our guests have a full sized bed. I've never really seen the point of twin sized mattresses, unless space is very tight. Full is more practical, imo.


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## rhiOrion (Feb 17, 2009)

We just bought a brand new king sized mattress that I'm in love with! Our plan is to sidecar the crib to it once baby is here. So, it'll be just DH, me, and new baby in a king plus side car. We like our space









(FWIW, I always hear people refer to california kings being bigger... but as far as I know they're just longer. I think they're actually narrower than a regular king. The dimensions I found online say that a standard king is 76" wide x 80" long, and a cali king is 72" wide x 84" long)


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## mamakaikai (Apr 17, 2009)

We had a queen when dd was born. The at about a year, we had to dispose of it and moved onto a futon mattress until we decided to buy a king size. Now we're expecting a baby again and we're so happy to have made that purchase. I think if you cosleep, why on earth would you spend money decorating a nursery that is only meant to last a couple of years, only to end up not being used at all, when you could redirect that money to a use for the whole family that will last a decade or more?

Our king size mattress fit up our narrow u shaped stairs. The mattress itseld usually bends quite a lot so that it can be moved, and if you get a box spring for it, it comes in two parts. So a king size should fit up most stairs, considering it fit up ours.

Best material item family investment yet, imo.


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## isabchi (Sep 14, 2006)

King +Queen (soon to be a King too)... The Queen was our first bed, the we upgrade to a King (was before we had kids),but we storage the Queen. Later somebody give us a King (almost new) that is in the storage. Our room is just one bed from wall to wall. THe box spring are in the floor.


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## bizzibee1 (Jan 11, 2007)

We have a Queen for Dh, DS(2) and myself. Sometime DD(4) joins us as well. I am expecting baby #3 in June, adn we might try to put DS into his own twin at that time.... we will see. DS has always co-slept as he HATED the crib.


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## possum (Nov 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sunnmama* 
The post right above yours! That is what we have with our growing kids.

We also have a full sized bed in "dd's" room (the room she doesn't sleep in). So, our guests have a full sized bed. I've never really seen the point of twin sized mattresses, unless space is very tight. Full is more practical, imo.

Oops! Thanks. I suppose I was probably writing while you were, but it took me longer than you because I can never do things in one sitting with a 2 year old nearby.
I agree, I think twins are just too cramped unless you really don't have much space (like in my college dorm room).
Thanks for pointing out the obvious because I rarely go back and reread the posts after mine after I have read the thread initially. I would have missed yours in the timing!
Melinda


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