Size of beds for co-sleeping

[BlessedMommy]

Got a question for all those who practice some form of sleep sharing or co-sleeping. My husband and I are planning on sleeping with our baby when it comes, and we have a queen sized bed. Have any of you used a queen sized bed successfully for a family bed?

~Ruth

[tobikay]

OK...here is our story.
When DS was born, he and I actually slept together on the couch because, well, it is a long story, lets just say that is the best sleeping arrangements we could make at the time. Later, we went to the bed with daddy, at that time it was a king size waterbed and for the most part things worked fine. By the way, he is now 12 and sleeps very well on his own (this is contrary to what many people told me when they found out my baby was sleeping in my bed)
Now, the is DD, she is a special case all around! We did have a queen size bed and this worked "OK" untill she was 1 1/2 or so. She is a cuddler, and will push one or the other of us out of bed if we let her (I call it her "heat-seeking Butt because she will let that lead her way until she finds someone to cuddle up to). So, this is the solution we have come up with at this time.
We have tried to put her in her bed, but we live in a 2 bedroom house right now and the only area we could make as her room (works very very well, most of the time) has the furnace in it and this scares her at night, (now that it is warmer, we may try again) so, at 4, she is still in our bed. Also, DH has fibromyalgia, so, he spends alot of time in bed and our bedroom has become like a second living room in our house (better TV in there and such) for the whole family. So, we were able to get a double bed for DS in his room, then we took his twin matress (matches our queen) and put both our bed and his bed on the floor beside each other so basically now we have a huge bed, as big as our room, large enough to accomidate the whole family if we should fall asleep watching a movie or whatever.

Just a word of caution. I love sleeping with my babies. I miss so much of them when I am at work that I cherish every moment I can get, even if I am sleeping (and they feel so good to squeeze at night, they won't always let you do that during the day). But, mommy and daddy will have to get creative for "alone time" or it will quickly go away, this is the first step to major marital problems. Just keep that in mind.

[Kerina]

Well, at times, we have slept with both of our children( 23 months and 6 months) in our queen sized bed. With one child, it's quite comfortable.
Actually, I should say we fit comfortably... I am usually not comfortable. I guess I should also add that were not big people.

For me, and this is just how I feel, you can take it or leave it, :) I think co-sleeping is great for new parents in order for them to get some sleep. With our first one, my dh would bring her to me when she woke up in her crib and I would nurse her in bed. If we fell asleep fine, if I was still awake, I'd usually put her back. That's the way I like it. I want my space. :) Also, with our girls able to fall asleep somewhere other than our bed, it made it easier for us to be together.

Like tobikay's son, my 23 month old has been sleeping in her room for several months now. She'll sneak in sometimes, but we usually can put her back without a problem.

Congratulations Ruth!