Twin or full bed?

[Beauchamp]

Right now we cosleep part time. DD naps in her crib, and starts the night there. We're thinking of getting her a toddler bed to transition her sometime before baby #2 comes in June. So...full size mattress on the floor (in our room or hers?) or a twin size bed? We still nurse to sleep for naps and bedtime. She sleeps between us in our bed and it's really starting to get crazy with her kicking us and sleeping horizontally.  

What worked best for you? Pros and cons of each? Thanks mamas!

[Biscuits & Gravy]

We went from a crib to a toddler bed recently. I thought the transition would be easier because it is one of those beds that looks like a car, and DS is a car/truck lover. He loves it, but I wish it was a twin because it is just so uncomfortable for me to nurse him in it! I'd go with a twin at least, and skip the toddler bed size for sure. I think we'll be moving up to a twin as soon as we can. Our boys share a room, so full is not an option.

[curiouscanadian]

What is your reasoning behind a full bed? We transitioned DS to a twin mattress on the floor (since we already had one) and there was lots of room for him and DH or I (as necessary). Now that he's been in it awhile we've added the box spring under the mattress and we'll add the frame once he's big enough to get in/out of it on his own.

[Tattooed Hand]

We got DD a twin recently and it works great. It's pushed up against our bed so when she wakes in the night to nurse I can just roll over, nurse her (or settle her) and then roll back into my own bed. And she can wiggle and thrash around all she wants. sometimes I fall asleep with her there for a little while, but never more than a couple of hours, since it's not that comfy. I would go for a bigger bed only if you plan of sleeping in it with your LO.

[penstamon]

We recently got DS a full size bed and he has been sleeping there the last few nights.  I love that it is big enough for me to sleep in there with him comfortably and he can roll all over it in his sleep and not fall out (he has a bed rail on the open side anyway).  We actually moved it in his own room right next to our own so we can hear everything but finally have some space back- I am also pg and due in May so I was really needing space in both beds to accommodate my body and extra pillows.  Plus DS was always stimulated by us coming to bed and DH snoring, blankets rustling, etc.  so I feel like his own space is warranted.

[YayJennie]

We use a full size mattress on the floor for my 20 month old.  He transitioned from our bed to his bed when he was 14 months, and did so with very little fuss because daddy was able to go in and sleep with him whenever he woke up in the middle of the night.  That way, no one lost any sleep, my son was happy, and daddy wasn't cramped on a tiny mattress trying to snuggle a toddler that kicks in his sleep.  Now that I'm 9 months pregnant, it works very well that my son and husband can sleep together on the full size mattress and I can have the queen bed to myself most nights

Oh, and we put the mattress in his room, since we didn't have enough room in ours for two beds, and also because our bedrooms are attached anyway, so it's not like he's down the hall or anything.  Plus it's kind of nice to be able to close his bedroom door and have a *little* privacy for daddy and mommy alone time

[beautifulboy]

We cosleep and have a queen size bed right now....we plan to transition our DS eventually and that will be into a full (and probably on the floor adjacent to our bed- it will be a room of bed !  ).  A full is just nicer, I think. Grownups can climb in and read to him and fall asleep, siblings can climb in if they want and also it makes for a good guest bed should people come to stay (in which case the kiddos will be back with us).  I had a twin growing up and doesn't it seem so d&%$ small!  Also we have lots of full sheets. 

[lifeguard]

If we had the space & didn't already own a twin we probably would have done a full (or even a queen) - like others say it's much easier if you end up sleeping with them, gives a good spare bed for the occasional house guest & I think long term will be a better investment (ds will be TALL & a twin is not going to last through the teen years).

As for a toddler bed - I'd skip it unless you have one free.

[ElaynesMom]

We just got our 3 yo a twin bed because it was cheaper (we have to budget for Christmas as well), and her bedroom is small, so a twin gives her more room for toys/playing. Me or my dh are able to lay down with her fine in the twin.

And lifeguard, fwiw, a twin and full are the same length. Queen, king, or twin xl mattresses are longer than twin/full mattress, though a full is obviously wider than a twin.

[2xy]

My views are colored by two things....one, we were a military family when my kids were little and never knew what sort of bedroom shape/size we would end up with, so we always did twin beds.

Two, DS1 was a major bedwetter and twin sheets/blankets/mattress pads were easier for us to deal with than full-sized. All of the bedding plus pajamas could fit in one load of laundry.

I never had any problems laying in bed with my kids, but I'm short and of average build/weight. YMMV.

[colleen2851]

We went from crib to toddler bed and I wish we'd just gotten a regular twin-sized bed. I would say double but we're moving within a couple years and her room will likely be smaller than it is now. But the toddler bed is such a waste. A regular bed - with rails, if needed - would be so much better for bedtime stories and the like.

[tabrizia]

DS has a full and DD has a queen.  I won't want a twin, they have more room to sprawl in the bigger beds and it let's DH or I sleep with them as they need it without being kicked in the ribs if they decide to sleep sideways.  DH has slept in a twin with DS before and it is tight, especially since DS likes to sleep sideways.

[liberal_chick]

Full bed, for sure.  We transitioned both our older boys into a full (the same bed actually, ds1 went up on a lofted twin over the full bed when ds2 was ready to transition) in a separate room when it was time.  That way we could comfortably co-sleep part of the night when needed but dh and I got some alone time where we could watch tv or whatever without worrying about waking anyone up.

[california_mom]

Full size. We transitioned DS from co-sleeping to a crib to a twin... and I regret the twin! I end up in his room about half the time and I get no sleep b/c there is no room in the bed! My husband can't sleep in there now that DS is three years old; no room. I wish I had it all to do over again and we'd get a full-sized mattress.

[swd12422]

The bigger, the better. We had every intention of transitioning DS from crib to toddler bed (using the same mattress) but ended up skipping that step and giving him the queen bed that was already in his room (which had been the guest room before he came along, and we never removed the bed). It's been GREAT. I can lie down with him at nap- or bedtime and have enough room that we're not touching so I can more easily sneak away once he falls asleep. When he's sick, there's plenty of room for me to sleep in there with him without either of us being crowded. When I see him in that big bed all by himself, it seems a bit ridiculous, as a kid that size definitely doesn't need all that room for himself, but it works well for us.