TODAY Food Club

Photo by Nik Lanús on Unsplash

My first marital bed could hardly be called a bed at all: it was a queen-size mattress on the bedroom floor of our tiny apartment. Within a year, my partner and I had graduated to another queen, this time on a rickety metal bed frame under my parents’ roof. Although these situations were far from ideal, we made them work.

But as we learned over time, when your family grows, your mattress size may also have to grow with it.

I was about six months pregnant when we bought our first home. I was already having trouble sleeping at that point, and my restlessness disturbed my partner’s sleep as well. We used the move as an excuse to upgrade to a larger, king-size bed.

Let me tell you, we never looked back.

In case you’re debating whether or not to make the jump to a king-size mattress, you should especially consider the way your lifestyle will change if you choose to have children. Here are a few reasons I believe bigger is better with kids in the equation:

Bed sharing might be safer on a roomier mattress. Bed sharing isn’t for everyone. However, for those parents who do share their beds with newborns or older children, it is essential to minimize any potential risks. More room to spread out means less chance of rolling onto someone else.

Even if you don’t co-sleep, chances are you’ll do nighttime feeds in bed. For me, the easiest way to breastfeed my daughter while she was still waking every couple of hours during the night was to keep her sleeping nearby and bring her into bed when she was hungry. Having a larger bed meant that I didn’t have to disturb my partner while I moved around to tend to her. (And he didn’t disturb me when it was his turn to feed her with a bottle.)

Morning snuggles are the best snuggles. My daughter has an uncanny ability to sense when my alarm will go off and wake me up about 20 minutes before that time. When that happens (more mornings than not), I pluck her out of the nursery crib and bring her back to bed with me. We don’t get much sleeping done once she’s joined us, but we have learned to enjoy the extra cuddle time. It’s nice to have space to let her crawl or wiggle now that she is more mobile.

When you do have a chance to sleep, you’ll want to make the most of it. It may not sound romantic, but as much as I love my partner, I prefer to have my own space at night. He and I both kick, yank the covers, and toss and turn frequently. We learned early in our relationship that our sleep habits are not extremely compatible. Having a larger bed frees each of us from the disturbances of sharing sleeping space with another restless sleeper. As parents especially, we value any opportunity to improve our sleep.

Of course plenty of couples prefer close sleeping arrangements. But for my family, it was a must to increase our bed size once we knew we’d be having a child.