Families take co

May 21, 2023

When Bre Boyette was pregnant, she started outgrowing her king-sized bed. Her belly wasn't the problem though — it was her bedmates.

The Louisiana mom shared her bed with husband Cameron Boyette and their four Labradors, a Yorkie and two cats. Because they planned to co-sleep with their child, Bre asked her husband Cameron to buy a bigger bed.

Prices for larger beds fluctuated between $8K to $10K so the couple went the DIY route. Cameron, the former owner of a mattress business, tied a twin XL to their king, encasing both in a wooden frame he built. Bre sewed together pairs of twin and king sheets and two queen comforters for supersized bedding.

Today, the Boyettes have three children under the age of 5, all of whom sleep peacefully with their parents — and their pets on most nights — in a 10-by-10-foot bed.

For convenience, mini refrigerators sit at both bedsides so when their infant wakes up in the middle of the night, fresh bottles are within reach.

Cameron's only gripe is how long it takes to make the bed, though Bre points out, "He made the same complaint when we had a king-sized mattress."

"We have family members who give us hell about it and say we're 'coddling' them," Bre tells TODAY.com. "But one day the kids will want their own beds."

Bed sharing and co-sleeping (either sleeping in the same bed as a child or within close proximity) date back to ancient times, according to the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews.

A 2022 OnePoll survey found that 88% of parents with children under the age of 10 co-sleep for the bonding benefits, to sleep better and make breastfeeding more convenient. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages bed sharing to reduce the risk of infant death, recommending room sharing in separate sleep spaces for the first six months of a baby's life.

On TikTok, families are showing their mega beds beyond the mighty king (76-by-80 inches) and the mightier California King (72-by-84 inches). According to mattress company Nectar, the Texas king is 80-by-98 inches, the Wyoming king (84-by-84 inches) and the Alaskan king (108-by-108 inches).

One brand called The Ace Collection sells a "family size" mattress that measures 144-by-80 inches.

A spokesperson from the International Sleep Products Association tells TODAY.com that the aforementioned mattress sizes are "nontraditional" and would require accommodating headboards, foundations and sheets.

Author Melissa Ferguson and her husband previously shared a gigantic makeshift bed with their four children — 8 year-old twins, a 6 year old and a 1 year old.

"They always ended up in our bed," the Tennessee mom tells TODAY.com. "I finally said, 'Let's just make it a giant bed.'"

Ferguson pushed a queen-sized mattress from her guest bedroom against her king-sized bed and the family piled in. The arrangement lasted for about six months to a year until the kids got newly decorated rooms and returned to their own beds.

"It was fun and easy and everyone slept well together," she recalls. Ferguson still shares a bed with her youngest child and sometimes her middle child.

Texas doula Erica Galia planned to share a bed with her baby daughter, Goldie, for the first 6 months, but more than a year later, the family (and their pug dog, Bo) still loves their California King set-up.

"The space and the length gives everyone an opportunity to move up and down," Galia tells TODAY.com. "Goldie can sleep horizontally or vertically and I’ll often scoot down to give her more space and her own little nook."

Galia says some people think it's "weird" that her family sleeps together.

"With motherhood comes a lot of unwanted advice, especially in a society that (views) a 'good' baby as a good sleeper," she notes. "What's intuitive for us is best for our family."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com