moving house with baby

[JessandKirra]

We are moving from rental A to rental B. I am not sure how to deal with it for the little one.

With previous moves the dog was spoilt rotten when we moved. But hes a dog.

I have a girfriend who moved twice in a short period of time and her three year old dealt with the change by misbehaving. (shes okay now though)

DD is only 10 months, does it effect them at all? but does anyone have any advice for me? I thought I would move her room first so it is all set up. Usually what to expect the first year helps me out .. but nothing is in my little bible on that. :eek:

[whatwasithinking]

Can't offer any advice until maybe next week - yep we are in the process of moving interstate on Saturday with two children - one 3 1/2 yrs and the other 5months old.

Have tried to talk to the 3 1/2 yr old but of course can't explain it to the 5mth old. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I'll let you know how the kids adjusted then if you want. :)

[JessandKirra]

please do. .... I hope your three year.5 old is okay with the change. My poor girlfriend has just come into normality a few months later with hers..

Good luck with the move. I hate moving yuckety yuck. :D :D

[rynosmum]

We've moved twice with DS - once at 5 months and again at 18 months.

I always setup his room first and make sure he has familiar things around - toys, blankets, his mobile above his cot.

We didn't skip a beat on the first move - no problems during the move or after. The most recent though was unfortunately more eventful. Night 1, it took a long time to settle him, he was quite distraught. Night 2, it took 10 minutes but night 3, it was back to business and straight to sleep.

No issues at all during the day. No behavioural issues at all.

It sounds like you're really in tune with Bubs and as long as you view the move as a big change for them and try to make them as comfortable as possible, it will be all good.

You'll be ready for a big glass of wine though - good luck with the move !:D

[amandajane]

I had to move twice before my son was 2. The first time he was only 3 days old. The second time he was just under 2. About the only advice I can give is to try to make sure no other changes are happening at the time. Try to have hubby/partner arrive home as same time as usual, stuff like that. Let them have a few toys with them in the car as you move. And resist the temptation to take bub (any age) away from the unpacking, they know a whole lot more than what they can tell you.

We are moving overseas in May with a 2yo and a 4yo, now thats scary!!

[drewid]

Hi there

We moved across town when Andrew was about 10 months old. Not a single drama! He remained sleeping through the night and had no upsets with any routine or anything like that.

I think the biggest thing is that you just try to retain a sense of normalcy - normal food, normal feeding times, normal bed time routine and they don't really seem to care much about where they are, as long as things are the way they are used to them being, IYKWIM.

Andrews room was a priority when we moved - his was the first room all set up, so I think he went down for a sleep not long after we arrived. It was all smooth sailing.

Don't stress, it will all go much more smoothly than you think!

[Brooksy]

Hi there,

My friend recently had her baby boy and two weeks after having a c/section they had moved as they had sold their house, she also has two other children.
They moved all the childrens stuff in first so the kids didn't have to wait for all their toys.

[liams mummy]

lol no im not crazy we moved 6 times we moved out of our first house on the 23rd of dec and i was due the 25th of dec i got freaked out and had to be close to mum that was move number 1!
. After three months we moved out of mums and into our own place
move number 2!
didnt know the rd we moved to was the worst in the town (the street looked fine) and the guy next door shot himself in the head !!!
move number 3! thought it would be nice to move to a very posh area on town where everyone had a BMW atleast got a flat mate to help pay for the rent!!!! And what do they say about flatmates grrrrr
move number 4!
moved to a hoilday home it was a hoilday home so had to be out when they wanted their hoildays
move number 5!
moved to MILs hahaha didnt last long it was the MILs
move number 6!
we are happy here and its seems to be the house for us WILL stay here for along time!!!
lol my son was fine after every move never playd up and was always happy. So i think it just depends on how you do it and dont make to much of a fuss just walk bubs around and say this is ya new home and let them have a play and explore. Best of luck hope it all goes well

[Chickadee]

At 10 months your daughter probably won't even blink at the move. We moved at 3 months, 15 months, 23 months into a hotel and then 2 weeks later into our current house. Chloe sailed through it all. My tips would be:

- treat the few days before the move and the few days after as though you are going away for the weekend. Put aside all your DD's essentials and favorites to go into an "overnight" bag and/or box and then pack everything else. Her overnight bag/box will be the last packed on the morning of the move and the first thing you unpack.

- If you have a portacot and your DD is used to it then use it - pack your daughter's room ahead of time and have her in the portacot. This makes it much easier to finish packing the day of the move and when you are at your new place you only have to set up the portacot and take out a few favorite toys for her to be ready for bed.

- if you have childcare or family or friend who DD is used to going with for a few hours then try to arrange that for the day. So you can concentrate on the last packing and first unpacking without also having to amuse and feed her.

- Put the dog in a kennel for the day. Again, one less thing for you to worry about. Our vet used to take dogs for a boarding day and it was great when we moved, we could have all the doors propped open for the movers without worrying about the dogs escaping. And the dogs got their shots, lol.

[Ky]

Bella has lived in 8 houses and we are moving again in a couple of weeks - all of this before she turns 5! We have even moved countries with our kids!

We have always made sure that their rooms are set up first so that there is something familiar for them and have built up the big day for weeks so that they focus on positives ie. park around the corner (forget unpacking for an hour and take them) ... new pre-school or playgroup ... big tree in the yard ...

We have never had any problems with the kids ... I try to make sure that they are a little bit involved, but not with the really upsetting things like seeing their favourite toys being put in boxes on a strangers truck!

I make unpacking like a treasure hunt and we see what we can "iscover" and try to find new "homes" for everything.

It is also a great time for a sleepover with a close friend ... that or a day playing at their house.

I guess I don't have any real advice - my kids just seem to take it all in their stride. Maybe a new soft toy on their bed or something that they can see that you have put up high that is only for playing with at the new house???

My parents shifted with us when I was 17 after having lived in the same house for 13 years. We (the kids) went and stayed with my grandmother for 2 weeks while Mum and Dad sorted out a house, unpacked and sussed out how to get around the new city. I arrived at our new house to my room all set up nicely and a new teddy bear with a heart shaped box of chocolates sitting on my bed ... even the pets had been settled in before we got there, so they were relaxed and happy to see us.

[ThomasMum]

We are moving from rental A to rental B. I am not sure how to deal with it for the little one.

With previous moves the dog was spoilt rotten when we moved. But hes a dog.

I have a girfriend who moved twice in a short period of time and her three year old dealt with the change by misbehaving. (shes okay now though)

DD is only 10 months, does it effect them at all? but does anyone have any advice for me? I thought I would move her room first so it is all set up. Usually what to expect the first year helps me out .. but nothing is in my little bible on that. :eek:

Based from our experience (we bought a bigger place when Thomas was around 4 months, and rent out the old place), let the removalist did all the job, just make sure that first thing you need to do is getting ready his room asap. We are co-sleeping but Thomas still has his own nursery set long before he was even born, because she sleeps there during the day.

Because bubs understand routines, memory etc, so as soon as you move into the new place, set up his room if you could re-arrange the furns exactly like his old room etc

Only concentrate on the baby stuff, thats important, for grown up you could always get takeways til you settle down...

Hope my lil hints help :D

Good luck!