Moving house with your baby
We were due to move when I was six months pregnant, and in the months leading up to the event I was so stressed,’ says Tina. ‘My girlfriend is a lot more relaxed than me so I kept feeling that I was doing most of the organising and getting frustrated with her, and then felt guilty that my stress levels weren’t great for the baby I was carrying. In hindsight, my tip would be try not to focus on everything that needs doing – look at one thing at a time.
At overwhelming times such as these, keep the lines of communication open with your partner in order that you can genuinely be there for one another.
Asking for help from others such as friends and family is important too. ‘Reaching out’ doesn’t come naturally to everyone, particularly in those days of pre-parenthood, when you’re still used to being able to do everything yourself. But you’re entering a new phase now where support is definitely needed, and friends and loved ones want to help.
Moving house with your children
‘We moved when my eldest son was four and my youngest was one year old,’ says dad, James. ‘We were really proud of how smoothly everything had gone, because we’d been pretty good at slowly chipping away at packing for a good month or so before our moving date, but we’d totally forgot to consider baby-proofing stuff. So that first day or so was me sourcing and fitting stairgates while my wife had to have eyes like a hawk on both boys in a new place’.
If you have children, or are about to, spend a little time just considering what that means for when you arrive at the new house. For instance, if you’re pregnant, consider having your hospital bag ready even if it feels quite early. Otherwise, you may find you go to pack your bag and realise you have no idea which box you packed your breast pads, TENS machine or newborn nappies in.
And for older children – have the child-proof kit ready to go, and make that one person’s job for moving-in day, to keep excited little explorers from finding new hazards.
If it all feels like it’s getting too much, remember – this difficult moving period is temporary. Your new home, and the memories you’ll make there, are permanent. If you found our moving house with baby article handy then why not check out our other parenthood information and advice, which covers everything from newborn sleep tips to sleep deprivation.