Top tips for moving house with a baby

Having a baby and moving house can be two of the most stressful things you can do.

So what happens when you combine the two together?

Moving home when you have just had a baby can seem like a daunting prospect, but it doesn’t have to cloud the entire experience.

Having a fresh start in a new house should be a happy time. So when it comes to selling your house and finding a new family home to put down roots, while coping with your baby at the same time, there are a few things you can do to make the whole process run smoother.

Tips for moving house with a baby

Hire packers

Yes it costs a few hundred pounds extra but packers don’t just save you time, they also save you a whole lot of stress.

Who wants to be wrapping up all of the breakable crockery when your baby is wailing for a feed in the next room?

You may also want to consider hiring a cleaner for your old and/or new home so that you don’t need to worry about doing that bit yourself.

Investing a little money in the right kind of help can help you enjoy the moving process so much more.

Get organised

Make sure all of your boxes are properly labelled so that the movers can get them to the right rooms once you arrive at your new home.

You are likely to be distracted with your newborn baby quite a bit, so it’s good to make sure the movers have a fool-proof guide to where everything needs to go.

Write them a list of which room certain items of big furniture should be put in, so that they don’t need to keep bothering you with questions.

Make the essentials easy to find

There are certain items that you will need to find easily, especially with a baby in tow.

Make up an essentials box featuring the stuff you will need as soon as you open the door to your new home. Mark the box very clearly and make sure it doesn’t get lost in the removal van, so keep it in your car.

These essentials include:

Changing mat
Kettle – for cups for tea and for making formula feeds if needed
Toaster
Mugs
Tea and coffee
Sugar
Loaf of bread
Milk
Spread
Toilet roll

It’s also a good idea to pack baby a bag of essentials for their first night or two in the new house. This bag for baby should include:

Nappies
Wipes
5x changes of clothes
Sleeping bag or blankets (whatever they need for naps)
Bottles if used
Breast pump if you use one
Their favourite toy

Build a nest

Well, not quite a nest, but it’s a good idea to pick a room where you and the baby can settle down in while the moving is taking place.

Get a chair in there, make sure it’s warm – you could buy a portable heater if needs be – and plan ahead so you have snacks and bottled drinks.

Try to pick a room that can be closed off and is a bit quieter, so that your baby can nap there without being disturbed too frequently by all the activity going on in the house.

Plan ahead for getting your baby’s bed out of the moving van first, so that you can set up their space for naps quickly. Alternatively baby could nap in their pushchair while moving is taking place, if you can find a quiet spot in the house to put it safely.

Ask friends and relatives for help

If you need an hour to go through boxes or clean parts of the house, ask a friend or relative to take the baby for a walk.

Friends and relatives can also help by giving you a place to stay while the move happens. If you can hand over all responsibility for moving home to your other half then this may be the best thing for you and the baby.

This is particularly the case if you are breastfeeding. Trying to find a comfy place to sit on moving day so that you can nurse is often a challenge!

Plan your meals

Think about how you are going to get your food.

If you’re breastfeeding it is particularly important to make sure you are staying well nourished.

Figure out where the nearest takeaways are to your new home, or buy sandwiches and nibbles so that when it comes to the end of a very busy day of moving, you have something to eat.

If you are not breastfeeding, be sure to stock up on cartons of ready made formula, as you may not have immediate access to a kettle when your baby is hungry.

Think ahead

Make sure that the baby’s bed and changing mat are set up and ready to go first.

You may get held up with all kinds of other things on moving day, so this is definitely one area you want to prioritise and get sorted out first so that when it’s time for bed, they have a freshly made cot to snuggle into.

Leave it to your other half

If the entire thing feels like it will just be a little too much, either because you are still recovering from giving birth or are in the middle of non-stop cluster feeding, then move out to your parents’ house and leave the work to your other half!

Staying away from all of the chaos and activity could be best thing you do for both of you, as your other half can focus on the job at hand and you can concentrate on looking after your baby.

I hope those tips were useful. Do you have any pieces of advice for new mamas who are moving house with a little one?