Moving house with a 9 month old baby – top tips

Life with baby, Parenting
Hi, I'm so sorry, I was dragging my board with the pins from my blog and I jumped and I seem to have formed a 'section' in your group board. I can't see how to get the section out yet, but I'm trying to get it back into my own pinterest boards and not in here.
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So earlier last month we moved house with our 9 month old baby. Moving with a baby is a rather was a very hectic and interesting experience as we’d been in our previous house for 5 years. That was 5 years of accumulating stuff. Not only that, it was 4 years of hubby and I accumulating stuff before Baby H was born. In our old house we had 3 bedrooms, ours, a big study and a smaller room that was the guest room. The guest room had a double bed in it which was crammed with more stuff along with 2 big bookcases laden with hundreds of books. Under the bed there were lots of old things I’d brought from my parents house. Childhood presents, old tapes (see my post on that, here), and old school books, along with uni notes, a stepper machine, spare bed sheets, an old hi-fi…. you get the idea. When Baby H was born we turned that room into her nursery. It involved a big turf out of the stuff and transferring the remainder to the loft. We then filled the room with a nursing chair, cot, chest of drawers of clothes…. All new things. All new things which we also had to move as we moved house. Moving house with a baby definitely requires a few extra hands on deck, not just to move all that extra baby stuff, but to entertain baby and even help us pack before hand.

Hi, I'm so sorry, I was dragging my board with the pins from my blog and I jumped and I seem to have formed a 'section' in your group board. I can't see how to get the section out yet, but I'm trying to get it back into my own pinterest boards and not in here. So you get the idea of how much stuff we had: LOADS. So we knew to moving was going to be interesting and have learnt a few lessons along with way, here they are to help you, and anyone you know who is, making the huge change of moving with a baby….

Tips for moving house with a baby:

  • Get lots of proper moving boxes so you can stack them and they’re nice and secure. We were given computer boxes which were also really secure and had handles.
  • Have help, my parents helped us and were amazing watching H as we packed, moved and unpacked. We couldn’t have done it without them, they were amazing.
  • Hire a removals company if you can. We had so much more stuff than we thought, and a removals company would have made the day much less stressful.
  • Start packing as far in advance as you can.
  • Label boxes clearly and logically on the top and sides.
  • Have new toys for baby to play with. We borrowed a jumperoo which kept H amused as we packed and once we moved as well.
  • Keep some toys hidden for a while before moving, then baby will have a lovely surprise.
  • Pack baby’s stuff very clearly and make them accessible. Definitely make sure the travel cot and vital toys are in a car so baby’s new bedroom can be set up straight away.
  • Keep the kettle, milk, tea bags/coffee handy – cups of tea (and coffee) are essentials for every mum, and definitely every helping grandparent in our experience 🙂
  • Buy moving day snacks to keep you going – some sweeties (haribo), chocolate bars, and crisps.
  • Also my parents very kindly stopped at the supermarket on the way to our new house to let us go in and be there before they arrived. They brought us a much needed lunch: sandwiches, cocktail sausages and sausage rolls, which were much needed. So plan lunch into your moving day, whether that’s buying or preparing it the day before, or stopping off on the way.
  • Make sure you have a way to play baby’s favourite TV programmes,  be that Bing, Teletubbies or In the night garden, they might need it for routine or just to allow you to get on with moving process. I’d have hated to have a ‘I’m not going to bed, we’ve not watched In The Night Garden meltdown‘. H hadn’t slept well for the previous few nights, so she slept like a log for the first few nights, then was soon back to her normal waking-up self.
  • Keep baby safety items, stair gates etc, handy so you can quickly get a baby safe room while you sort other stuff out.
  • Even if it’s not summer, it might still be light when baby goes to bed, and may be light when they wake, so have curtains and blackout linings or blinds handy so that baby’s room can be made exactly how they like it as soon as you get there. A tired grumpy baby would not be ideal when you’re exhausted from moving!
  • Don’t panic with unpacking, spend time figuring out your new house and enjoy exploring it with baby. We’ve moved things around a few times now as we figure out how we use the extra space and also what H can get into. We’ll get there soon enough 🙂

Moving house, boxes, baby, chaosMoving house with a baby, baby's suitcase
Hope that helps! Let’s just say we said this was a 10 year house, and now we’ve decided we’re never moving… well, if we do we’ll definitely get movers, and packers!

Lynne x

Twinkly Tuesday??Run Jump Scrap!??Mums' Days??Ethan & Evelyn

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26 Comments

  • Reply
    Elizabeth
    October 6, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    Moving with a baby is so hard. We move every few years and I used to just stay up late and get everything packed/unpacked and then crash. Obviously with a kid you can’t do that! It sounds like you survived and you have some great tips. #TwinklyTuesday

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 7, 2015 at 7:21 pm

      Thank you x

  • Reply
    Claire
    October 6, 2015 at 7:58 pm

    What a fab list! We moved last January with a 9 month old but we had a 12, 10, 8 and 4 year old for help! The year bofore was harder when we moved on the 20th December whuilst I was heavily pregnant!!
    Claire recently posted…Autumn Crafts with Baker RossMy Profile

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 7, 2015 at 7:21 pm

      Oh gosh that sounds a nightmare!

  • Reply
    Nige
    October 7, 2015 at 7:00 am

    Fab list really useful moving is hard great post #bestandworst

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 7, 2015 at 7:20 pm

      Thanks! It really is, isn’t it!

  • Reply
    Sarah Howe (@RunJumpScrap)
    October 7, 2015 at 11:34 am

    This is a fab post chick. We are moving (we hope) next year. The gremlin will be almost 3 but I still need a good checklist and i’m guessing a LOT of help. I need to bookmark this. I hope you are all settled now and glad all went ok. Thanks so much for sharing with #bestandworst and see you soon x
    Sarah Howe (@RunJumpScrap) recently posted…Best and Worst Week #21My Profile

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 7, 2015 at 7:20 pm

      Thanks Sarah, yes we’re all settled. Ok I lie, there are loads of boxes in the spare room, but the rest is nearly there 🙂 Hope it’s useful xx

  • Reply
    Jo
    October 7, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    Wow you seem very organised! Good tips 🙂 I moved when I was about 30 weeks pregnant so it was great I just sat down telling people where to put stuff! 🙂 haha #bestandworst
    Jo recently posted…The Best Midwife. My Profile

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 7, 2015 at 7:18 pm

      That sounds like a much better plan!

  • Reply
    helen gandy
    October 7, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Thanks for the tips…we are just waiting to exchange then hoping to be moving in the next few weeks, with 2 little ones it’s going to be hard, luckily we are roping in our parents to help look after them while we move! Thanks for the tips! #bestandworst
    helen gandy recently posted…Best and Worst Linky # 21My Profile

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 7, 2015 at 10:04 pm

      Good luck! Hope it all goes as smoothly as it can. Your parents helping will be a huge help 🙂 Remember the sandwiches though xx

  • Reply
    Mama, My Kid Doesn't Poop Rainbows
    October 8, 2015 at 12:39 am

    We moved when I was pregnant which wasn’t fun and are facing emigrating to Europe with a two year old this summer. Agggghhhhhh!

    #brilliantblogposts
    Mama, My Kid Doesn’t Poop Rainbows recently posted…My Baby Cast A Spell On MeMy Profile

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 9, 2015 at 10:11 pm

      Oh that sounds scary!

  • Reply
    Something Crunchy Mummy
    October 10, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    Great tips – we will moving soon and I’m dreading it! Thanks for sharing on #justanotherlinky xx
    Something Crunchy Mummy recently posted…Just Another Linky #24My Profile

  • Reply
    Rhyming with wine
    October 11, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    Good advice. We keep toying with the idea of moving…. and then think of the upheaval and decide to stay put. Congratulations on the move and hope you’re very happy in your new home. x
    Rhyming with wine recently posted…Once upon a time, I cleaned the house…..My Profile

  • Reply
    Becky (@attwtwo)
    October 11, 2015 at 6:01 pm

    I could’ve done with this two and a half years ago when we moved with our 7 month old! Thankfully we didn’t move far (a five minute drive!) but I agree with all these tips – we just used whatever bags and boxes we could find and we found it so hard to stack and store once we’d pack – proper moving boxes area definite! #FabFriayPost
    Becky (@attwtwo) recently posted…Autumn Playdough PlayMy Profile

  • Reply
    You Baby Me Mummy
    October 15, 2015 at 7:46 pm

    I can’t imagine how stressful it would be to move with a baby. When we move next time Baby will be almost four and I think that will be bad enough! Thanks for linking up to #TheList x
    You Baby Me Mummy recently posted…Our Barcelona Adventure with TravelSupermarket – Part 2My Profile

  • Reply
    Su {Ethan & Evelyn}
    October 15, 2015 at 10:34 pm

    Great list! I have to agree with the Kids’ TV, especially Peppa Pig or Mr Tumble. They do watch it and copies their moves. It is very useful when you have your hand full already. Thank you for linking up with me. #FabFridayPost
    Su {Ethan & Evelyn} recently posted…Boys can wear cardigan too.My Profile

  • Reply
    beth
    October 16, 2015 at 9:14 pm

    This is a great list. I have moved 3 times and it’s hard work with children isn’t it. I do agree not to rush when unpacking! x Thank you for linking up with #justanotherlinky
    beth recently posted…Jungle Plush ReviewMy Profile

  • Reply
    Mrs H
    October 17, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    Fabulous post and really great advice. Gosh, you are so brave not using a removal firm. We moved back in late August and our removal firm was amazing. I don’t know how we would have coped without them. Great tip about the teas and coffees. I drank so much tea during the move. Thanks for linking up to #SundaysStars. Hugs Mrs H xxxx PS. Please can you add our badge to this post? That would be lovely. Thanks. Xxxx
    Mrs H recently posted…Your current behaviour has got to stop!My Profile

    • Reply
      newmummy
      October 25, 2015 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you! I wanted to use a removal company, but hubby thought it’d be much easier than I did. We definitely would in future!!

  • Reply
    Ana Leonard
    November 11, 2015 at 9:58 am

    I only can imagine how hard was for you to move the house with your baby. Last time we moved my daughter was almost 2 years old and was so difficult to have a smooth moving.

  • Reply
    My 2015 review / 6 months of blogging  - New Mummy Blog
    January 1, 2016 at 7:57 pm

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  • Reply
    Justin@Packingboxesmelbourne
    April 18, 2016 at 11:36 am

    These tips and advises are very helpful. Pack one room at a time. This is one of the most important packing tips which for some reason often gets neglected. Doing this will help you stay organised and will later tell the movers, or anyone unloading, which box goes where.

  • Reply
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