Neighbour building work and newborn

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I’m due a baby in less than 2 weeks and my neighbour has begun building work today that will apparently take up to 6 months to complete.
I had no idea until I saw vans pull up and drilling and hammering started. We usually have a good neighbourly relationship so I’m a bit annoyed they didn’t prewarn us.
I understand work needs to be done and they have every right to, but I’m now concerned about where that leaves us with a newborn.
I know the noise isn’t likely to disturb baby, but from a personal (and maybe overly sensitive) perspective, I don’t want my babies’ early memories to be a reminder of constant banging and drilling.
We have plans for a family party to celebrate the baby when she arrives, I also wanted to video a lot of the early days (preferably without the background being sounds of building works) and it feels like it will be very intrusive to hear all day every day for 6 months.
Apparently the work will be 8am-6pm every day excluding weekends. I won’t feel up to going out much in the early weeks. I haven’t got anywhere else to stay.
I know I can’t stop the work or control anything so I guess I’m ranting and hoping anyone here has been through this and can give me a positive uplift?
My whole house is currently vibrating. It sounds like they’re in the next room and we’re only 3 hours in.

We are reading, I'm just not sure you are listening.

Its annoying. Its life. They aren't being spiteful. Just make the most of it.

Our neighbours started an extension two weeks after our little boy was born! To be fair to them it was due to be done in covid and was delayed so they did feel guilty for the timing for us.
I did speak to the builders when passing, they did offer to do ‘noisy jobs’ at a time that would work for us, but our little boy slept through allllll the noise and it didn’t really affect him at all. My only annoyance was the I couldn’t hear Netflix when nap trapped 🤣 I’m sure later on in the build it won’t be as noisy when you want to get your videos and your little one will be more alert.
I was dreading the work, but it was nowhere near as bad as I expected. Good luck, and congratulations on your little one x

Spiteful? Jesus. Imagine being so self-centered that you think others undertake costly building work at a time chosen to spite you.

It won’t be noisy the whole time. Demolition work is noisy but it’s quick and there’s only so much to knock down before they start up again.

Get a white noise machine to muffle the sound when it goes from loud to quiet a lot. I recommend the dream egg.

We did a massive building project when my first was a newborn, I even moved out for part of it. It was part of her early life and our story as a family but it’s not my lasting memory of it. White noise machine meant that when she was napping on noisy days she was very rarely disturbed.

I think your hormones might be making you a little sensitive here. I get it! But I think it’ll be okay. Best of luck with your little one.

It's a bit shit but (and you know this) they can crack on with whatever they want. It is bloody weird timing though. Get a white noise machine and use it for all baby's naps from day one, you'll get used to it too pretty quickly and it'll hopefully drown out the noise a bit! I actually can't sleep without white noise now! Not the same but we've used WN with our son since birth and he's 8 months old now and nextdoor have just started a huge loud job as well, and he's the only one not disturbed by it so in theory it should work..

Probably more annoying if you're WFH to be fair?

This is going to be tough, but it sounds like your relationship with next door is stable atm?
When we started our building work, we found out our amicable and very deaf neighbour was terminally ill and her wish was to die at home. She actually moved to a nursing home 3 days after the builders started and lived longer than the builders took, but anyway, reasonable things you can ask for could be that there is always a parking space left outside your house and that their radio/ shouting and swearing are kept low volume.

It's likely that the nature of the noises they make will evolve as the project goes on, it might not be that bad.

I do think you are worried about the wrong thing. Be a bit concerned about them waking the baby, but don't worry about the memories, you really won't have the energy to care about videos being imperfect, they will also be spoilt by dirty laundry and snacks lying around in the background.

You have no say unfortunately. It's better your baby gets used to background noise anyway. That's life when you live with neighbours.

Babies are little vegetables in the early weeks.

Oh op I feel your pain. I had work done in our house when DD was 6mo for 6 months.

The noise didn't bother her but I got really upset by it. Constant noise, mess and people everywhere.

You'll want to nap during the day as well. Have you got a room away from the noise? Hopefully the loudest noise will be made now?

I think you need to accept it. Have a cry and then speak to your neighbours. Maybe ask if they could be quieter in the mornings when you've had the baby? xx

Life doesn't stop turning because someone else has a baby.

I know there’s nothing you can do about it but jeez, when you’ve been up for most of the night and are trying to catch up on sleep whenever you can it’s the last thing you need. You have my sympathy OP.

Babies like white noise so you might find it’s not that awful. I also think you are romanticising this period. The last thing I wanted to do was have a party and you might find post labour it’s the last thing you fancy too. If was in a complete sleep deprived daze for 6 months. My only thought is perhaps napping in the furthest away bedroom from the noise. That’s the bit that would probably piss me off the most.

It won't be all the time/constant noise. Usually the most annoying part of building work is the mess outside and the vans/skips taking over the street. It's not ideal but there isn't anything you can do to stop it and it's good that you'll have weekends off as many work through. Maybe invest in some noise cancelling headphones though, just in case! And if the builders start and they are the types to play loud music all day you could ask them to turn that down.

I've had near neighbours have extensive work done. In fact, I think one couple across the street must have come into money, because they were constantly having different works done over the space of several months. Next door had their bathroom replaced a few weeks back. We live in a detached house so perhaps not so much affected by people having work done, but what I can say is, nobody ever let us know they were having builders in, and I wouldn't have expected them to either.

I think they would have thought therefore that we were quite mad if we'd let people know in advance if we were having work done.

We have a skip, which is on our front lawn, so not impinging on anyone. We can still park all of our cars on our drive (don't get me started on that one - there are so many 20-somethings still living with mummy and daddy - including my own but we have room for their cars on our drive because we planned ahead - that the street is literally bunged with cars!!)

The worst of the noise was yesterday when they were demolishing everything. My cats were petrified. One of them nearly shat herself when she saw this skip coming down out of the sky lol!! They have been fine today.

Actually, when I think back to last century, we brought our second baby home to what was still a building site, because there were still entire houses being built around us. I don't remember much about it!

I feel for you and think people are being harsh. You're baby won't remember these memories but it s a special time that many women look forward to and I can understand why you would feel upset.

I would also like some advice. I am just about to have my first born and new neighbours have moved in next door. They are a young couple and literally from the moment they have arrived and started jack hammering axel grinding from the first hour. They are gutting the house completely and doing renovations and haven't had the courtesy to let me know their plans when I know they have planned in an extension as I have heard them in the garden with the building contractors. I think thats the biggest issue - I think neighbours do have an obligation to let you know of planned works. They don't have to work around you of course, its their home, but it really seems like only common courtesy to tell you. Not sure why people would be so rude as to not do that decency. When we had some electrics done I went and told the neighbours so they were pre-warned.

I know I can't do anything to stop them but it doesn't make me feel any less upset. I have had an intensely hard year with work and other stuff and my maternity leave was meant to be a special peaceful time. I find it very hard to sleep through other noise. I want to spend the spring/summer in my garden with my baby but instead I will have builders up scaffolding next door overlooking my garden playing magic FM all day.

Because they are a young couple they are doing a lot of it themselves (as am I btw, and understand the excitement of a first home) but they are working into the evening late until 11pm hammering away, running up and down wooden stairs. Do you think it is reasonable to say to them to stop hammering etc after 6pm? I think you live in a terrace house I think you have to tolerate noise but also be mindful of your neighbours and working loudly until late seems unfair.