How do I pack an entire house with a baby in tow!?

[Barbaricmoonbear]

We move house in 6 days and there is still tonnes of packing to be done.
Im currently on maternity leave with my 5 mo so the most part of the packing is left to me as DH works 7am-5pm and doesn’t get home until gone 6pm. Naturally he is exhausted and we then have the children to feed, bath and organise school/work. There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day for anything house move related. DH is collecting stepchildren tonight who will be staying until Sunday afternoon, again I won’t rant but it means no help from him again as his children are more of a handful than the baby.
If I attempt to pack anything in the daytime 5mo will scream and cry. He isn’t having many naps at the moment and he’s being very clingy due to teething and a recent ear infection. If I leave the room he cries, if I put him down he cries, if I put him in the sling he cries, I cannot win.
We cannot afford packers so that’s out of the question. I haven’t got anyone who can come and help me, but that’s for another thread so I won’t rant here!
So can anyone share tips for getting everything packed up while wrestling a baby made of iron and not losing the plot in the process!?

Has your husband got any friends?
I'm struggling to see how he's going to find a solution rather than just dumping it all on you.
Just do what you can, when the movers arrive they'll have to do it and add it to the bill. You're not a miracle worker.

Have you had a quote for packers to pack for you? I did this when I had 2 DC under 2 and one guy came and packed my whole five bedroom house in three hours.

Do you know anyone with teenage children? The sort who might want to make a few quid and can be trusted to stow things in boxes while you supervise?

This is the kind of thing I would do as a 14 year old with very limited access to funds.

I've seen people ask on Facebook for their friends to come and help with things. You could try that and bluntly too, "I'm on my knees with a move, desperately need help, please".

I'm sorry if you don't have a network, I know what it's like.

If your DH is home from work by 6pm I'm not sure why he's getting off scott free in the evening? When there's exceptional amounts to be done, which there obviously is when you're packing ready to move, everyone needs to do a bit more than they normally would. He'd only have to do a couple of hours of packing each day and that's 14 extra hours across a week.

OH takes baby and step kids out for the day and you pack? OH stays up late every evening and packs. Two adults should be able to handle this.

Specifically ask for help from everyone you know. Not a general 'this is difficult' but a message like: 'I'm on my knees trying to get the packing done - please could you help this Saturday or Sunday by minding the baby for a few hours?'

Send out a social media call. You may be surprised who offers. A friend had my kid for the afternoon and I was so grateful! Ditto some neighbours from down the road. Sometimes the most helpful people are not family and not even close friends - they are just people who want to help.

Otherwise juggle it between you and DH. Use every possible distraction you can think of, play in the boxes and with the things you are putting in. Use telly, use music, bouncy chair, sling. You may have to listen to crying until the end of a box or something just to get it done. Everyone will have to muck in, step children, whoever. Otherwise your dad and brother will be packing the morning of moving and they aren't gonna be happy about that 😂

mt9m wow you’re a hero! Unfortunately my baby doesn’t sleep that long anymore.
The packing quote was £400 which we can’t afford right now, the house has taken all our savings. Family won’t contribute to costs, DH has asked and they won’t even lend it never mind pay. I had a bit of a breakdown earlier with it all getting on top of me, I just don’t see how it’s going to happen when no one is willing to help me.
i did post on fb as soon as we knew our move date (just over a week ago) and asked if anyone is free to help. I got ‘likes’ and ‘congrats’ but no offers to help.
All of the decluttering, charity stuff and rubbish is gone luckily, what is in the house is what we are keeping.

I think you need to ask for help from friends and family. Maybe it's bad but I wouldn't think to offer. otherwise DH has to call in sick. Or you all need to pitch in over the weekend, can't he take all the kids out whilst you pack? or older kids help?

I’d find extra time where you can.
As it’s only 6 days I’d be making the your children sandwiches / picnic dinners for the week buy paper plates and throwing them so you’re not having to add in extra jobs like cooking meals/washing up.

Get a cheap play pen / travel cot for your baby you can probably pick up a cheap on locally on marketplace. Put the baby in it with toys and as long as your know they’re clean and fed I’d leave them to cry as it’s 6 days it’s not going to scar them for life.

With the other children who are a bit older get them to help you pack for a reward. Get them to put all their clothes and toys in a box in return for a special well done gift when you move.
If the step children are there this weekend I’d try and make it a bit of a game and get them all to pack 2 boxes each for a trip to the park with dad or something.

Don’t worry about the washing pack everything apart from the clothes you need for the next 6 days the washing and either wait or you can pay a launderette to grab your washing and do it for you as a one off. I’ve done that before when my washing machine broke and it was £10 per large bag

I think if you can cut down the other jobs that you do like cooking / cleaning etc you might be able to buy yourself some extra time.

And make use of the TV / electronics again as a one off for 6 days it won’t cause any problems even if it’s for your school aged children rather than the baby.

A 5 month old won't be hurt by crying if you put it down. Put it in a baby chair and they can watch you pack.

In a very similar situation we just powered through. During the day I had baby in a back carry in a sling, in high chair with toys or in a travel cot with toys. But we just got a lot done by staying up after the DC were in bed and blitzing it until 1-2am. We were horrendously sleep deprived for couple of weeks.

You have to think like professional packers who will just work like machines and can pack a house up in a matter of hours. Don’t sort, don’t tidy just pack pack pack.

You give the baby to DH and tell him to entertain all the children whilst you pack. If baby takes a bottle he can take them out for the day.

In the evenings you give your DH the choice to either look after his baby or get on and pack.

Your DH needs to get a grip and step up, pronto.

You pay the removal men to do it, Best money spent EVER.

I agree it’s the best money I ever spent too. But if OP doesn’t have £400, she doesn’t have £400.

OP if you have a week or so you could get another quote from a different company? Or barter? When we did it (albeit as part of a whole removal package) the cost was £200 for a pretty well stocked 4 bed house. Maybe that’s more achievable!
but also sorry if it’s not and this is another annoying post suggesting to pay packers!

Thanks everyone I appreciate the suggestions and even just your time to chat and understand how I’m feeling means a lot.
DH packed 10 boxes so I’m happy progress has been made. He’s also been instructed he needs to fly home through the week to dismantle the beds, cot and wardrobes.
I know it will get done one way or another, I just feel very let down by those around me. I’ll throw myself a house warming party and not invite any of them! You’re all welcome of course, eWine will be provided.

We used a packing / move service as couldn't juggle everything. Well worth the extra money

Why is dh exhausted working 7-5
Mine does that, has his tea and starts working again most evenings on the farm!

He needs to step up it's not forever.

And ask for help directly - even if it's to cuddle baby while you pack.

We had too much left to do with our moving date looming. Our baby was 4 months and we had a 6 year old who was not helpful! We all got a horrible cold, so clingy children, stressed adults, all a bit fraught!

We just kept ploughing through, but also were lucky to have some friends come and help. Plus our cleaner sorted all the clean up, and did a day of packing for us. We left that property with about a minute to spare. Stressful! But we got there. Good luck!

He leaves at 5.30am and gets home around 6.45pm

We moved with a 7 month old, he also would only nap on me at that time. I managed to pack in 10 minute intervals, popping him in his high chair and I'd put music on and sing to keep him entertained while I crammed stuff in boxes. Most of our packing was in the evenings, I'd pack 7-10 when I went up to do the night feed and my husband would pack 7-12 every evening. It sucked but it's a finite amount of time

I'm afraid your husband is just gonna have to suck it up, everyone is shattered moving house. He could do 7:30-11 and still get 6 hours sleep and he could get a lot packed in 3.5hrs an evening

@Barbaricmoonbear remember to put screws and bolts from each bed into a separate bag and label them! selotape them to the beds so they dont get lost. they are the first things which need rebuilt/ kettle, one pot, baby bottle and supplies plus mugs for day of removing is all that needs to be left out.