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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Advice!! - moving house just before / after baby is born

29 replies

vickyy · 29/11/2007 17:04

I am now 22 weeks pregnant (due 3 April). We decided to sell our flat before the baby came as it's on the first floor and smallish, and we needed more room. We've now nearly exchanged contracts, but haven't been able to find a house we like.

How realistic would it be to rent somewhere from January, try to find a house to buy in February / March and move in around June time? Am I being completely unrealistic about what late pregnancy and early baby months will allow me to do?

The alternative is just to buy somewhere that's available but isn't particularly what we are after.

vickyy

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needmorecoffee · 29/11/2007 17:09

we moved back to the UK from the States when I was 7 months preg with no 4. rented for 6 months cos you can't house hunt from afar!
So it can be done, we did it and that was with the baby being in and out of hospital.
Actually, suprised I wasn't on Prozac

MrsFogi · 29/11/2007 17:15

I think you need to work on the basis that you will get nothing done in the first three months after the baby arrives and that you'll be doing well if you manage to get dressed and wash your hair each day. Clearly if you do manage more you should give yourself a pat on the back but I wouldn't commit yourself to having to do or achieve anything in the first few months after the arrival. Maybe you should envisage renting for a little longer?

Mitchell81 · 29/11/2007 17:33

No you will manage, if you need to move you will be able to.

rubles · 29/11/2007 18:26

You will manage, yes, but will you enjoy the new house or new baby properly? Personally I think that moving so close to the birth is far from ideal, especially for a first baby. Having all your stuff in boxes, not knowing where things are and not having time to sort things is all adding unnecessary stress at a time when you really have enough on your plate and enough changes in your life.
I moved 3 weeks before this baby and it was a BIG mistake. It's slightly different I suppose as I moved before and not after, but I would now advise anyone pregnant to stay put until they have had the baby and are feeling on a relatively even keel.

Janus · 29/11/2007 18:33

We moved into rented accommodation when I was 3 or 4 months pregnant with my second. It put us in a fantastic position when it came to buying and we managed to get 10k off the asking price because we had no chain. We saw a place we loved when I was about 6 months pregnant and completed when little one was 3 days old! We stayed in our rented accommodation for about another 2 months so we could paint, etc, the new house. We figured as we saved some on the asking price it was worth paying rent for the extra couple of months for the sake of our sanity. When it came to moving we packed everything and paid a little extra for the company to pack the kitchen, which I think is the worst room to pack. I really don't remember it being difficult.
If you find a place with a years lease most of them have a break clause at 6 months which means that after 6 months you only have to give a month's notice when you want to move out. That really helps because then you can get out at, say 7 months, or 8 months, rather than having to wait until 12 months and paying the rent. Look closely at the type of lease you sign.
Good luck!

newgirl · 29/11/2007 18:37

you may find more properties on the market in jan and the prices may be good too

why not see what there is in the new year

if no luck stay put with baby until born and see what you feel like

babies dont take up much space but a toddler will so you have almost a year really to think about it

Sam100 · 29/11/2007 18:51

I have moved twice with small babies. Had to postpone one viewing of our house in London because I was in labour with dd2 - estate agent most put out!!!! But the couple went on to buy the house.

We did exactly what you are proposing - sold house in Feb when 5 mths pg and moved into rented with 2 dcs and dh. Spent rest of the pregnancy house hunting - found somewhere when 8.5 mths pg - exchanged at 39 weeks, completed at 42 weeks - dc no 3 was 3 days old! We then stayed in the rented house and had it decorated and cleaned up before moving in when ds was 6 weeks old. To make it easier on yourself consider:

using professional packers - have them pack and label everything then unpack at your leisure. Shop around to get good quotes and note you will get better prices for moving in on a monday or tuesday than on a friday!

Book professional cleaners to come in and clean the carpets and the whole house before you move in - then all you have to do is maintenance!

If you think anything needs decorating desperately and you are in rented get it done before you move in.

Hulababy · 29/11/2007 18:56

It is definitely possible. I moved house 3 weeks before my due date, although DD was born another 2 weeks after that in the end. We sold our house and moved into rented flat on a temporary basis whilst we were waiting for our apartment to be built. Ended up in there for 16 months in the end as so delayed, so oved again then. Was totally ready to move when DD was just 3 months od priginally though.

The first month before she was born was a doddle. We moved ourselves but I got to do the organising and syaing what went where, and the sorting of cupboards, etc. Was all straight by end of next day.

inamuckingfuddle · 29/11/2007 19:14

we moved 2 weeks before I had twins, from rented place as we sold up when I was about 3 months pg. I often wonder if it was the stress of the move that made them arrive 5 weeks early...it is do-able though

cazboldy · 29/11/2007 19:20

it is do-able.
i moved house when 4 weeks away from having my 5th baby and the house we moved into was an unrecognisable dirty filthy hellhole, compared to how it had been when we last looked round!
just try not to stress it will all come together in the end, and get as much help as you can!

annoyingdevil · 29/11/2007 19:39

If it's your first, forget it! I moved when no 2 was a few weeks old. It was hard, but we had no choice. Make sure you do all your packing up before the baby arrives (easier said than done, I know)

Original poster

vickyy · 29/11/2007 19:41

Thanks. My biggest worry at the moment is that the whole thing is causing me so much anxiety I hardly have time to think about the baby... :-(

OP posts:

MadLabOwner · 29/11/2007 19:43

I moved when DD was nearly six months old - great time to do it as they are of an age to sit up and entertain themselves for a while, but still have regular naps so you can get a fair bit done. Also as she wasn't mobile it was much easier to pack/unpack/clean around her than it would have been when she was crawling.

justaboutinonepiece · 29/11/2007 19:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cazboldy · 29/11/2007 19:45

why is everyone saying forget it if it's your first?
surely it will be easier pg than with a baby/ small child/children?
much less stuff for a start!

alexpolismum · 29/11/2007 20:53

I moved house when my son was about ten days old, in fact moved so far that I let my husband drive the car and went by plane with the baby. I wouldn't want to do it again. With all the furniture and stuff to sort out, unpacking, etc, and a new baby who seems to be permanently hungry, (not to mention constant phone calls from concerned relatives, just checking that you and baby are all right and have arrived in one piece) you get so tired you don't know whether you're coming or going.

Hayleyandbaby · 29/11/2007 21:04

Could you stay in the property you're going to rent until after June- when you're ready- and then move? Good luck. Anything's possible if you want to do it. I've demanded we move when I get to 5 months, so as to avoid moving when the baby comes.

peachygirl · 29/11/2007 21:11

We moved house eventually when DD was 13 weeks old. We went through a terrible selling / buying process but coping with the baby was OK really.
My advice would be ...
Get packers in- this didn't cost much more in the whole costing of the removals.
Make sure you have made arrangements for where you can go if you don't complete on the day you are supposed to. This happened to us and luckly we could go to MILs.
Identify items you will need in case this happens, bed for abbay clothes, sterliser etc and have them packed seperately and in your car.
If you have friend who can help you put up flat pack furniature (if you have it)get the round!
The worst thing as we unpacked was DD complaining while we used those stupid allen keys to put up the furniture.

purpleflower · 29/11/2007 21:18

Our rented flat got put on the market when DS was 2 weeks old. We moved when he was 8 weeks. It was not easy at all. I got really stressed out and struggled to relax and breastfeed. My milk supply got really bad as DS couldn't feed well because of my stress.

You can do it but try to be as relaxed as possible.(ha ha)

shimmy · 29/11/2007 21:24

We moved 6 weeks before ds1's birth and 6 weeks after ds2's. Moving when heavily pg was far easier than with a small babe.

Heavily pg you look as if you are incapable but are actually ready for anything (and get loads of help and sympathy). Moving with a baby you look back to normal but are in fact incapable of anything except producing copious amounts of bodily fluids. (no use for packing at all)

cazboldy · 29/11/2007 21:26

at last shimmy a woman that speaks sense

you put it much better than me

MuffinMclay · 29/11/2007 21:28

We moved at the same time as ds1 was born (literally, ds and I were still in hospital when the moving took place), and it was the most stressful experience imaginable. We ended up effectively homeless for 3 months. Dh stayed with SIL so that he was in commuting distance of work, but there was no room for me, so I stayed with MIL 3.5 hours drive away and only saw him at weekends. We eventually found a short term rental in the same village we now live in, and were there another 3 months. Almost all our stuff went in storage, costing a small fortune.

My move was an 'everything that could go wrong did go wrong' sort of house move. Ds was due in mid-May. We were supposed to complete the previous Nov/Dec, and it just kept being delayed and delayed (and ds came early).

Mind you, we all survived. Just decide what level of stress you are prepared to live with. And get all the help you can (paid or otherwise) with the baby and movign if you decide to go ahead.

I would rent somewhere for however long, rather than buy somewhere that isn't really what you want and might be then harder to sell (particularly if housing market is slowing down).

Elfsmummy · 29/11/2007 21:39

We did exactly what you're planning when my DD was born.

She was also due 3rd April (2006) We sold in December. Moved into a rented place on 25th January. (I started my maternity leave that week too to make things slightly easier)

We put half our stuff into storage and took the other half with us. Just had to be super organised about what I thought we'd need.

Lived a very minimal life in the rented place (it was actually the most organised and tidy I have ever been)

DD was eventually born on the 13th April and we looked around our ideal family home when she was 2 weeks old!

We were in a great position as buyers and they fell in love with DD so accepted our offer (they had 3 within 3 days of going on the market and ours wasn't the highest)

We moved into our house on the 25th June. All made much easier by the fact that half our clobber was still packed as it was in storage.

Had plenty of help from family too. It really wasn't all that stressful and for us probably less stressful than being in the middle of a chain/missing out on the perfect house.

I'd say go for it and enjoy your baby. Plus when your waters break it'll be on rented carpets

Original poster

vickyy · 29/11/2007 21:52

Elfsmummy - that's spooky! Exactly the same due date (two years earlier), and we are also due to complete on our flat at end January!

OP posts:

Elfsmummy · 29/11/2007 22:03

Honestly vickyy I'd do it.
In reality you'll be moving 2 months before your baby arrives and nearly 3 months afterwards and it really isn't that bad.

In fact we're doing it again right now! Am 22 weeks pregnant too and we moved into rented this time about 12 weeks ago. We've found somewhere permanent now and will probably move in January (due 8th April.)

DH has promised me that this time the move is permanent!!

Good Luck

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