Advice please moving with 3 little ones

[HighVoltage]

I'm very excited we're moving into a bigger place in February - much needed as have 7 month old DTs and large and getting larger 3.5 DS.

I am feeling really daunted how to handle however. I am SAHM with some help who can't help me in week preceding.

Any top tips for moving with wee ones? Do I need to do anything else apart from packers/movers and utilities?

We moved when twins were just 2yrs and eldest 3yrs. It is not easy but obviously necessary. We had movers pack us up while I took the beans to a soft play and then to a supermarket for lunch just to keep them out! We were left with beds to sleep on overnight and a box of eessentials ie kettle drinks food breakfast nappies toys etc. The removals took the last bits early day two and moved us to the new house. We did the beds first and created a playroom in a bedroom for the kiddies while the other stuff was unpacked. Obviously with two of us we could take the kids out and supervise the movers lol.

Things to do prior to moving are utilities, postal redirection, house insurance to cover moving, checking dates with movers, clarifying when keys are available. Lots of other notifications can be done after moving.

Thanks 2plus1 - really helpful.

Did the packers store the boxes overnight then?

Can you tell we've never moved before? Well, last time we did it in a couple of car journeys!

They come and pack and leave the boxes in your house until they load the van the next morning. Mark the boxes with the rooms in the new house you want them in.

Can you get someone to have the kids on the day of moving? The door will be wide open, you will be busy giving info to removal men and making them tea (they like numerous cups ) it could be v dodgy having the kids underfoot as they speed through with heavy furniture. When we moved when DS was 2 I had someone collect him after an early breakfast and then bring him to the new house at tea time .

In our case the removals loaded all of our stuff in the lorry and stored it at their depot overnight thus saving time the next day for minimal packing and then unloading.

Stay out all day with children if poss.

On packing day we got them to pack up furthest room first. Then we used that in the afternoon for them I nap ( packers were off for lunch for an hour, then packed up kitchen whilst finished nap)

They packed up everything and left in boxes day 1, moved everything day 2. However they left Cots until day of move.

We also packed a box to stay with nappies/ snacks/ sleep stuff/ book or two to cover us overnight and the next day

Eat out for lunch, dinner and have crossients for breakfast

utilities etc: set up a postal redirect for six months as soon as you know your completion date.

take meter readings on leaving, and at the new house on arriving.
contact your phone/broadband company to arrange that, as they can be slow.
contact your car insurers to change the address for the car from completion date.
sort out house insurance: new place from exchange, cancel old place on completion.

everything else can be done once you have moved. Address changes generate two letters, one to the old address and one to the new, so you MUST have a redirect.

I did all the changes in three months (we have LOTS of accounts) but I don't have three small children!

pay for really good removals firm. one move we had Laurel and Hardy- we moved literally around the corner. i spent all day out with kids and came back to find most of our stuff in the front garden.

We moved when dtds were 13 months old. I'm lucky enough to have local family, so I dumped them on my mum for much of the day, popping round once to feed them (they were still BF twice a day at that point), and spent the night with them at dsis's place.

DP does removals anyway, so we moved ourselves with help from mates - we hired a cleaner for the day as well.

Thanks all. I don't have family close but I do have a friend with a big house so maybe I should ask if we can squat there for the day!

They nap pretty well in their pram so even if we can't do that we can be out. I'm stopping bf-ing during the day now otherwise feeding with movers/out and about with a 3 year old would have been a nightmare, frankly.

Will look for locally recommended removals - we're not going far but we've got so much stuff.

Minor point - our 3 year old has accumulated quite a lot of rubbishy toys (eg v cheap plastic horses bought to cheer him up when sick). Do you think it would be traumatic to "lose" these in the move? He does remember everything - he asked me about a tiny piece of Kinder egg he'd left on a plate before Christmas earlier that I'd clearly snaffled.