Moving w a 1yr old & 37 weeks pregnant

[serenfach1]

Hi, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. We're moving right at the end of May, from Surrey to Herefordshire. Really excited as it's a great move for us. I'll be 37 weeks pregnant. We're using a removal company which massively helps and we've done really well at decluttering. This is the huge move I've done. I'd welcome any top tips and advice for preparing over the coming weeks, what to expect and do on the weekend of the move and immediately after we get in. Husband is proactive about pushing solicitors and ordering new furniture, but not so good at the other stuff so I need some help.

On my list so far:

• organise professional clean of old house & new house
• my 19 month old will stay at my sister's the night before the move and she'll bring him to the new house the day we move in
• finish decluttering and getting rid of as much as possible
• organise supermarket delivery for day we move in
• put bedding on in new house as soon as we arrive!
• set up 1 year old's room as priority so it's as familiar as possible
• my aunt and uncle will be at new house to oversee removal firm moving us in
• make signage for removal firm to stick on doors for old house & new ie. bedroom 1; child's room etc. so they know exactly where boxes and furniture ought to go.

What other things am I missing? I'm all sorted in terms of moving hospitals and having baby.

My head was spinning at 4am this morning! The more prepared I am the better I can manage my mild panic and growing anxiety

Thanks!

Good luck op. I couldn’t imagine doing that at 37 weeks but needs must. I hope it goes smoothly.

A suitcase and box full of essentials- change of clothes, phone chargers, nappies, baby food, kettle, and enough dishes a meal in your car (not movers- put your hospital bag in there too just in case)! You will be exhausted when you move in and I'd just organise a takeaway and have groceries delivered the next day - have your sister or you bring a bag of milk, tea, bread and eggs for the morning. Last thing you want to be dealing with is ten bags of groceries the first night!
Read final gas and electricity and water meters.
Organise mail redirection (I think they need ten days notice or something). Be sure to inform car registration/bank and so on of change of address - I'm still getting parking fine notifications and bank statements for the previous owner who moved out three years ago.

Have a contingency plan for in case you go into labour early!

@Changingwiththetimes

A suitcase and box full of essentials- change of clothes, phone chargers, nappies, baby food, kettle, and enough dishes a meal in your car (not movers- put your hospital bag in there too just in case)! You will be exhausted when you move in and I'd just organise a takeaway and have groceries delivered the next day - have your sister or you bring a bag of milk, tea, bread and eggs for the morning. Last thing you want to be dealing with is ten bags of groceries the first night! Read final gas and electricity and water meters. Organise mail redirection (I think they need ten days notice or something). Be sure to inform car registration/bank and so on of change of address - I'm still getting parking fine notifications and bank statements for the previous owner who moved out three years ago.

All of this is good advice. Also make sure that you know where your scissors are, for opening boxes at the other end!

Is it possible for your sister to have your 1 year old for two nights? It there are any delays on the day you might be grateful for extra time in the evening to get the bedroom etc sorted without it being too stressful, especially when you're so pregnant and will most likely be knackered!

Also, as already mentioned above, a contingency plan sounds like a wise idea.

Thank you all, this is so helpful to go on the list. Going to write it all out and put it on the fridge. Will help my husband understand all that needs to happen! I know it's going to be completely bonkers, full on and stressful but I can't change the move date so we have to cope with it.

Having my son stay at his aunties for 2 nights won't be a problem and is a good idea.

When we move out should we turn off the fridge /freezer? Also, I guess I'll have to run down what's in the fridge & freezer... Presumably the movers will pack up cupboard stuff but the fridge & freezer will be up to us to sort out?

What about paperwork? Wills, house sale docs, etc. We run our own business so is it wise to take all the paperwork relating to that ourselves?

Factor in "loose bits" like houseplants, the washing up bowl, sink drainer, kettle etc that are hard to pack and removal companies don't usually like stuff that isn't boxed. A friend with a car to sweep up the odds and ends at the last minute is always useful.
I would be tempted to even book a cheap Premier Inn or similar nearby if there is one and spend the first night there so you're not rushing to make beds etc. Definitely push the grocery shop back to the next day.
Not everyone leaves properties particularly clean so be prepared to need to clean out cupboards before you can put things in them.
Yes, i would turn off the fridge / freezer so you can read the electric meter as you leave.

I would just stay with your 1 year old at your sisters.
Leave your dh to it, and return 2 days later.

Your dh, aunt and uncle will be at house by the sounds of it to organise what going where. Your won’t be able to lift stuff or run around without knackering yourself.

Just pre organise like you are with labels, packers, food delivery etc.. and return with 1 year old after the chaos has settled.

@Caspianberg nice idea but I'll be more anxious being away for 2 days than if I were there! I was pretty mobile and energetic at 37 weeks last time round. Not that I'm planning on doing much except delegate and oversee things, but I definitely need to here rather than anywhere else.

We moved last week whilst pregnant and 2 under 5s, it was stressful but fine.

Don't book the supermarket delivery for the day you move!!! Do the first slot the day after. You honestly won't want to deal with boxes and shopping turning up all at the same time, having to clean the fridge etc before putting stuff away. We had a 6-7am delivery on the day after and was perfect, put everything away and then had breakfast.

Keep your hospital bags in your car, dont let them go with the movers.

Make your beds as a first priority, otherwise it will get to bedtime, you'll be shattered and have no where to sleep.

Don't over do it, please. I was so bloody stubborn "I'm fine lifting this, building this, putting this away" etc that 3 days after we moved I ended up very poorly in hospital with a pulmonary embolism. So PLEASE take it EASY!

Label all your boxes etc very clearly for which room at new house.
I put new bedding on the day before move and then rolled everything from bed - duvet, pillows and base sheet up and put into those big strong washing striped bags, with a swing tag stating which bedroom.
Good luck!

Thanks @emmathedilemma good idea about the loose bits! Hopefully things won't be too grimy that end.

I moved at 37 weeks pregnant with a 2yo. Definitely get your child out of the way. You want them arriving into the new house when you’ve had a chance to clear away most stuff and their room is ready. We also paid for the movers to come in and pack up our stuff. Saved so much time and hassle. As others have said keep essentials (including your yellow notes for pregnancy!) and kettle etc with you in car. Have fish and chips in paper for dinner. Good luck! So much easier to move when this pregnant than with a v small newborn.

23 years ago I moved with an 18 month old and 36 weeks pregnant after having spent 3 weeks camping out in a relatives spare room with two cats, my husband, child and a hold-all full of bits for the lot of us.
My furniture and everything else was 60 miles away in storage near the new house.
Funny thing was as we got the new keys I had a burst of energy and got everything unpacked and the children room decorated before I went into Labour.
I found it helped to be organised with the packing so everything labelled and the room it is for on the front of the box. Clean things before you pack them away ready for the move. Have a good sort out as you are packing so you don’t have un needed clutter to deal with. Have somewhere safe for the toddler to be. I used a play pen but I know these are old fashioned now but it did help and with a few new toys kept my toddler amused but close to me without being under foot.

I'm moving next week when I'll be 39 weeks pregnant with a 3 year old... So comparable! (Are we both mad I wonder? 🤣) We've done similar in decluttering first, we're paying removals to pack everything for us as I couldn't face doing that as well. I've got mine and baby's hospital bags separately so that we can take those in our car to avoid them getting lost in the move. We've also done the "24 hour essentials boxes" that people mention on MN- so packing one suitcase per person with enough clothes and bits and bobs to see us through. I'm like you and find making lists calming so I've written a list of things for DH to prioritise on moving day (as he's great at many things prioritising not one of them!), so things like plug in fridge freezer, assemble DS's bed etc. Hope your move goes smoothly!

I did a move at 38 weeks with a 1 yr old

I packed rooms into

essential for first night (kept them with me in my car)
Needed pretty sharpish (packed into boxes by room)
Nice to have (packed into boxes by room)

The needed pretty sharpish I put florescent green duck tape on the corner
The nice to have i put blue duck tape on the corner
The fragiles i put florescent pink duct tape on the corner as well as blue

All the green boxes went straight to the correct rooms
All the blue and blue pink boxes went to the garage/attic

That way i had the house pretty toddler proof in 2 days and was able to just pull one box out at a time to unpack slowly in the following weeks

The trick is to think really carefully what you need in each category

Put a piece of painters tape on each piece of furniture with the room it is going into. Tell the movers to peel it off and put it onto of the wrap of anything they wrap

Also do you need to put a stair gate up before the toddler comes home
Do you need curtains or blind in the toddlers room (a towel stuck up with masking tape will work for the first night)

Pack a tool kit with screw drivers, batteries, tape, box cutter, tape measure, work gloves, toilet plunger, bin bags, paper towel and paracetomol. Kepmit in your car

Get a folding chair and plonk it by the front door as they are unloading the moving van. Sit there and tell them where each box/piece of furniture goes as it comes off the van

Organize some friends to come and unpack the kitchen. Stick a label on each drawer and cupboard of what you want putting in it. Dont supervise

You unpack the toddler and new babies room so you know where everything is (and you are nested)

@Pl242 oh yes we're paying for the luxury of having the place packed up and unpacked. I cannot deal with that at all!

You poor thing @tigerbread20. I hope you're ok now? Luckily got a few relatives who can help out those first few days after we move in so I'm planning on doing the less strenuous things. Love @GreenTea70 idea to put fresh bedding on the day before the move and then pack it all into laundry bags so we can unroll it onto the new beds.

Wow @Proudboomer you did well to redecorate so heavily pregnant! We also have 2 cats to move!

Totally mad @mummabubs but can't be helped. Great idea about the 24 hours essentials suitcase and the list for DH for the day we move in.

@SeaToSki your organisational skills are applaudable! If I were packing up myself I'd love to do that system, but we've got the removal company doing it and I don't think I can be that prescriptive with them. The painters tape tip for the furniture is a great one! Can I borrow you for our move?!!