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Original poster

Would you/have you moved house with a newborn?

61 replies

biggest · 13/05/2010 08:45

We have been offered a great deal on selling our 2 bed flat and are about to take the plunge and sell. DC2 is due at end of July, but I don't want to change hospitals so I am not moving until baby arrives.
The thought of the upheaval scares me witless as recovery from having DS was shocking!
But we do need more space and DH needs to live closer to work, so considering trying to move around a month after due date.
There are so many unknowns of course - if I were to have a cs, or baby is late, or we can't find anywhere to live (eek!), that I am flip flapping and bugging DH who just wants to get on with it.
Any advice?

OP posts:
backtotalkaboutthis · 16/05/2010 19:49

A two month old. Wouldn't recommend it.

izzybiz · 16/05/2010 19:52

I had Dd on the Friday night after being seriously ill for 2 weeks, Dh had to move house for us on the Saturday morning!

I lay in hospital while Dh and our families packed our old house and moved to the new one, I found it very hard having to come back to a completely alien home, I just wanted my old house back, was not happy for a long time.

Was no problem with regards to Dd though, she was asleep most of the time!

Harimo · 16/05/2010 19:57

I moved house with a 10 week old.

Did it all by myself too!!

We had removal men though, and DS and I had to sleep in the lounge for a few days, as DH had to take the bed down for me and he works away so had to do it the weekend before we moved!!

IsThatTheTime · 16/05/2010 20:22

Moved house with a 3 week old. Get other people to do it and it's no problem!

Good luck!

pureeandpearls · 16/05/2010 20:49

We moved with newborns twice. When DD1 was 5 weeks and when DD2 was 8 and DD1 22 months. It's hard because you feel like you aren't able to help: I still don'tfeel as though we own our new house because I spent move day looking after the girls. The only way to do it is to pay for the full packing service and just be realistic about how quickly you will be unpacked.

Oh, and remind yourself hourly that it will be worth the stress when you are installed in your new house. This too shall pass (TTSP)

Chunkamatic · 16/05/2010 20:53

We moved a week before DS2 arrived. Being heavily pregnant was not good and we tried to do too much ourselves (was made much worse by the fact we sold our place and moved out before we'd found another so had been living in cramped conditions with in-laws).

It also meant that I didn't have much time to change my maternity services, and they hadn't completed all the tests they wanted to in order for me to use the birth centre, so ended up giving birth in a hospital I would have avoided at all costs had I had more time. Didn't help that he was 3 days early!

Anyway, I think it might be hard, but well worth it once you are in your new place. AS others have said, get as much help as you can - even if it means paying for it!!

Good luck

BikeRunSki · 16/05/2010 20:53

My parents moved on the day I was born. With an 8 year old and a 5 year old too. They weren't disorganised, I was early - by nearly 2 months!

acebaby · 16/05/2010 21:29

We moved when DS2 was newborn. We depended completely on DH's parents because I spent the whole time bfing and/or chasing after DS1 (2.9 at the time).

I have to admit it was tough. I had quite a bad emotional reaction to the move, and got very homesick for the old house and area. I also found it difficult to explore the new area with a newborn and toddler so it took me a long time to settle in and figure out where the park was, where the shops were etc etc

What really helped was getting DS1 into a local holiday scheme in the new area. It gave us both a break and also walking him there and back gave me a bit of structure to the day. If I hadn't been so emotional and sleep deprived, I might even have made some new friends there!

If I had to do it again, I'd have prepared more carefully (made a list of things to do with the children for example), and I'd have got DH to take some extra time off work to help me settle in to the area.

DwayneDibbley · 16/05/2010 22:02

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DwayneDibbley · 16/05/2010 22:13

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smurfmother · 16/05/2010 22:15

I've got the same dilemma. Would like to move before DC2 is born (end of Oct), but chances are it would be right before due date by the time we've sold and bought and feel that would be too much upheaval for DC1 (3.1) to have a new house/area/nursery to get used to as well as a new sibling. Maybe I'm being too protective of my pfb... I'm hoping it'll take him (and me) about 6 weeks to get used to the new arrival and we can move then.

UnseenAcademicalMum · 16/05/2010 22:40

We moved house when ds1 was 6 weeks old with the added complication that I had had a c-section. However, we paid for a full packing service and family came (from abroad) and helped us unpack whilst I did very little apart from looking after ds1. It was not too bad, but I couldn't have managed without a ton of help and certainly no sooner after the birth than we did. If you are possibly having a CS, bare in mind that for the first few weeks just normal movement will be more difficult than normal and carrying heavy stuff/packing boxes is out of the question from a recovery perspective.

Therefore, whilst it's possible, be realistic about what you will/will not be able to do and rope in or pay for all the help you can get.

Original poster
biggest · 16/05/2010 23:00

Wow, discussion of the day! I thought my thread was done - thanks everyone for the advice.
Seems to be mixed, but I get the main gist, do as little as possible and throw money at the problem in the form of delivery company!
Smurf, I have the same pfb issues about the amount of upheaval it would be for DS who will be 2.9, he loves his little room and is a real home bird.
Have done nothing this weekend as DS and I have a sore throat virus thingy, so I get another week to think about it!

OP posts:
PrammyMammy · 16/05/2010 23:16

Hey, we moved when my dd was 5 days old. We couldn't turn down the offer.
The house we moved to was a dump so we had to stay with my parents for 3 weeks untill my dad, cousins, dp, everyone, done the house up.
I cried every day, thinking it would never end and all i wanted was my wee crowded flat back. DD is now 8mo and it feels like we've been here forever :D Glad we moved, but it was so hard at the time.

messylittlemonkey · 17/05/2010 09:14

When our first DD was six weeks old we relocated from London up to Yorkshire. In many ways it's easier with a tiny baby than with a more demanding older child. At the time, people kept saying they couldn't believe what we were doing, but it was fine. I was recovering from a c-section too, but was fit enough by then to be able to pack and loads boxes!

Good luck!

Sonilaa · 17/05/2010 09:18

we moved from teeny tiny flat to tiny flat when ds was 7 months old. nightmare because he was crawling and pulling himself up, so packing was difficult. if I have to move again I will either wait till kids are big enough to stay at relatives for a few days or about 8 weeks old (recovered from birth but baby still quite immobile and sleepy).

Xenia · 17/05/2010 09:47

Move when pregnant not with a new baby. It's easier.

We moved when I was pregnant with the first and then when the second was about 6 months and when the third was about 1.

NonnoMum · 17/05/2010 10:25

I can understand that you want to give birth in a familiar hospital.

How far apart are the two properties? Can you move and still be in striking distance of your 'old' hospital?

It's still up to you WHERE you give birth, so that might help...

PS We moved when DD1 was about 8 weeks - not too bad as she was still in with us and not mobile. It's the toddler that will take the work - can you have your mum or MiL around?

Tobermory · 17/05/2010 10:31

We moved when DD was 10 days old, I was recovering from a csection and was no help at all. It wasnt a very relaxing pregnancy though, I was wallpapering said house when 8 months pg and on the day we left hospital the plumbers phoned DH to apologise because they had broken the new bath they were fitting! On the day of the move DH took me and DD to the new house, deposited us and then ran around after removal men!
With hindsight it possibly wasnt ideal but manageable. We were v organised beforehand, boxes were packed well before moving date so there were minimal jobs to do on the day.
I would imagine it would be lots harder when baby was mobile.

LostArtOfKeepingASecret · 17/05/2010 10:58

We moved when DD was 10 days old.

I must have been still high from the drugs as I found it surprisingly stress free. I took great pleasure in ditching a lot of our old junk while pregnant and didn't buy much for the baby 'till after we moved. DD slept a lot during the day so I had time (and not much stuff) to pack up.

On the day of the move DD and I just left DH and the removal men to it.

I would recommend that you get help from someone who is good at cleaning. The previous owners left our house filthy, so I had to clean everything to make it up to a standard worthy of my PFB ! That wasn't much fun after a long day.

edwardcullensotherwoman · 17/05/2010 10:59

My mum and dad moved about 20 miles when I was 5yo and DTsis were 4 weeks. They got as much help as possible from family/friends as couldn't afford removal people, and the move went fine (shame the house we moved to wasn't - had to move out again after a few months for major repair work to be done now that made it awkward - poor babies had no routine until about 6mo!)

Best of luck with it all, and make sure you take it easy and tell everyone else what to do

Original poster
biggest · 17/05/2010 11:23

It has been years since we bought this place, on average how long is it between accepting an offer and needing to move?

OP posts:
snowwombat · 17/05/2010 12:13

Moved across the world when DS was 6 weeks. Was fine, particularly as DH an unpacking supremo. As everyone else suggests, get as much help as you can.Good luck

maggotts · 17/05/2010 23:53

Moved 120 miles away with 6 month old and 4 year old and me in middle of 6 months of chemotherapy!

Life is as stressful as you decide it is going to be. It is only moving house. There are plenty of worse experiences (believe me!)

BUT decide on less stress and pay for the pack/unpack which will make a HUGE difference.

ErnestTheBavarian · 18/05/2010 06:59

Well tbh, moving while pregnant would be easier than moving with a baby. x 1000000. I would def. move before the baby.

that said, I moved when 6 months pg with ds1

I then moved abroad when 6 months pg with ds2 (ds1 was 15 months old)

I then moved when ds3 was 9 months old.

I then moved when 8 months pg with dd.

I am about to move again, and not actually pg, and no little baby (dd will be 2)

You'll be fine.

But I'd still move before the baby.