The big day is here!
The day we say good bye to my beloved city of Philadelphia and become suburbanites.
I never thought I would be so excited to move out of the city, but I am.
- No more circling around the block to look for the perfect parking spot in the shade!
- No more digging my car out of the snow (well, I guess no more for Good Papa)!
- No more loud, partying youngsters outside our window waking us up at 2 in the morning!
I spent the past week packing all of our stuff. Yep, I totally procrastinated.
I was totally anxious that it wasn’t going to get done, and there were definitely moments that I just wanted to give all of our stuff away and start all over.
In the end, I did find ways, with some help of course, to make the moving process go a little smoother.
1.) Utilize your materials!
Boxes! Bubble wrap! Tape! All these items make for brand new baby toys that’ll keep your little one occupied for more than just a few minutes. W loved playing peek-a-boo in the empty boxes and investigating the bubble wrap and tape. You can find tons of creative ways to use a cardboard box over at The Train Driver’s Wife.
2.) Keep moving!
In my post on 6 Tips for Dining Out with Baby, I mentioned the importance of transitions when I taught Kindergarten. If children have to sit in the same spot for too long, they start to get restless. The last thing you ever want as a teacher is for your class to get restless. This concept can be applied to babies (although they don’t last quite as long as 5 and 6 year olds). I would try to pack one box in one room, then pack another box in another room, and so on. The change of scenery distracted W and kept him happy.
3.) Use Music
W loves music and dancing. If someone happened to walk in on us packing they would have probably thought I had lost my mind with all of my crazy voices and dance moves. I couldn’t care less. Music, whether it came from my “beautiful” singing voice or a pandora station, entertained W while I continued to divide and conquer the hordes of crap stuff we had accumulated. Check out 20 Songs to Sing with Your Baby for some ideas.
4.) Get some help
At W’s 1 year appointment, the pediatrician warned me not to pack unless I had someone to keep on eye on W. Well, sorry Doc, but that’s not practical. I was fortunate enough, however, to have my mother watch W one day while I got some serious packing accomplished. The pediatrician was right though- moving is a very dangerous time for baby. There are boxes everywhere blocking your view and a lot of items that are unsuitable for baby left unattended. If someone offers to watch your child while you pack, don’t hesitate to take them up on it!
5.) Take breaks!
I’m not going to lie, this is my favorite way to make moving easier with baby. You start to go a little stir-crazy stuck in the house, packing day-in and day-out for 6 straight days. It’s the worst when the sun is shining bright and you are stuck staring down the bottom of your 15th cardboard box. So, go ahead, take a break. It’ll save your sanity!
What do you think, readers? What are some of your moving tips? What do you think the worst or best thing is about moving?
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We are going to miss you in Philadelphia! But we are so happy for you guys! xo
Rose- We will miss you guys too! Don’t worry though, we’ll be back into the city a lot. We are not far!
Can’t wait to see you all settled in your new home! You are going to need a couple days of doing nothing but wandering around the new place till W feels at home.
MaryKay- We are getting there! The movers didn’t finished until 8:30 last night, so it’s been a slow process. Luckily, we have the rest of our lives to finish unpacking!
We are so excited for you! And more than a little jealous. The thought of going through all our stuff and purging, while daunting, sounds amazing. I’m doing what I can now, but starting fresh at a new house sounds pretty nice! Great tips!
Melissa- Yes, it’s a lot of work, but in the end it’s worth it. Speaking of which, I have TONS of clothes I am looking to donate. haha I know you said you are getting rid of things yourself, but I thought I’d throw it out there!
Best of luck with the move! We won’t be moving until my youngest is a little bit older. I don’t mind our neighborhood right now but eventually we want to move closer to the country.
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Kori- Thank you! Yeah, our place in the city was a bit tough with a baby and would be really tough with anymore children. So, we had to find something sooner rather than later. Good luck with your eventual house-hunting!
I have never moved with kids. I think the longer you live somewhere, the more junk you accumulate. I can see my toddler throwing the stuff out of every box I pack or wanting to jump in the boxes while I packed.
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Melissa- Yes, I can imagine it only gets more difficult to pack as they get older. I’m glad we got the big move out of the way now. It is amazing how much junk you accumulate! I have to promise myself to always go through my stuff every so often so we don’t end up with too much stuff.
These are GREAT tips! I totally did not think about how dangerous moving can be. We moved with 1 child when he was only 6 weeks old, so all he did was sleep…but the thought of moving with my current nine month old gives me nightmares!
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Heather- Yes, although I’m glad we got the move over before he was really walking and running all over the place. I can imagine that would have been even more difficult!
I first moved out of NYC to the suburbs with a one year old. Then a year later, I moved with a 2 year old and a 2 month old overseas. The one thing that I would say that is good about all the moving we’ve done, is that it makes you take a hard look at all of the stuff we accumulate and really evaluate what is necessary. We now keep only the important stuff. Should make moving the next time around a bit easier!
Darcy-That is so true! I’m going to focus on keeping just the important stuff (although, it’ll be tough with Good Papa. He tends to hold on to things).
This is great! We’re moving for the first time with our little one in Oct, this is SO hopeful!
Brittany- Good luck with your move!
These tips are great! We’ll be moving sometime very soon (our house is on the market), so these will definitely come in handy! It’s amazing how much stuff we accumulate, isn’t it? UGH!
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Tarynn- Good luck with the house hunting and moving. It can be a pain, but it is so worth it when you move into your new place!
I agree with using music. It’ll set your mood and get you into good transition.
Flora Jon- I love music. We listen to it all day long.
I hope you enjoy your new place! I think I’d be excited to move out of the city too! I loved these tips. I’d also add – try to keep the baby on schedule as close as you can. A cranky baby is going to make everything more difficult!
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Emma- Thank you! We are already having such a good time here. Good one! I tried my best to let W take his naps. Also, it helped having time to pack while he was napping.
Some how almost every one of our moves in the last 11 years took place when I also was still nursing a baby! Whether they are two months or two years, moving and packing with babies around is exhausting! My mom and mom-in-law were true sanity savers with each move and I was so grateful to have them within a few hours drive or less in order to help out. The only advice I think I can give is start early so that you can take a lot of play breaks, and for me, working as much as I could at night when they were asleep felt like the only time i could really get a lot done at once. Happy Moving!
Judy-Great advice! It’s important to take lots of breaks because you’ll go crazy trying to pack everything last minute. I can’t imagine trying to pack with a two month old though! Thanks!
All great tips! Thanks for sharing at the Bloggers Brag Pinterest Party.
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Kim- Thanks, and thanks for hosting!
Bubble wrap is so much fun with kids. I hope you enjoy your new house!!!
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Nicci- I find myself liking bubble wrap too! Thank you!
I wish I had some of these tips when I was getting ready to move. It was a bit more difficult for me though because I had a 14 month old and a newborn baby!
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Risa- I can’t even imagine having to pack and move with a newborn and a toddler. That must have been tough! I hope you had help!
Blessing to your new home! May it be all you wished for and even more! Great tips! You are so right about moving around and changing the activities. Kids need that!
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Joanna- Thank you! Yes, you need to change things up for them to keep them interested.
Oh boy moving is stressful even without a small child. Great tips on how to keep your little one occupied during the packing. And who doesn’t love playing with bubble wrap, i know i do 😀
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Maggie- Thanks! Bubble wrap is the best!
These are great tips! Moving with kids can definitely complicate things. Getting them involved is great, and know when to ask for HELP! Having a babysitter for packing and actually on moving day can be super helpful.