Tips for moving with kids

[vejemom]

We are moving mid month to be closer to my stepchildren. We're a little nervous about the finances, but it needs to be done and we found a wonderful house. While I've moved a zillion times, I've never moved with small children in tow. DD#2 won't notice much, but it will be a big transition for DD#1. THe new house is much more kid-friendly, but I'm a bit concerned about the upheaval of a new room, all the boxes, etc. It is another big transition close to the huge transition brought by the birth of DD#2.

We're planning on moving over the course of 2 days, with the movers coming for non-essentials on a Monday, and moving the essentials on a Tuesday. THe girls will be at my parents' house on MOnday, and we'll probably stay at local resort hotel that night. I'm trying to have all the tradespeople come on Monday to hook up the TV, etc. so everything is homey when the girls arrive on Tuesday.

Anyone BTDT? I'd love to hear everyone's tips for making the transition more manageable!

[happymomma]

We moved a few months ago with 2 little ones. I scheduled the move when they were in school. DH dropped them off that morning and the movers were in by 8:30am. We moved locally so it wasn't that far. By 4pm the move was complete. It was raining so it was a pain. But a friend of mine was able to watch both kids after preschool and I hired a babysitter at her house so that she can get help. After the movers left at 4pm, DH and I set up the kids bedrooms and our bedroom. We were pretty much done by 6pm. Just lots of unpacking. The trick is make sure that you label all the boxes as clearly as possible so you know where to put the items when the movers bring it in. We took the crib down and put the crib up ourselves since we were familiar with it.

We also moved a lot of boxes into our new house before the movers came. I was able to unpack the kitchen items so that on the day after the move, the kids were able to eat at home and I had everything in order. That helped tremendously.

Make sure you have a box with all the essentials that you will need for the first night: bedsheets, blankets, pillows, loveys, changes of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, diapers, underwear etc. This way at least you will have the essentials and you won't need to go through 100 boxes to find your toothbrush.

In terms of labeling, I would be as detailed as possible. I ended up labeling the boxes like : KITCHEN: kids plates and bowls. It helped me a lot b/c I was able to find things without opening a ton of boxes.

HTH and good luck with your move.

ETA: the kids adjusted really fast. Since all their items were in their room, it felt like home for them.

[galvjen]

We moved last month with our 2 ds (ages 1 and 3). Our move was local so the boys had seen the house many times prior to moving day (we spent a month doing repairs after closing). Didn't seem like our 1 yr old was really bothered by the transition at all. 3 yr old took a few nights to adjust to his new room, but it wasn't a big deal. There are still boxes, bags, and random stuff in odd spots but it seems like I'm the only one who's bothered by them.

Good luck.

[maestramommy]

We moved cross country, and it sounds like your move is more local. It's good that your kids will be out of the house during the packing. I would say when you get there to set up their room first. To have familiar things around you when you go to bed might make things easier. Honestly though, we moved last summer, and neither kid seemed to notice too much. We were living in temp housing for 1.5 months too. What I think always helps is to stick to the daily routine as much as possible. Even with all the packing and unpacking you will have to do. When we moved, Dh helped the movers pack, and I took the kids out. Then they napped while we all kept packing. Same deal when we moved into our new house. We set up the kids room first. Then while they napped we continued to unpack and set up. No matter what was happening each day we stuck to their routine for meals and sleep time.

[o_mom]

We moved last summer. I had my Mom take all the kids for the day. We moved all the boxes the 3 days before the movers and then they did all the furniture in one day.

One thing that worked very well was to pack a bag for each bed with the sheets, blankets, pillows, etc. I took them over the day before so that we had them all there when the beds showed up. Assign someone right away to start putting the beds/cribs together because before you know it it will be bedtime and you need a place for the kids to sleep.

We also packed a few big boxes with toys they hadn't seen awhile and unpacked those immediately in the new playroom (basement) to keep them occupied.

We still have a few piles of boxes, BTW, and it has been more than 6 months....

[alien_host]

We moved locally 3 months ago with a 3.5 year old. We closed on the house before then and had DD spend time at the new place as renovations were being done. That seemed to help her understand that we were moving.

We used a moving company that packed on one day and then moved all the belongings the next day.

My SIL took her for the first day and we brought her back to the old house with boxes lining the walls. She thought it was fun, I was afraid she would freak out.

She was here in the AM when the movers got here and then we took her to preschool. SIL took her in the afternoon. They got all the stuff moved in by 2 ish and we started unpacking stuff in her room first. The movers set up her crib. I had them put all her "crib things" in one box so I could put things back (stuffed animals/books mostly) where they belonged.

I agree with others, pack one duffel bag/suitcase for each child and adult with several days to a week of clothing, diapers, towels, bed linens, favorite toys, toiletries. I only packed myself 3 days of underwear and I was still looking for that box on the third day ;)

We brought her back that evening and she was thrilled with her new room, there were still several boxes in there but at least her favorite things were out and it looked like a room.

Oh and in regards to TV, if you have a DVD player and movies, put those aside in one place so you can have that set up if your cable tv gets delayed or anything.

I don't know if you can get into the house before moving day to clean or whatever but pack a box of cleaning supplies (most movers won't transport these anyway), paper towels, dish towels, soap, toilet paper, paper plates, plastic utensils and cups so you can get by for the first few days if you can't locate stuff. DD loved eating off paper plates for the first few days.

Since you have access to the house the day before the girls move in, load up the fridge with essentials and have their favorite foods accessible.

I really worried about DD transitioning to the new house, but it didn't seem to be a problem for her. She slept in her new room the first night without issue (that's why we kept her in the crib, she was comfortable in it and I didn't want to move her to a big bed before we moved if possible).

And I still have a basement full of boxes right now and am missing a few things, although I did find my underwear!

Best of luck!

[3blackcats]

I haven't moved with kids, but have moved a lot.
Remember to take toilet paper with you, at least one roll for each bathroom. :D And know which box you packed the rest in. As you can tell, this was something I forgot only once.