Moving with a newborn

The moving process is one of the most stressful things people handle during their lifetime. When moving with a newborn, the stress of the relocation can get multiplied. Luckily, with a good moving plan, moving with a newborn doesn’t have to be a huge mess. Careful planning and execution in this regard will make the whole process much easier. Also, there are a few tips, that can help you along. With that in mind, we’ve decided to compile this article. We hope you find it both enjoyable and useful!

Visit a doctor 

Since you are moving with a baby, you need to be mentally and physically prepared. First things first, you need to visit a doctor. You need to visit a doctor anyway since you have a baby. Usually, there are monthly checkups so your doctor can follow on your baby’s weight and progress. If you have already scheduled an appointment, make sure to notify your pediatrician about your move. They will examine the baby, offer a couple of pieces of advice, and give you medical records of your baby. You should also ask for recommendations for a new pediatrician. If they cannot recommend anyone, you should still find a new doctor even before the move. In addition to this, you should find a good ob-gyn doctor for yourself, especially if you gave birth recently. 

Things to consider before moving with a newborn

Organize your preparations timeline

Moving with a newborn is everything but an easy task. In order to stay focused and well-rested, you need to plan your preparations timeline. One thing that can help you is making a to-do list with all the chores you need to take care of. For example, you should prepare your moving budget on time, since there always will be some unexpected moving costs. After you plan the basic steps of the preparation process, you should make a moving day timeline. Your baby will be the priority on a moving day, so you should make sure to let professional movers do all the hard work. That is why it is very important to choose reliable movers that you can trust for your move. Moving with a baby will be a big enough task on your hands without worrying if your moving company is reliable.

Find a reputable moving company when moving with a baby 

Since you need to find reputable local movers, here is how you can achieve this. First, ask your friends and family. This is the best way to avoid hiring fraudulent movers. This is the last thing you need when moving with a newborn. If your friends and family cannot give you recommendations, then ask on your social media. You can make a post in your local Facebook group and see if you will get a response. In the meantime, you can check your local newspapers. Mostly, smaller local moving companies advertise their services in newspapers. Lastly, use the Internet. You can find everything online, moving companies included. Find at least three to five moving companies. Visit their official websites. Make sure they offer moving services you are searching for.  

Hire reliable movers 

So, to avoid that additional stress, make sure your moving company is reliable. First of all, check their reputation. You can do this by looking at their reviews and if there are any complaints filed against them. Then, check out how they treat you. As a rule professional moving companies will not try to slip anything by you. Make sure you know what you are signing and the importance of every document you are handed. If, for example, you ask them “what is a binding estimate?” and they avoid answering or answer vaguely, avoid them. After all, the cost of having a bad moving company handle your relocation isn’t just a monetary one.

Get all the help you can

Speaking of help, you will need some support from friends, family, and of course, professional moving assistance. Having to juggle preparing your newborn for the move, packing and keeping everything in check can be very hard. Additionally, the whole process of preparing to move can stir up a lot of dust. In short, the environment of preparing for a move with a baby is something you generally don’t want your child to be in. It would be far better to have you or your partner take the child to the park or for a stroller ride. That will leave enough room for the other to prepare the move.

In case you are a single parent, you can always hire a nanny or a babysitter just for the moving day. If your parents live nearby you can leave the child with them. Since planning what to pack and how to perform the move with a newborn can be a lot of work don’t be shy to ask some friends for help. Having them help out with the packing, for example, will mean you will have more time to focus on your child.  Finally, as we mentioned before a good moving company can take care of all the packing and transportation of your moving boxes. Just make sure you take the time to find a reliable one and to avoid moving scams.

Gather all the necessary packing supplies 

You need to get all the necessary packing supplies for your move. These include sturdy moving boxes for your belongings, protective materials, tape, and labels. Since you are moving with a baby, you probably want to spend as little money as possible. For this reason, you can find cheap moving boxes or even free moving boxes. Send your partner to pick up cardboard boxes at your local supermarket or liquor store. You can even find some on the Internet. Many people sell their boxes on Craigslist for cheap or free. As for wrapping material, you can get bubble wrapping as this is the best option. However, again if you do not have it, use old clothes, sheets, blankets, and similar pieces. Lastly, if you cannot accomplish everything, pay movers to do the packing and to bring their own packing supplies.  

Plan the packing process

The packing process will probably take up most of your time before the moving day comes. This is why you should plan every step of it in order to keep your strength and time to take care of the baby. First of all, think about the exact amount of packing supplies you will need. After you have all the moving boxes ready, make sure to pack while your baby is asleep or away, so you don’t get interrupted. This may sound almost impossible. After all, you will need to pack up your whole home before moving with a newborn. However, we have a solution. There is a reason why we have “master” in the Master Moving Guide name.

If you stretch the process out to several weeks and do the packing on weekends, you can still organize it all without disturbing your baby. It would be best here to stick to the good old rule of moving. Leave six to eight weeks for all move-related activities and you should be set! As we mentioned before, having help during this time would be best. Even if your partner needs to take the baby outside so you can pack quickly, leaving this much time should be enough for you to get it all done.

Try to stick to a routine

Something most baby-raising guides will tell you is that your child will not like any changes in the daily routine. It’s completely natural to stress out about the moving day, but you should not let your baby feel all the change. If you have help from your partner or other family members, focus on keeping your child’s daily routine steady. Do not let its sleep schedule suffer. This would have the greatest impact on your baby. Also, make sure they get enough attention. Having your baby feel like the routine is kept will shield them from any moving stress that may occur.

How to handle the moving day when moving with a newborn

Pack the essential bag

As we mentioned before, moving with a newborn can lead to a lot of moving stress. This doesn’t only go for you. It may even apply more to your baby because it will not understand the moving process or why it’s happening. So, make sure you pay extra attention to your child’s mood when moving. During the moving day, there will be many everyday items you will need to soothe your child. Packing the essential bag with all the necessities is one of the most important things. Make sure to pack all the essentials into your moving day bag:

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Extra clothes
• Blankets
• Baby food
• Soothing toys and pacifiers
• Other essential items

Keep the essentials bag close at hand when moving with a newborn. If you will be taking your own car to get to your new home, make sure the baby bag is in the back seat. This way you will be able to get anything your child needs at a moment’s notice.

Get some sleep before moving with a newborn

It’s easy to say that a moving process can go smoothly if you plan everything well. However, there is no guarantee that your child will sleep throughout the night before the moving day. The best thing you can do is to prepare for the possible lack of sleep and ask someone to help. After all, if you are well-rested, your child will feel safe and take the moving process way easier. This is another point that loops back to good planning. If you stretch out the move preparations enough, you should have little to do the night before the move itself. Having a good night’s rest will have a very beneficial effect on your mood, which is something your newborn will sense.

The first day after moving with a newborn into a new home

Unpack and clean your home

As complicated as the moving process can be, the first few days in a new home will be a big change for your family. It’s possible that you will feel more tired and overwhelmed than usual. The best thing you can do is to unpack and clean your home first and then get some rest. Make sure to set up the baby’s room first and keep your home as clean as possible. After the moving day is over, you can expect lots of dust to settle down. Keeping your home clean will be essential in order to keep your entire family’s health.

Give everyone time to adjust

No matter how stressful moving with a newborn can get, your family’s health should always come first. Try not to take too many things to handle just a few days after the move. Your baby and the rest of the family will need some time to adjust, so make sure to get some time to rest. After the moving day is over, your propriety should be getting enough sleep, taking short walks and eating healthy food. If you are breastfeeding, your health will be essential for your baby. Make sure to plan every day and enjoy your new home, one day at a time.

All the tips for moving with a newborn 

As you can see, it might seem complicated, but with good organization, it does not have to be. Start on time, find a reliable moving company, pack in advance, and get help. Do not forget to enjoy spending time with your baby when you are moving.