Moving with toddlers

We are moving on the 19th and I could use some advice on how to handle the actual move day so it's as low stress for my 20 month old girls as possible. We are starting to pack now and will be fully packed by the 18th. Our movers will show up at 8:30am on Monday the 19th. They will need a full day to get all of our stuff out of the house (it has seven different sets of stairs, some full flights some only two steps). Then, our stuff will stay in the truck overnight and they'll deliver to our new house Tuesday morning.

I would love comments and thoughts on my plan. I'll be in charge of the movers and working with them. Our nanny will take the girls out on Monday morning like she usually does. They'll nap in their room in PNPs since the movers will have taken their cribs. The afternoon will be another outing to keep them out of the way. Then we'll drive to our new house (it's an hour away) in the late afternoon and camp out there Monday night. DH and I will sleep on an Aerobed and the girls will have PNPs. We'll bring up a box of toys and their highchairs, but the house will be mostly empty except for that. On Tuesday our nanny will drive up (she's moving in with us - a whole nother post where I need lots of advice) and will keep the girls occupied during the day while I deal with the movers. DH has a trial and will be working both days. We'll set up the cribs as soon as they're unloaded and the girls will be able to nap in them Tuesday afternoon. Then it's back to "normal".

So what am I missing? Any major flaws in my plan? Do you think they'll be able to sleep in a new room in PNPs without their normal furniture and cribs for one night? They've been to their grandparents house twice where they slept in PNPs just fine.

How has a move worked for any of you? Anything I should think about before hand that I might have forgotten?

Thanks!
Tricia

 

First congrats on getting a new house.

We jsut moved in September. My girls are older than yours but it was rough. My mom had the kids for the day and we prepared them in advance that we were going to a new house. They new that grandma was bringing them home to a different house that night.

DH and I started packing about a month or more in advance and it was allot of stuff. The day of the move we thought we were pretty well packed and it was still a very stressful day and the stuff that was left as last minute stuff that could not be packed was much mre than we realized. The movers got the house packed from 8-12:30ish. I followed the movers to the new house and I had my car packed with my computer and any electronic stuff I didn't want the movers to have. I also had the 2 dogs with me too. DH stayed behind at the old house to do a final chack and clean up and he was there at least 3 more hours. The movers finished unpacking here at the new house and were gone before DH even got here.

As prepared as you think you are there will most likely be more last minute stuff than you thought there would be. I hope it all goes well. I think it might not be that bad since you know you are packing up one house one day and not unpacking in the new house till the next day.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan.

We've moved a lot and movers tend to pack EVERYTHING so I would make sure you have food, diapers, cups, and whatever else you need for the girls in a "protected" area. I have even put things in the car to avoid something getting packed by mistake. I would keep out several days worth of clothes, an extra set of sheets just in case, tylenol, bandaids, and some special toys. No matter how well the movers label stuff, it will take some time to get situated in your new house. We moved when the twins were 16 months and they had no trouble sleeping in PNPs for several weeks.

Best of luck!

 

pp reminded me. She is right, the movers will pack everything that is left or that they get their hands on. My movers were great that way. Make sure you have your marker available so that you can mark some of the boxes they pack. Also, I just remembered, take all the light bulbs out of your lamps and pack them where you can find them so that as the lamps com back into the new house you can easily find the bulbs. My movers also jsut wrapped my dressers clothes and all up in blankets for the move. They also had wardrobe boxes and moved all the stuff that was hanging in closets into them. I then unpacked them in the new house.

I think that is everything. If I remember anything else I will post again.

 

Do you have cats? Move them early in the day, so they have some time to adjust before nighttime. We made the mistake of moving our cats late in the evening, and they yeowled all night, keeping everyone awake.

It sounds like you have things under control! It won't be fun, but it will work out.

If you use blackout shades in the girls' room, make sure you have those up before you move -- or plan to tape a blanket over the windows, something. And, of course make sure you have your white noise or lullaby CD's or anything else that might help with sleep.

Make sure you keep towels, toilet paper, all that stuff out that you'll need...

Good luck!

 

We moved into our home just after the girls turned 2. There a couple things I remember doing to help prepare them for the transition. I am not sure you are able to do this but we showed the girls their "room to be" a few days before we moved. We felt that did make a big difference because the day we moved, they went straight to that room. Of course we made sure they had their most needed "sleep" items (bear, blanket) and few favorite books/toys.

For some reason at that age we found that if they had a nap in a new place, the evening went pretty smoothly, maybe one would wake up once. I think it felt more familiar. So if I remember correctly we timed it so they had a short nap in the afternoon.

 

We moved when ours were about 2.5 years old, and although the move itself was stressful what with packing and trips back and forth and closing the day of the move, I was SO surprised at how well the kids did with it. The spent the day with my parents while we loaded and unloaded the Uhaul a million times, came to the new house for dinner (we had their favorite take out, a big treat and lots of fun for them) and were asleep in their new rooms before 8pm. I was floored. I definitely had trouble the first few weeks with all the chaos of boxes and unpacking, and I think the kids did too. But it's all a blur now and of course we all love the new house. It will be hard, but worth it in the end! Good luck!

 

Just make sure you keep anything that they are attached to. Whatever Lovies they use need to be in your possession at all times. Keep a box of toys in your car to keep them busy and pull it out as necessary. They will adjust. The first little bit will be tough with the boxes, unpacking and adjusting but it goes by in a hurry.