Babies are the most fragile of human life forms, requiring special attention and extra caution that we normally wouldn't take around adults. If you happen to be moving and have a toddler tagging along, there are several things that you need to consider to ensure that the baby stays out of harm's way as well as to avoid unnecessary inconveniences that can disrupt your moving plans out of nowhere. In this article, we are going to explore some of the key and important things to be taken into account when moving with a baby for a flawless moving experience. Hiring professionals from Moving New York can help ease the process and ensure a smooth transition for both you and your little one.
Don’t be shady, bring everyone into the loop!
Parents often tend to overlook children's opinions when making big decisions such as moving. Unfortunately, kids can often pick up on vibes such as secrecy and stress, which are bound to be evident when planning and executing a move. To make matters worse, springing a move on your kids can easily agitate them, worsening the whole experience with tantrums, moods, uncooperative behavior, and even runaways in some cases.
The best way to avoid complications when dealing with kids is to simply be open and keep them in the loop. Even if they protest, they know exactly what's going on, and, this way, you can easily manipulate the narrative and paint an exciting picture of the move as an amazing adventure. If it’s a baby beyond comprehension, try not to argue around them, rather stay calm and relaxed next to them. No matter how young they may be, babies can sense stressful and tense situations, and they respond by becoming restless and irate too, which will surely drive you nuts!
Isolate & keep track of the baby stuff!
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Unlike the adults, you cannot reason with babies that their favorite toy, pacifier, or blanket is packed up in a box somewhere. They will drive you miserable by squealing for a toy when you're right in the middle of nowhere. To avoid this, pack the baby stuff in a separate box, bag, or container and keep it close, preferably in the car with you for easy access.
Besides the pacifiers and silly toys, also keep all the baby equipment such as diapers, food, towels, wipes, and a change of clothes close by. They can mess themselves anytime, and you better be prepared, otherwise, you're in for an unpleasant drive to the nearest rest stop. Also, have a first aid kit and a thermometer close by just in case they fall sick. This way, you can quickly check the temperature without having to seek the nearest clinic.
Safety First!
In the chaos of moving everything outside into the truck, all those baby proof facilities will be disrupted or removed, and the house will automatically become a hazardous region for babies and toddlers. Keep very close track of your child by either confining him/her to a single room, assigning a baby watcher, or even sending them to the neighbor's until all packing is done. Your attention is likely to be very much divided during packing, so anything can happen, which brings us to the next tip. If you're going to be traveling by plane, be sure to peruse TSAs guidelines for adults with children on a plane so that you know what to expect at the airport and what not to pack in your carry-on.
Get Help!
Moving is already challenging enough without the added responsibility of keeping your child safe from harm. What more, there are likely to be boxes all over the place and a lot of hazards lying around waiting to be loaded onto the movers' vehicle. As such, it's safe to conclude that you need help, even if you don't think so! You can either get professional movers who will do the packing and loading while you focus on your child or get a babysitter to watch the baby in a safe location while you deal with the packing and loading yourself.
Prepare the Baby
This one is a bit hard to pull off, especially if the move is sudden. However, there is a lot that you can do to prepare the baby for moving, particularly baby training. This covers many aspects such as potty-training, obedience, sleep schedules, etc. A trained baby will help you avoid inconveniences, such as messing his/her diaper during take-off. It’s actually these small incidences that will pile up the stress and further frustrate you. Maintain a consistent routine for your baby. If it’s too soon for such training, you can prepare your baby by waking him/her up some hours before the move and then engage in lots of activity so that they’re sleepy and resting by the time you need to focus on the move.
Prepare the Destination
Children are naturally inquisitive, and the first instinct when you take them into a new home is usually exploration. As such, make sure the new home is ready to receive children to avoid any disasters. It’s wiser to baby-proof the house in advance before the move because you may get tied up on the day of arrival with unpacking. Consider clearing out the property and surrounding land of any potential hazards and debris which they might get their hands on, hiring a waste refuse for a day or two could be a massive help in getting this done right. Think of what you'll need, 20-yard dumpsters can hold about 6 pickup truck loads, so if you've got a large house or lots of land this would be a good choice so that you can get a large amount of stuff cleared away. Also, watch out for hazards when unpacking just as you did during packing. To get the child out of the way, start with his/her room and leave them in there to enjoy the new space while you carry on with your unpacking, preferably with some supervision too
Since babies are delicate, you also need to ensure that the house is comfortable enough before moving in. Make sure the essentials such as water, heat, and gas have been connected beforehand.
Children are quite fun and can add to the excitement of the whole moving experience. If you are undergoing a serious change of environments such as moving from the city to a farm or vice versa, make sure your children are well aware of the new and unfamiliar hazards of the place. For instance, there are many cases of young kids who were found playing with snakes after moving to the country, completely unaware of the imminent threat. All in all, remember to stay calm and deal with any surprises as they come. Safe travels!
