Surviving a house move with a newborn

My advice? Don’t! But if you have to, here's how we got through it.

This subject may seem niche but it is surprising how life changing events can all occur at once (insert cliche about buses here)! Ever experienced that?

We are truly lucky with our little boy and our house but man, did we pay for it all arriving together! We completed on our house when he was just four weeks old. If you have ever had a baby or moved house you will know how stressful both these things are. Combined? Well, I’m surprised I haven’t aged 20 years (or maybe I have!).

Continue reading for my tips on surviving a house move with a new baby:

1. Get rid of anything you haven’t used in a year.

Or two years. Or six months. That’s your call. This is something that everyone should do before they move abode but how often have you arrived at your fresh, swanky new pad only to be handling items you’ve not touched in eons (besides stuffing them in a box). Having a baby means that the amount of “stuff” you have will increase exponentially, so when you are on the road to completion channel your inner Marie Kondo and lighten your life.

2. Draft in all the help you can get.

This seems obvious but as human beings we don’t always like asking for help. Well now is not the time to be shy! Parents, friends, cousins, siblings, your dad’s friend from golf, your sister’s mate from work; get them all involved. Offer hugs with your cute bundle, free stays and if that doesn’t work, beer. Always have beer.

3. Pack everything you do not use day-to-day as early as possible.

Again, this seems like something you would do naturally. But all logic goes straight in the nappy bin when you are sleep deprived and in the midst of new parenthood. I have this thing with packing; I always like to start days before a trip and I think that weird quirk served me well in this insane situation we found ourselves in! Make the most of the weekends when there are at least two of you and wrap, tape, pack and repeat. I made the decision not to use items like a blender, at least half of our utensils, and pack things like artwork in the last couple of weeks just so that I could have as much sorted as possible. I would have lived with just one plate and set of cutlery each if I’d have had my way.

So there you have it. Three tips (that seem obvious but won’t be when you’re using toothpicks to hold your eyes open!) to help you get through two extremely stressful, but highly joyous, life changing events.