Moving Home with a Toddler

The most important thing is your child's safety on moving day. Aside from the emotional chaos, there are people bustling around who don't know childproofing rules, there are interesting vehicles moving around, there are things usually out of reach that are now at eye level. Kudos to you for thinking long-term about settling in to the new place -- but please remember,and tell EVERYONE else, safety first on moving day!

I think he'll be fine! Especially if his room is so similar to his old one. He may cry for a night or two, like my son did. Just because he was scared about sleeping in a new space. But after that, he'll settle in just fine!

My biggest stressers during our move were 1)trying to unpack with a baby who was learning to walk and 2)getting the house baby-proofed as quickly as possible! If you can get one big room baby-proofed immediately (good luck getting hubby on board!), then your life will be so much easier.

Are you moving well before the new baby comes? The best thing you can do, according to all my friends, is to make no major changes within a few months of the new baby.

Good luck with both the move and the baby! Those are two major changes in a short period of time. Make sure to take time for you too!

Kids will usually take their cues from their parents. If you're positive and excited about the move, your son will most likely do fine. You may want to ask the movers to put his room on the truck last, so that it will be the first stuff to come off it again. That way you can get his new room set up immediately. I would also try and pack a toy in many of the boxes, so that every time you open a box, he has a new toy to play with while you unpack. Good luck.

On preparing son for the new baby:
I have a 21 month old and am expecting in June. We have told our daughter that I have a baby in my belly since we found out I was preg. She puts lotion on the baby(my belly) at night after her bath when she gets her lotion on. On her own she randomly comes up and kisses my belly and says hi to the baby. She sees me take my prenatal vitamins every morning and says "mommy medicine, baby". If she is too agressive with me or kicks when getting her diaper changed, I tell her she has to be gentle with mommy because the baby is growing in my belly. I know that this is nothing compared to the real deal of bringing the baby home and the adjustments she'll have to make, but it makes her apart of it.

it actually is easier than you think, i moved a year ago, witha three year old and a 15 month old... i had them come and help move the little toys and also had them help put their room together, they both transitioned well... and had lots of fun helping, they realized that all their toys can with them... i actually wil be moving into our new permanent home in two months so they wil be doing it again, now at 4 years and 2 1/2 years old so i am anticipating it going just as well.. as long as you include them and you keep positive the children will adjust well also...
good luck i cant wait to hear how it goes...

Why would your baby be upset by a move? Unless of course you are. Kids pick up on their parents feelings, so if you are upset he will be, if you are excited and happy he will be too. Its an adventure. Instead of replicating his room ask him where he wants his crib, toy box etc. It might be a good time to give him a toddler bed, so he doesnt think you are giving HIS crib to the new baby. At this age everything is MINE MINE!! LOL Ask him what color he wants his walls if you plan to paint. Show him 2 or 3 color samples, that YOU picked and ask him to chose. Will the new baby have its own room? If so it would be a good time to involve your son too. When you are ready to decorate let him chose the color of the new baby's room and perhaps go shopping to pick out curtains, bedding etc. Of course you pick out the 2 or 3 choices first. You dont want him wanting the walls black. lol Then he can help get the new baby's room ready too, for HIS sister or brother. Not the baby, but HIS baby. Just dont talk about the baby too much in advance, since time means nothing to toddlers.

Hi J.,
Your baby is too young to be prepared for moving, he won't understand what that is. He'll likely be interested in exploring his new enviroment, and long as his family is still there, his familiar bed is there and you keep his routine the same, a 1 1/2 year old is not likely to be traumatized by a move in the least. Toddlers don't analyze things the way that we do, they have no sense of time and can't understand that they will "never" go back "home" - and really may not care.

Congratulations on the new baby coming. It's also hard to prepare a child just turning two for a baby, because they can't understand how this will change their lives. Exposing him to babies won't prepare him for the nonstop demands a newborn will place on his parents. When the time gets closer, be sure that he sees the baby's room and things, which will reinforce the idea that someone new is coming to the family, but don't start "preparing" him too soon. A one year old has no sense of time, and if they know six months ahead of time, they won't believe you anymore - you've been saying for months that a baby is coming and it never shows up! The best that you can do is to set up help for after the baby comes so that your son's schedule can stay pretty much the same. If he's going to start preschool or switch to a bed, do this well in advance of the baby coming. Pick up some fun new toys/books and make a basket of them - these can only be played with when you're busy feeding/changing the baby. Make sure that when the baby comes, you have someone to hold the baby for 1/2 hour so you can devote time just to your son. And don't expect him to become a "big boy" just because there is a new baby. He's no more capable of using the toilet, not crying or anything else than any other just barely 2 year old without a sibling. A baby sibling doesn't make a child more mature and doesn't make them a big boy, he's still just a toddler - don't let other people put pressure on him either.
Good luck with your new home, and have a healthy, wonderful pregnancy!

It looks like you've already gotten some great advice from all these wonderful Mommas. I will add that one thing you might want to do when the baby arrives.... what my husband and I did when our second son Connor was born, was to have the baby brother give his big brother a gift. We told two year old Cooper that the gift (A Winnie-The-Pooh soft lunch box and thermos) was from Connor. Cooper opened the gift and very happily said: "Oh! Sank you Connah! I wuv it!" It was a precious moment. From then on, Cooper was always very helpful with his baby brother. He'd hand him things and say; "Here you go, Bwudah!" Precious stuff. Good luck and best wishes with your wee ones. Enjoy every minute and read to them every single day.
D. N. xo

Kids are resilent. We had a similar situation. My husband and I bought our first house and moved when our son was 15mons after living with Grandma and Grandpa since our son's birth. We then had a new baby 2 months later. Maybe it's just our son, but he really adjusted well. I don't think we really did anything to "prepare" him. We make sure to visit grandma and grandpa, but a 15mon old or even a 17 month old isn't really going to UNDERSTAND what moving means. You just have to be flexible and try to keep to his ruetine. Good luck with the new baby. The first 3-6 weeks are the hardest. It gets easier as your older child gets use to sharing his time with the new baby. Something people always told me was, when people come over pay more attention to the older child. I didn't find that helpful. What I wanted was for people to take the baby so that I could spend time with the older child without worring about the baby.