Tips to Help You Easily Relocate with a Baby

It is never easy to relocate to a new city or town, but relocating with a baby in tow can be a harrowing experience for all parties involved. While it may sound relatively simple to just pick up and move to another place, oftentimes this can upset the sleeping patterns and mood of a baby or young child. While these tips are geared toward those with a baby under one year, they might also help those with slightly older children as they relocate with their baby and try to make things work.

When we moved because I had to relocate, we never thought about what an impact moving to a new house would have on our daughter who was only 4 months old at the time. We were lucky enough that she'd been sleeping through night since she was only 2 months old, but we found that relocating to a new house wreaked havoc on her sleeping patterns. For one thing, the smell of the new house was completely different. Since her room had been freshly painted just before we moved in, it has that, well, new paint smell. These are things that don't bother adults when they relocate, but if you relocate with a baby this is one of those strange things you need to consider. We wish we had thought of this, but once we moved in all her things and sprayed some of the air freshener we use to keep her Diaper Genie from getting foul, she seemed to feel more comfortable. In addition, since smells are so important to babies, when you relocate, try to cook at your new home and make the same smelling dishes you did at your old house. This will make the baby more comfortable because of the familiar smells and will make relocating with a baby much easier as the adjustment period will be lessened.

Aside from trying to create familiar smells when you relocate with a baby, try to create the exact same space your baby is used to. When you're relocating, especially with a baby, it can be hard to find time to do this, especially if it involves painting his or her room exactly as it was, but it will be worth it. In terms of creating the space as it was, this means try to position the crib and furniture in exactly the same spaces it was before, working around things if the room is a different shape that it was before you relocated or moved. Painting the room the same color with the same shapes and designs is also necessary if you want an easy time moving or relocating with a baby as it will put the baby at ease because of familiar colors and tones. Additionally, the furniture placement being the same is important because new and different shadows might make the baby stay awake. In short, when you relocate with a baby, you want to make sure you make things as close to home as possible, even if some of these efforts don't seem like they'll be necessary. You'll thank me for the advice when you relocate with a young baby, just as I would have thanked anyone who might have offered us this advice (which darn, no one did, so we struggled).

Have someone watch the baby until you're completely moved in and everything has been arranged just the way you want it. Also, make sure you use the above tips about smells and the similar arrangement for baby's room before you relocate with your baby. This will not only create a greater sense of ease (babies can pick up on it if you feel unsettled or disorganized and harried) but will prevent you from having to make noise as you unpack at night or are banging around. Even if you have to pay a babysitter and work all night to get unpacked, having everything finished before you bring the baby to the new house after you've relocated will make things much easier on all of you. Hopefully these tips about moving or relocating with a baby help someone out there and make the transition smoother than ours was.