Moving with baby 101: School me please

[Anonymous]

In an effort to stop punching myself in the face every time I write the rent check for my Dupont circle apt, I was able to find a nice, affordable 2 bdrm apt in Glover Park. The logistics of moving with the baby, however, threaten to allow the face-punching to continue. I've moved many times, but never with a baby, and am not quite sure how to handle her care during the actual pack/box/haul bonanza that will ensue. Images of me wrapping glasses while she fusses in the Ergo make my face start twitching. DD is 7 mos and still naps twice a day...is juuust starting to sit unassisted so extended independent play isn't an option. Her favorite toy remains another human being. Namely me. The little bugger.

I have a lovely and large family who are all descending the week of Thanksgiving to help, so I've got the packing/carrying part covered. I also have a wonderful nanny who I plan on showering with my sincere thanks and a bonus (and maybe some chocolatey goodness) for helping during the move. So lots of warm bodies, but I'm still sort of at a loss...where do I physically direct people? Does nanny hang with babe in apt during all this packing? They go for daily walks but it's gotten very chilly, so extended outdoor outings won't work. Do we move baby's room first into new apt and give them a place to go? But then nanny is hanging out in empty apt while babe is napping...not appealing for her. Can also give nanny some off days and pass baby around to family members (I'd certainly rather hang with DD than pack dishes) but where to do said hanging is still the issue. BTDT folks, thanks for your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Get baby and nanny out of the apartment for a day. Send them off to the building museum early in the am to play in the playroom, and stroller nap there in the morning. Nanny can chill with coffee in the big hall while baby naps, and then they can hang in the big hall, or alternately go walk around in the portrait gallery atrium. Or air and space. There are a bunch of places like that in downtown dc that have large indoor spaces that you can just hang out at.

Alternately, get a hotel room for the night before you are moving, with a late checkout. Let baby and nanny hang there as a home base. We did that last year when we were painting, with sorties to markets and playgrounds etc.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are overthinking.

You have people to help pack....family ... Thanksgiving week.
You have people to help carry stuff ... you mean family? You are moving over Thanksgiving?

You have people to watch the baby while you pack and move.... nanny....

You just don't know WHERE the baby will be, during pack and move fest?

Send nanny and baby out for an outing the move. Library, mall, baby and me movies, long car drive, whatever.

Pack a bag for baby as if you were going on a week long trip and also pack up baby essentials and crib, etc. Move this stuff first and get baby's room all set up along with some furniture. So when nanny needs to come back home, there's a quiet place for baby to nap and her to hang out while the rest of you are moving and unpacking. Make sure she has stuff to do there (books, magazine, tv whatever)

Personally, if I had help for the move, I'd do everything I could in the next three weeks to pack by myself. Move the sofa away from the walls and pack your boxes now, a bunch every night while the baby sleeps. Stack the boxes behind the sofa. Just leave out a few things you need to function and pack them in the last box. That way when your relatives come, you can move quickly, and then have them help you UNPACK and they can break down all the boxes and get rid of them and you will be done.

[Anonymous]

Pp is right on. Start w/ closets. Think about hiring movers for 2 hours to load or unload (I prefer unloading, but to each his own).

[Anonymous]

Yeah OP. I'm single mom moving myself. I'm hiring a teenager to play with my kid while I pack and unpack

[Anonymous]

Sorry for asking, but we are also looking in Glover Park: what's your definition of affordable? Thank you and good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PPs. I realize I'm overthinking; I also realize how lucky I am to have help (am a single mom too, btw). Just trying to strategize before descent of family so they don't walk into a sh*tshow. Helping someone move is hard enough; when they're not organized it's sort of hellish. Re: affordability in Glover Park, it's directly related to what was affordable (read: not) in Dupont. Was here prior to baby, so making some big budget changes now. Appreciate all suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PPs. I realize I'm overthinking; I also realize how lucky I am to have help (am a single mom too, btw). Just trying to strategize before descent of family so they don't walk into a sh*tshow. Helping someone move is hard enough; when they're not organized it's sort of hellish. Re: affordability in Glover Park, it's directly related to what was affordable (read: not) in Dupont. Was here prior to baby, so making some big budget changes now. Appreciate all suggestions.

Bookstore movers are great.
All movers will tell you the more organized you are the better it goes. I use colored markers. All boxes marked red go to babies room, black living room. Green my room. Orange kitchen....

[Anonymous]

We just did it with 2 kids (2yo and 6mo old). I set up the play room while sitter had them home And she had them all day the day of the move. Since we don't have family or friends I packed overtime during naps and after they've gone to bed and hired movers to do the haul.

[Anonymous]

Seriously paying movers is key. Then you don't have to worry about older family members injuring themselves, destroying your furniture, walls, etc. It will be 600 bucks or so, but it will be worth it to end the torture of moving stuff from point A to point B. So pack in advance, hire movers to come, baby is entertained by nanny out of the home while the move occurs.

Have your family go to your new place to clean before movers arrive, so pack up your cleaning supplies in a clear place, set aside. You stay at your old place to meet the movers and provide direction. Then you switch; once movers are out of your old place, you go to new place to direct them where to put things, while your family cleans out your old place, spackles holes (if you have holes from pictures, grab some spackle from target or home depot plus a putty knife and some sandpaper), uses magic eraser on wall marks, grabs anything leftover, etc. Then family comes to help you unpack the new place (as PP noted, do baby's room first). Have someone in charge of assembling the crib; someone puts away baby toys/clothes; someone unloads your kitchen stuff and food. Those are the priorities.

FYI if you have movers, you can leave clothes in dressers and just use painters tape to hold the drawers shut. It's a benefit of having really strong guys and makes the unpacking easier!

[Anonymous]

It's definitely tougher than packing before. We didn't quite wrap things as carefully (so what if a wine glass broke) to make things speedier. We also moved baby's room first and had it all set up. I'd add: don't worry about your nanny not having entertainment while your baby is napping at the new place (or old place). Make sure she knows to bring a book or magazine or something because there won't be much else to do.

[Anonymous]

I just moved with an 11 month old. I hope you don't mind my saying this, but I think you're over-thinking things. I hired movers, but other than that had little help. I packed when the baby was asleep in the two days before the move. A friend came over and helped to pack my the night before.

The movers showed up, saw the baby, and immediately said they'd pack her room last, and unpack her room first at the new place. I stayed with them until they were ready to pack her room, then we drove to the new place and the movers unpacked her bedroom and even put up a baby gate so she could watch without getting in the way. It worked out just fine. As each problem came up, we just found a solution. Just put one person in charge of the baby and have them keep her/him out of the way.

[Anonymous]

You are definitely over thinking this, as a PP said.

It's not rocket science. Pass the baby around while the packing takes place. I'm sure the nanny can pack, too. Since you have an apartment, you can move everything in once shot. Pack the baby stuff last and then unpack it first.

Done.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a first world problem to me.

[Anonymous]

I understand OP's concern, about not wanting helpful family members to show up to a sideshow. You want them to feel like they donated their holiday week to a good cause, yes?
I would recommend:
-follow PP's advice re: color coding things
-designate one family member that you trust as your deputy. In your absence (ie you are at the other place/in the bathroom/etc) they get to be the communications/decision making hub. MAKE SURE you trust this person.
-Can you give people specific jobs (bonus points for allowing for personalities)? ie, coordinate with movers at old place; coordinate with movers at new place; clean new place/clean old place as things move out; get lunch for everyone; kitchen, bedroom, nursery. That way people don't stand around saying, "What can I do?"

As for baby/nanny, I would definitely ask the nanny what her preferences are. Ie, rent a hotel suite for a couple nights vs hang at new place vs hang around town vs something she has thought of but we haven't

Good luck OP!