My oldest child just turned five. We have moved three times since he was born. That doesn’t include a temporary move for three months when I moved in with my mom to have my second child. There is no other possible expression I can think of to sum it up this major life change.
Moving. Sucks.
As I sat down to write this post, I tried to come up with helpful tips to share my great wisdom of changing addresses, but I came up dry. There is no great wisdom.
I’ve fit into all the moving-with-kids possible equations: moving while pregnant, with a baby and pregnant, with two babies, with two toddlers and now two preschoolers. But the one thing I have learned is that moving—especially with kids—is analogous to Baby Bunching, or even parenting in general.
1. You can plan and anticipate all the possible obstacles, but until you actually go through the act, you can't know what to expect. Life will throw you a curve ball. (Ask me about the clogged sewage line in our new house.)
2. The task of just surviving everyday with routine becomes priority and everything else just falls by the wayside. (I have a million boxes to unpack but getting my kids settled and just going about our day tasks seems to trump painting, decorating and renovating.)
3. Nothing is a small task. Everything takes twice as long because of a new routine, a new house, and everything being stored out of its normal place.
4. Babysitting is key. Just like arranging babysitting for the arrival of Baby #2, I made sure to have babysitters or play dates lined up before, during and immediately after the move--mainly to distract and provide entertainment to prevent meandering.
5. This is temporary, and after 12-18 months, we should be back in the groove.
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