Moving with an Infant

An infants world is "you", so as long as you are there they really don't care about their room, or the road trip, etc.

First, keep your attitude positive. If you're worried that he'll be scared, he'll catch onto that and think he needs to be scared!
We moved from Utah to Phoenix when our son was 11 months old. We even had to live with the inlaws for a month! When we finally could move into our new (first) house, I let him wander around the house and explore. It was empty still. He seemed to have a preference for one of the bedrooms, so we moved his things in there. I made sure his crib was set up as usual, his changing table and rocking chair were all in his room, and that he had his favorite things surrounding him for his first night.
You will also want your bed set up, too, of course, and I would take your son in there and show him. Tell him that's where you'll be sleeping and show him where he'll be sleeping well before bedtime. At bedtime, show him your bed again and reassure him that you'll be close. Then stick to your bedtime routine as closely as possible.
Our son was surprisingly okay with the move and didn't make much of a fuss at all!
Good luck!

Fortunately, an 11 month old adapts quickly, but the most important thing to do is to have his bedroom set up first thing. His bed is what he is most familiar with and if it is there, with all of the other furniture and accessories that go with it, then it will feel more like home to him and he will adjust quickly.

I guess that I am a little different from the other posters in what I have done with my kids when we moved. Of course our moves have only been across town. We would take the kids to the new house (we were building it) and show them around almost daily and talk about the things that we would do in the new house. When it came time for the move, we had friends or relatives take the kids away until we were done. When they came back their beds were set up and already made with their sheets complete with pillows and favorite blankets. Since you aren't moving far you could also take it in stages and move slowly. If you take this approach pick a date that you be spending the first night and that day move the kitchen and bathroom supplies that you might need for the night and next morning. Until then move all the storage stuff and things that you don't need every day. After that day just move the rest when you get a chance. The kids are pretty hardy and if they have their things close they really won;t have many problems.
J.---SAHM of 6

We have traveled a lot with our young kids and I have a few suggestions that I think could help with a move.

I always try to make the place they sleep look the same - this way it is something familiar. My kids have a favorite blanket (security item) and I make sure to always have that. I also put on a familiar patterned sheet and bumper and anything else that is usually in their crib. This has helped tremendously.

I talk to my kids as if they were an adult and tell about what is happening. So for you, I would talk to your son and tell him that he gets to live and play and sleep in a new house. Tell him it will be fun and that he will like it and why. When you get there, show him around and tell about each space. Show him where he gets to play and always reassure him that mommy and daddy will be there with him.

As you are packing, keep many of his familiar toys where they are easily accessible and pull them out as soon as possible. I have found that if there is some familiararity, kids adjust pretty well. I would try and put his room together as quickly as you can and also his main play space.

Make special attention to pay a lot of attention to him during packing and traveling and unpacking. You want to make sure he understands that he gets to stay with mom and dad and that they are having fun and that it will be fun in the new house. Have his favorite familiar snack on hand so he can always be taken care of.

Good luck!

I totally stressed when it was time to move. I moved from Illinois to California with a 1 year old and then from Cali to here when I had a 9 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. We just made everything a game and made it exciting. Even at such a young age they feel our stress so making games and fun of it all really helps.

As soon as they had their own things in their bedrooms they were totally comfy. They actually made me feel more comfortable. I am a major worrier and it was a piece of cake.

Don't stress it will be fine. Good Luck.

Be excited about the move. We moved just after my son turned 2 (he's now 3). So he was older and had friends where we had been living. But we were so excited to move (it's our dream house!) that he was excited too. Kids pick up on emotion so if you are positive and excited about the move then your son will be too. Have fun packing! :)

So I am going along with the majority. When we moved my daughter was 13 months. We had her sleep over at grandma's house the night before (which she has done before), and then the next day when we moved we made sure that if nothing else got put together, her room was up and ready fro use. I didn't want her to come to the house and not notice anything. If your son has adapted well to other changes in his life, ex: food changes, schedule changes, really any change, he will be fine. If it hasn't been all that natural for him on the changes, it may take a moment for things to set in, but he will addapt quickly. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Set up his room first thing in the morning and play with him around the house that whole first day.

I have moved my kids about 10 times (and they are both under 5). The most important things I have found is that they have their blankets, their sound machine, and their favorite stuffed animal. With all 3 of those things they'll sleep almost anywhere!

Since he is 11 months you may have him sleep in the play pen in your room the 1st couple of nights. But by the time the house is all set up he should be ready to sleep in his 'new' yet by that point very familiar looking room. Plus his crib is more comfortable than his playpen. Also you might buy him one of those cool constellation turtles or ladybugs from Leaps and Bounds so that he can stare at the stars on the ceiling while falling to sleep.

Good luck! He'll be just fine. Make sure you bring him by the new house and park a few times before the move as well.
R.

Hey there, everyone here has great advice. Try something and give it a few days, if that is not working, try another. You will do just fine and figure it out. Kids will adapt pretty easy but will read your feelings so don't fake it but keep it calm. We moved from Detroit to Bozeman, MT in the dead of winter so it was harder on me than my 16 month old (He's 2 now and loves it here). The 2 big things I had to do was get out every day even though it was cold so we both had outlets, and to understand that although he was adapting well, we still had our struggles. Mostly in the middle of the night. We never brought him to bed with us because he thought it was play time if we did but what we had to do sometimes was go in & soothe him then lay on the floor with our own pillow & blanket until he went back to sleep. I usually fell asleep & then woke back up & headed to my bed.
Sometimes you have to break "the rules" for a short period of time. Also, like the others said, keep the meal & bed routines as close as possible to what he knows now.
You will all do great!

When I moved with my kids, I made sure their rooms were the last to be packed up and the first to be set up. Try to keep his routine the same as always. He should be fine. If he's crawling or walking keep the boxes out of his reach. You'll do fine. Good luck with the move.

I will start this one off since I am in the middle of a move myself! We were not as lucky as you to only move 30 miles, we moved from Colorado Springs to Tucson! But a move is hard on everyone none the less! I have two little ones, Nathan is 3 and Lauren is 6 months old. They both were awesome on our journey! First thing I did was pack a special box for both of them that went in the car with us. Lauren's had a few toys and a blankie that she is in love with. Nathan had some of this favorite toys which I hid from him about two weeks before we moved that way when he got them out it was like Christmas! I brought pictures of his life in Colorado so we could talk about it as well as pictures of family and friends. I also got him a few new toys and come other fun things to do. When the house in Colorado was all packed up and empty we took him in to see that everything was all packed up! He said good bye to his house and gave his room kisses on the wall and thanked the house for letting him live there. It was harder on me then on him! He tells everyone now that our house is empty and we are getting a new one. We allowed him to pick his room at the new house and he is excited to get his things into his room and make it all his! I think it is important to let them have some control in things and so far it has made our move pleasant! Kids are pretty flexible so I would not stress to much on things, actually that would make it worse on them! Although this was Lauren's first move it was Nathan's second the first big move was from Albuquerque to Colorado Springs, he was just about 18 months and did fine with the same type of thing I did this move.
Great luck!

hey there- my husband ans I just bought our first home and our daughter was 8 months old when we moved into it. It was a difficult time for her to get used to new surroundings but if you have a routine that you you every morning it will help with the adjustments. We have a fish tank and every morning when we wake up we wake the fishys up then proceed into the kitchen and make some breakfast or we start an Elmo movie to watch while I cook the food, it took her about 3 weeks to realize this was home but now that she knows it is much easier than our last home, so hopefully you have things that you do EVERY morning with your child and just continue with the same old things once you have moved into your new home to help him understand and find his comfort zone again. My daughter growled at my feet at me for about two weeks it was tuff but just keep the routine as stricked as possible through out the day and hopefully it wont be so bad. Goodluck

keep as much of his belongings and bedroom set-up the same as possible.