BTDT - Moving while pregnant...

EOB584 · May 2013

Moving while pregnant...

The housing market in our area is really on an incline right now. DH had a realtor come over and give us an idea of what we can sell for. He thinks we can easily get $10k more than we bought for about 1 1/2 yrs ago. DH wants to be a little closer to work (he has a 30 minute commute w/out traffic) and he also wants a house where all the bedrooms are on the same floor. We didn't think about the last part when we purchased this house but now that LO #2 is on the way he doesn't want to move DD (who will be 2.5) downstairs. I'm ok with it for now - they make video monitors for a reason. DH is afraid that if we wait a year the market will have leveled out and we won't make much on a sale or there will be a surplus of houses on the market again.

So I'm a little stressed out at the thought of trying to sell our house, hoping that a house we actually like/works for us is still available once we get our offer, and packing and unpacking an entire house, and still preparing for this little bou between now and September, with a 2 yr old in tow. DH says he will do it all but he works all day so that isn't practical and I can't do it all either. If we had family nearby I don't think I would be as stressed but our closest family is 5 hours away.

So I guess this is a little bit of a vent and also a question for those of you have moved or are moving while pregnant. How are you making this work and not stressing yourself out? Thanks for letting me vent ladies.

SweetPeaK26 · May 2013

I've moved at 30plus weeks... Twice. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't terrible. I think all the unpacking that second time helped me go into labor at 38 weeks. Don't do the heavy lifting, but your nesting instincts will kick in and put your desire to unpack and organize into overdrive!

Pockety · May 2013

We just bought a house March 15, did a ton of renovations on it, and moved in April 15th. DH travels all week long for work so I was overseeing all of the renovations, with DS in tow, and doing the majority of the packing and unpacking, along with all of the calls to move services around, find landscapers, pest control, etc. In addition, I did all the looking for the house, until I found the right one and showed DH. He saw a few along the way but not many.

It wasn't fun but it was doable. It really took my mind off of pregnancy and made it go much faster! Then again, I was only first and second trimester.

If I were you, I'd put a time limit on it. For example, if you can't move at least a month before your due date, you won't do it. And it takes 30 or 45 days to close. So back out 45 days. If you aren't under contract to sell by then, you pull the house off the market.

Also go and look for houses while yours is for sale. That way you'll know what's available when you go under contract to sell. If there's nothing, then don't accept any offers. You don't have to go under contract!

The other thing we did which really helped was that in addition to hiring movers, we flew my parents in for about a week when we moved. They helped with the move a lot, but their main task was to watch DS, and get him out of the house and out of the way. We also don't have family nearby, but having two more sets of hands for a toddler for the week was invaluable!

kimberlymacrae · May 2013

I moved at 20 weeks and for the most part I just stayed away. All the undue stress and craziness was too much for me to handle. We had a ton of help and the night before I wrote very detailed directions. Then I was just put on cleaning/pizza crew.

llybeck · May 2013

I'm 23.5 weeks and we moved less than 2 months ago. Honestly, my mom helped a ton with packing and we had friends help us move. I actually had pneumonia so I couldn't do much.

One thing you can do to help stay organized is assign each room in the new house a color and then mark your boxes with that color. Hang a piece of paper in the door or wall of the room with the color assigned. That way, instead of the people moving the boxes putting them wherever or having to read where it goes or wait for direction, they can quickly look at the box and match it up with the room. Makes it a little easier.

Mrs. Mo · May 2013

We just moved last week. Our situation is a bit different since we have 2 dogs and a 19 month old. We just could not be without a home/live with parents (dogs + kiddo) so we purchased a house and then put our condo on the market. Since the market is a seller's market, we really hope the condo sells fast so we are not paying 2 mortgages for several months.

As for the moving part, start packing now. Even if you do a little each night, it will make it easier when it comes time for the move. If you can afford it, hire movers. Otherwise, you pack the easy stuff and let your H deal with the larger stuff. Same when it comes for moving. Just stick with lifting the light-weight stuff. As for cleaning/painting your current & new place, just check with your OB. Mine ok'd me to paint using low VOC paint and told me to just listen to my body (ex: tiredness, lightheadedness, etc). I wanted to help as much as possible as to get out of the old place & into the new one ASAP.

Now comes the unpacking... (UGH!)

Ninica_84 · May 2013

We are still in the process of moving into our new house. We had some reno done so we've been staying at my parents for the past 3 months. Honestly it is a pain in the butt. I wanna do so much but I get so tired so easily and someone always has to keep an eye on DD because she's 2 and not interested in being in the same spot for too long. My mom and MIL helped me with the packing and now unpacking and cleaning and DH and my dad did all the heavy lifting and painting the house. If it wasn't for my parents and MIL I think I would have lost my mind and it would have taken a lot longer to finish everything. However, in the long run I'm glad we did the move now rather than later with two little ones which would have made it even harder. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Curls218 · May 2013

I'm a FTM so I can't speak from experience, but we're buying a house this summer. We're also moving from a 1 bedroom apt to a 4 bedroom house, so we don't have a whole house to pack up right now. But how I am going to go at this is to start packing the small stuff maybe a month before we actually move (like books, DVDs, etc) and try to just do a little bit at a time so I don't feel overwhelmed. Then I'll mark the boxes that have stuff we actually use so I know to unpack those first. We're also going to hold off on decorating the new place until next spring, and just furnish the rooms we are going to use daily (living room, office, nursery, etc) that we don't already have furniture for when we first move in.

shellyco · May 2013

I moved at 17 weeks and I guess it didn't feel any more stressful than any other move. I pakced what I could and waited for friends and family to help with the heavy stuff. Then on moving day I pretty much stood there and told everyone where everything went.

I can imagine moving gets more stressful as the belly gets bigger though. I also am a FTM so I don't have a little one running around. Sorry you're feeling stressed! Hire a moving company is my suggestion!

BillysGrl27 · May 2013

I am moving at 28 weeks this time around. I asked for lots of help and am hiring movers as well as cleaning service (I found a great Groupon!). It was still a stressful process finding a new place but I am hoping to do a little packing at a time so as not to push myself and I am not afraid to ask for help!

Ecstatic83 · May 2013

We are in the process of buying our first house and packing now. We should move June 8th. I will be almost 26 weeks by then. I am HATING the packing and so not looking forward to the moving. Luckily we will have movers and I will have my mom to help unpack in the new house. The really stressful part is just finances and closing. Since this is our first time, we are babies at this. I can't wait to just get those keys in my hand and be done with mortgage processors and underwriters

kat81again2 · May 2013

I moved while pregnant with DS but my situation was better than yours. No child at home, a little bit of time between jobs (ok, very little, but not too terrible), and we were moving to a rental.

I think I don't agree with your DH on this. He and your realtor are right -- the market is MUCH better now than 1.5 years ago. We have been trying to sell our home for 3 years now and we're FINALLY under contract, just 2 weeks after re-listing after doing some minor changes (btw we are not moving--this is in a different state from where we live now, in which we rent). It's really different from the past few years when our place sat on the market for months with basically no activity. Also the offer is for more than a previous offer we had that fell through.

OTOH, if the market keeps going up, then you might sell your house, rent temporarily or something, and then buy an even more expensive one later as the market continues to rise! It's best to buy and sell at the same time, and I think it makes sense to wait a bit until you're settled with the new baby. Or you should have done this a few months ago. Now it's just getting down the wire. But...with the market being better than before maybe you could buy & sell within 2 months, which just barely gives you enough time to move. It's just kind of unrealistic IMO.

ksf13 · May 2013

We just moved Monday! It's been a job for sure. We are renting, so we haven't had to deal with putting a house on the market or any of that part of it. DH is in the Navy and his work schedule is pretty crazy right now too. He and some of his coworkers were able to move the big stuff one evening when they got off work (luckily we only moved from an apartment to a house a couple of miles away). Even though I tried to take it easy, I like to get things done, so I may have overdone it the last couple of days (my ankles were huge last night). I'm so ready to get everything unpacked and in it's place. I've made myself do better today. I finished unpacking our bedroom, which was mostly just hanging up clothes, then I called it quits. All I have left is the guest room and I'll probably tackle it tomorrow and the next day (it's a lot of stuff).

anewmrsS · May 2013

I've moved both times I was pregnant now. lol. It's a pain in the , but it's totally worth it in the end. It was nice to be able to start fresh in a place and put together space for the baby. I mostly just packed and unpacked, I did none of the lifting. Everything wenty smoothly

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