Tips for Moving?
NicoleWI
member
We're moving to a different house just five miles away, and my BIL bought our house (so we'll be able to come back and visit)! We've been visiting the new house, talking about it, had kids pick colors for their rooms, and have been reading books about moving. Despite this, DD has recently started crying when the move comes up and saying she doesn't want to leave our house. We've already moved most of our stuff but have some things still here. We're supposed to actually start sleeping at the new house next week, but unfortunately we are still doing work on it so it's not like we will move into nicely organized rooms. We'll still be living out of boxes and on aerobeds for the first 10 days or so.
Any tips to make this easier on the kids, especially DD? Her little brother will follow her lead.
I liked the online tip about having them each help pack a special box with some of their things. Any kind of special gift?? I don't know. I feel like this is going to be hard b/c it's all so disorganized. 
Re: Tips for Moving?
Are you having movers come or doing it yourself? I would have the kids' rooms packed last and unloaded first. That way, by bedtime, her room is as close to how it was at the old house as possible/ I would take photos and replicate it as much as possible.
We did this and skipped nap.
If you have her pack a special box with her, I would wait until her room is unloaded and let her unpack that box in that room. Maybe sneak a new special toy in there for her to discover.
ANd I hate that DH lets the kids play on his phone anytime they want and he has them, but on a moving day, I would probably have them plugged in all day.
I agree with these tips. Set up kids rooms first.
We had DD pack her suitcase with her most important things. She threw in some baby dolls and books and her blanket and a few random things. She brought it over to the new house herself and brought it in herself too. It kind of made her feel like she had a little more control over things.
We also let DD pick her room colors, and she helped DH paint the room the weekend before.
The first thing we did when we were fully in and the movers had left was we unpacked DD's room. We didn't hang stuff on the walls, but we made her bed, put her dollies on it, put her clothes in her drawers, put the furniture where we wanted it, put a few of her little things out on her dressers, etc.. It really helped that first night and it made her feel like she was in her room, not some strange room in a new house. We held off on making any major changes and moved her toddler bed and old bedding into the room. We got her the twin bed and brought out the new bedding a few weeks later. It took us a while to unpack and organize the rest of the house, but we really wanted to make sure that DD felt comfortable there as soon as possible.
I know you think right now how great it is that your BIL has bought the house and you can go and visit it, but you may want to stay away a while. We've been in our house almost a full year now and DD still talks about how she misses the old house and our neighbors (we talk up the new house - she has her own backyard and a driveway to draw on, and DD2 has her own bedroom, etc). I think it would be way harder if we went back to visit, especially frequently and it might be hard for her to see the changes that someone else made to her house, her room, etc.
I'll never forget my first night in my new house when I was 4. it's probably one of my earliest memories. We sat on the family room floor and ate dinner picnic style. It was mozzarella cheese and crackers. It was so cool!