Adventures in Attachment Parenting: Moving With A Toddler by Allison Silver

This past weekend we moved to our new home. The move itself went surprisingly well. I am here to tell you that you can move with a toddler and not lose your sanity! The top three things that helped keep our move low-stress were:

#1: Boxes. About a year ago we moved and we had kept all of our boxes. At the time I thought my husband was being a bit anal for keeping the boxes. But I am so glad he did! It made it so much easier to pack up each of the rooms since they were already labeled from our last move. We just put everything back in the same boxes. Packing the boxes was a bit more challenging this time now that our daughter is a toddler. She thoroughly enjoyed taking everything out of the boxes!  So I gave her her own box full of packing paper, some small sheets of bubble wrap, and other various odds and ends. This helped keep her out of the other boxes. It also helped that some of the boxes we used were taller than her so she couldn’t reach inside and pull things out. I also kept a box of some favorite toys and books out and didn’t pack them until right before we moved. Our daughter also discovered how to climb up on a box while we were packing. Yep, we officially have a climber! She thought this was great fun, but it was a bit nerve racking for mommy and daddy!

#2: Enlist Help. It is impossible to pack and move with a toddler if you don’t enlist some help. Several afternoons, my mother-in-law came over and took Charley for a walk. This would free me up for an hour so I could pack or make necessary phone calls. My husband and I also took turns packing and entertaining the toddler in the evenings after work. While one of us was on toddler duty the other one would pack a box or two. For the actual move we enlisted my mom and we had her come and stay with us for a week (three days before the move and three days after).  This was a huge help. When Charley was napping, my mom helped me pack and when we got to the new house she helped me unpack during naptime and organized my pantry. On the  day of the move we hired a local moving company. This was by far the best decision I have ever made in regards to moving! In the past we have always moved ourselves. Last year when we moved it took us all day (with the help of family and friends) and we were exhausted. This time the actual moving day was completely low stress! The movers arrived promptly at 9AM and by noon they were headed to our new house. They had everything unloaded by 3PM and even set-up all of our furniture in each room. The best part was we weren’t exhausted from moving furniture and boxes all day so we could get to work unpacking.

#3: Baby wearing. As an AP mama, I am a huge proponent of baby wearing. Our daughter likes to be held and most of the time she only wants me to hold her. If it wasn’t for baby wearing, I wouldn’t get a whole lot accomplished, especially during a move! My Mei Tai carrier proved to be super helpful and was my go-to carrier during these past few weeks. Everyday I spent at least an hour or two wearing Charley on my back so I could have my hands free and pack boxes or move quickly from room to room without worrying about her. I have gotten much better at getting her on my back by myself. It does take some practice, but I am now able to do it and I’m not worried about dropping her. I have even ordered a new Mei Tai carrier that is a bit bigger and can be used with toddlers since I have a feeling that we will be doing baby wearing for quite some time.

And to top it all off, during our move the most amazing thing happened: Charley said, “Mama” for the first time!! She has been saying “Dada” for several months and this was the first time she officially said “Mama.”  I was beyond excited! I never would have guessed that hearing this one word would make my heart melt!