Moving is an exciting time, if somewhat stressful. Anyone who has moved will tell you that it takes a lot of time to pack up the house and organise the move. There are a myriad of details to attend to, from notifying everyone of your new address to ensuring the utilities are switched off when you go – and switched on at your new home when you arrive. Being pregnant adds even more challenge into the mix.
You might be wondering whether it is better to move before the baby is born or afterwards. Other mothers will tell you it’s easier to move without a new little person to care for, even if you don’t feel all that well during the pregnancy. Caring for a baby takes up a lot of time and energy and you’ll lose a lot of sleep in the first several weeks, making you feel like a zombie unless you have lots of help.
Having to pack and move while caring for the baby and making sure they are well and comfortable is not so easy. Before the baby is born, you don’t have to stop and feed, change or burp it. You won’t have to worry about carrying it around and making sure it is cool or warm enough.
However, when you are pregnant there are certain things you should not do. One of them is bending down and lifting heavy boxes off the floor. Another is carrying heavy boxes around the house. Carrying a heavy box will strain your tummy and put pressure on it where no pressure should be. So if you move while you are pregnant you need to take care of yourself in several ways.
- Get plenty of rest. To do this you need to start packing and organising early. Don’t leave it all until the last minute. If you start early you only need to use an hour a day for packing and related chores.
- Accept help from friends or family for packing and moving those boxes.
- Don’t be tempted to move even one box by yourself if it’s heavy.
- Place boxes on a chair or bed to pack to save bending over, but don’t lift them off by yourself.
- Rather than work at packing for an hour or two, divide the time up into half hours and rest in between, especially if you are over 6 months pregnant or suffering from morning sickness.
- Make sure you get all your medical details from the doctor and if possible, as them if they can advise who to go to in your new location.
- If you are heavily pregnant, use the removalists packing service so you don’t have to pack or unpack anything. It will be money well spent.