Hey Everyone!
Since we just got back from China and this was kind of fresh in my sleep deprived mind... :) I thought I would throw out a few packing suggestions for those of you to soon follow.... I was very careful with my packing that I didn't miss anything and there were still things I wished we had. These are the things that I don't think we could have survived with out or that I wish we DID have...
Funnel - wide bottom opening is best (can find at the auto parts store)... you will need this to get the scoops of formula into the bottle without getting the very sticky stuff all over the floor, yourself, the mini-bar.... you get the point. The bottle openings are barely big enough to get the scooper into...
4 cup tupperware bottle - After arriving home we discovered that life was much easier if we mixed a days worth of formula at a time. It was too hard to do this every 4 hours with a screaming baby. The louder she screamed... the bigger mess we made... or the more we did wrong. The way we were told to do it was to put 7 scoops of formula and 3 scoops of rice cereal into the bottle. Poor in boiling hot water up to the 150 ml mark. Then add cold water the rest of the way. With the tupperware container, instead, we added 4 bottles worth of formula and rice cereal to the tupperware container. Then we added 4 x 150 ml of hot boiling water (this makes it easier to mix). We shook it up and then put it in the fridge. When our daughter is ready to eat we poor 150 ml of the (now) cold formula into her bottle and add hot boiling water the rest of the way. So with this system it only takes a minute to boil the water instead of having to do everything else as well.
Bottles - if you aren't going to use the tupperware suggestion above, DO NOT plan on using the disposable liner bottles! I had one explode on me and luckily not my daughter. I was trying it out for the plane ride home and luckily found out at the hotel (instead of on the plane) that it was a bad system!!!
Plastic baggies - bring them! Sassy makes diaper baggies. (I bought Safety 1st and these weren't any good... the bags wouldn't stay in the container) You will need them to tie up dirty stinky diapers. Trust me! The room can't handle the number of diapers you will see in between housekeeping coming. ;) And bring 5-6 of the refills. I brought only 2 and we were out before week 1 was over.
Currency Converter Calculator - this was such a valuable tool to figure out what the real/U.S. price was.
Here is one similar to what we had. It just hooked on to our backpack/baby bag and/or fit into our pocket
Money Belt - get a comfortable one! You will have this on for longer than you realize....
We used this one and even though it was silk, it was cheaper than the ones at Target
Links - the game of throwing the toys on the floor to see if Mom & Dad will retrieve them got old fast!
u shaped neck pillow - an inflatable one took up almost no room and was the only way we could sleep in those upright economy seats!
no jet lag, malatonin sleeping pills - No-Jet-Lag homeopathic worked wonderfully for us. We barely suffered from jet lag coming or going. Our suffering at home was from our daughter waking up all night long instead. I would also recommend some melatonin &/or sleeping pills. These helped knock us out when we first got to China and would have been great to use on the airplane on the way there.
Antiseptic Hand cleanser - we brought a big bottle and used it after washing our hands at the sink every time. It was just extra insurance as far as we were concerned.
Airborne - used it and didn't get sick. Took it once a day starting a day or 2 before we left. Lisa barely got the sniffles one day after taking care of sick Jana for awhile, but it quickly diminished.
Book - there are only 3 english tv stations (Discovery, Cinemark, HBO) at the WS and only so much shopping you can do...
Prunes - or infant suppositories. Most babies needed these and were suffering.
Baby blankets - we had one, but our daughter preferred the hotel towel. Towels were apparently used as blankies at her orphanage.
Diapers, wipes, baby food - Beatrice's grocery near the White Swan had all 3 and decent prices. Don't waste too much luggage space if you are going straight to the White Swan.
Clothes - there are tons & tons of clothes stores all very close to the white swan. consider leaving your good stuff at home and buying there instead. We bought beautiful dresses for $3-4. Cheap, cheap, cheap shoes for $2-3!!! You will have some sentimental clothes when you get home and your good stuff won't show up missing at the local cleaners (ours did!!!). We only brought 4 days of shirts and 2 days of bottoms. It worked out perfectly for us with the laundry.
Laundry - count what goes out and what comes in! We were missing many things by the time we were packing to leave. We brought our clothes to A House of Love... the closest place to the White Swan.
All purchases - closely examine what you are buying! I shopped very carefully for a porcelien doll from my daughter's province. I ended up paying double for one that I really liked. The sales person quickly wrapped it up and taped it so well that I dare not undo it. When I got it home I found out it was broken... with no broken pieces to be found... they sold it to me like that... at double the price!
Jordan's - Checkout Jordan's for shopping. He was really nice and not high pressure at all. His prices beat the other stores on most of his items. He spoke english very well and had some wonderful stories.
Deli Shop - We could buy 2 delicious sandwiches, a loaf of cheese bread and 2 drinks for about $2 US!!! Splurge on a delicious dessert for about $1.50!!!
WS Hotel Doctor - not so scary. :) Whew!!!! Was cheaper for a 2 doctor visits, 2 Rx, and 4 breathing treatments than 1 co-pay here in the U.S.
Airline - Oh, I have to throw this one in... We flew United from Houston to San Francisco to Hong Kong. It was less than what I expected... and I didn't expect much. Going from San Francisco to Hong Kong, United had my husband and I sitting 14 rows apart. Finally when we arrived in San Francisco (I had called many, many, many times before leaving Houston), they put us sitting together, but in the middle row... in the middle between other people. It was the worst! On the way home we had 3 seats off to the side because we purchased one for our daughter and this was worth everything to us! It was much more enjoyable! Beware that the "tv" is a projector on the front wall though and if you aren't tall... you can't see it. Other airlines give everyone their own individual tv that they can control on their seat. I had thought we were getting that. Oh well. More time to sleep, right?
Pictures - Take lots & lots of pictures! :) Those will add to the stories you tell your daughter later!!!
Suitcases- it was cheaper to buy a nice POLO suitcase in Guangzhou than to buy a collapsable duffle bag...
Hope that helps someone!
Lisa Phillips
Mom to Kaleb, Brayden, & Jana
http://www.parentswithawareness.com/blog
