[KarenInCa]

I'm planning on this being an ongoing thread for traveling to China. Some of the tips are going to be unique for receiving our children, and some will just be traveling tips.

Anyone is welcome, and encouraged to join in.

[KarenInCa]

The most appreciated tip that we received from some friends when we went to China for DD #1, was this:

Get some of the half sized ziplock sandwich bags. They're just the right size for dollar bills.
Your agency should provide you with a list of the individual fees prior to leaving for China. Seperate the fee amounts in each ziplock, and label them with stickies attached to the first bill in each ziplock. This makes it so much easier to hand over the seperate fees without having to wonder which amount is for what fee. We each carried a fanny pack with us, tucked under our shirts while traveling. Each of us had half the loot. It was also convenient to have a ziplock in the front of the stack, with petty cash so that you can just reach into the first part of the pack when paying for Airport food, etc.
We also did this with the spending money. DH carried a ziplock baggie of cash and I carried a ziplock baggie of American Express Travelers Cheques. The cash was only around $300 And the TC's totaled around $1,500. We found that we didn't need that much money, but it was nice to have.
If you take TC's be sure to write the ID numbers of each individual TC and keep the list seperated from the TC's ...We kept the list of the individual TC IDs in the suitcase, and crossed them off as we use each individual one. That way, if we had lost them, we could call AmEx and advise them of which ones were lost or stolen.

Next tip???

[lovemybulldog]

This info is much appreciated, especially right now for me...and I know Trace7 is making her last trip to Target as we speak!

Thanks Karen, for starting this thread!

[AmyOinMN]

Baby Supplies: Buy the diapers, bottles, formula, etc in China...less to pack & carry around.

Clothes: If traveling in the hot months, bring extra clothes. We were there in late May to mid June & it was extremely humid. We couldn't wear our clothes twice because they were soaked.

Plane: Bring an extra set of clothes for you & the baby on the plane (Olivia leaked #2 & it was on both of us on the longest of the plane rides...ishy!).

When I think of more, I'll add on.

[KDhappygal]

We did the same thing with our money, some in the small (snack size? bags) and the fees seperated in individual small envelopes. It worked well and was very easy to keep track of everything. We used envelopes for the fees and just wrote on the front of the envelope.

Big tip # 1....Don't overpack! We took way to much stuff with us and didn't use or need most of it. Clothes can be washed in China and if you find you really need something you didn't bring, you can probably find it there.

Big tip # 2: Take snack for YOU and for your baby. For example: We arrived in our province, got to our hotel and shortly after than met up to receive our babies. It was a few hours since our last meal and I was starving. It happened a couple of different times that there just wasn't enough time to grab something to eat and we didn't always have something with us.

Last tip.....smile at your baby. I know, sounds like a silly tip but there was another travel group from a different agency in our province and then we saw them later at the White Swan. They so rarely smiled at the babies. We saw them at meals, in the play room and just out on the streets. It was a good size group too but I think they had some issues with their agency or something.....regardless they just seemed joyless about the whole thing. Made me sad.

[KarenInCa]

Reading responses reminded me of a few things:
-Congee is the main food staple in China. They serve it at every restaurant. It's actually quite good....blend of small pieces of chicken, broth and over cooked rice, to make a porridge.
Continue to offer your child congee at every meal (it is at every buffet), as this is probably what they're used to eating, and it will help with their bowel movements.

If your child does not have a b. m. in the first 2 days, (and the child is at least 12 months old) you can combine 1 part honey to 2 parts water in a feeding bottle. Our guide helped us with this, and it DID help. **However, doctors caution giving honey to children younger than 12 months old.**

YES- snacks for both child and you....
Child-
goldfish crackers
an entire box of cheerios (travel with just the bag inside of the suitcase. It travels well, and becomes vacuum sealed in the airplane)
raisins
I combined all three of the above as a "trailmix" sort of food, in a snack bowl.
Also, dry baby rice cereal.

Gerber makes a great snack bowl with plastic teeth on the lids so they can put their fingers inside, and don't spill the contents.
Be careful though, a lot of the children shove food in their cheeks without swallowing till it's almost dangerous. Our daughter was great for this act. It must be from being fed on a time schedule at the SWI. They are not used to being fed on demand so they tend to hoard the food at first, in their cheeks.

Adults- (in a carry on bag)
Loaf of bread
Tubes of peanut butter and jelly. And we were glad we did, for those days that baby was too tired to go out, and we didnt want to pay for room service (fairly expensive).
Powerbars
Chocolate (in plastic baggies)
Almonds.

And you are so right about smiling and eye contact. Give them as much as possible.

[prechrswife]

Clothes: Don't overpack, but don't underpack, either. Babies spit up, etc., so you may want a couple of extra shirts for emergency changes. As for baby clothes, onesies and the pants made to match are great. If your baby is pretty young (under a year), you may want to pack more clothes than you would for an older baby. We had a hard time finding small baby sized clothes in Guangzhou. (Our dd was 9 months old and in 3-6 month sized clothes.)

Snacks: For babies, Gerber fruit puffs are great.

Plastic shoeboxes are great to take for washing/sterilizing bottles, etc. You can fill them with small items and put them in your luggage without taking up a lot of extra space. Take tongs to get items out of hot water.

[monami7]

We actually took diapers. We are huggies people! Anyway we took about 7 per day and never had 1 leak! I have traveed to Haiti and knew that it mattered to me. The bonus was that all the space left from her wearing them was space for SHOPPING!!!!

Also bring baby wash cloths and spit up rags. All of the babies in out group drolled all the time. much easier to go through 6 wash rags a day than 6 outfits.
Heidi

[overflowing]

One tip if you are leaving kiddos at home....we used webcams to call home. The BEST thing ever!!! The cams are reasonably priced and you can call for for free with skype. One of the most priceless moments in our lives was calling shortly after getting Cana and seeing big brother (10) just sob at the site of us holding his baby sister...joy just overwhelmed him...absolutely priceless!! Also, we made a small video of the kiddos at home to show our daughter so that she'd be really familiar with them. One read a story, one gave a tour of Cana's room, bed, & toys, and the younger ones just played and sang to her.

As far as a diaper bag, a normal/medium size purse is perfect. I knew I didn't want to be bogged down with a diaper bag. All outings with baby are short so you only need to bring a few things. I recommend you be able to sling it across your shoulder.

We were EXTREMELY happy with what we packed. I spent a year reading others lists and made ours from that (I know I'm nuts...had to pass the time somehow)We went as light as we could. We carried on one backpack and checked one large duffle bag. I packed an extra duffle bag and backpack for our goodies to bring home. I'm more than willing to share our list if anyone is interested. We traveled in July of this year. You can pm me with your email and I'll send it over. I updated it right after we got home.

I highly recommend bringing a small can of forumula and a few diapers and wipes (a days worth). We had no time to go to Wal-Mart. We landed late Sunday night, received our daughter early Monday morning, and spent all day doing paperwork. By the evening we just wanted to eat dinner and spend time with our princess. We didn't make it to Wal-Mart until late on Day #2 with Cana. Our orphanage did not bring anything with our daughter...she came with the clothes on her back. We would've been in big trouble if we didn't have that small can of forumla.

One more thing, I promise Have your camera's READY on gotcha day BEFORE you even get out of the car. We literally walked in the room and there she was...seconds later she was being handed to us. We would've missed everything on film if our friends, who traveled weeks before us, hadn't warned us about this. They missed their entire gotcha moment on film

Okay, I'm done...for now
Blessings!!
YouTube - Cana Day ~ Gotcha!

[sak9645]

AmyOinMn, I loved your recommendation about putting extra clothes for you and your child in your carryon. Let me add that you should do so both for going to China and for returning home from China.

Going to China, there is the possibility that your checked luggage will wind up in Guatemala City instead of Guangzhou, and you may be without it for a day or two, or even longer. It is smart to carry a change of clothes for yourself, so you don't have to go around looking like you slept in your clothes (even if you did, en route to China), and so you don't have to sit around a hotel room in your underwear, waiting for your suitcase. It is also smart to bring some clothes for your child, since you may wind up meeting him/her before the suitcase shows up.

Coming home, you definitely should pack at least one outfit for yourself and one for your baby. A lot of people think that they don't need to do so, because they don't need to worry about lost luggage. They'll be going home where they have plenty of clothes, right?

Wrong. As you pointed out, accidents happen. Some accidents are minor. Maybe your new baby decides to wave a toy around -- just when you are drinking a well-deserved glass of red wine or eating some spaghetti with red sauce. Do you really want to arrive at your destination, especially if people will be coming to the airport to meet you and take pictures, while you are wearing your food?

And, as you pointed out, some accidents are not so minor. If your child has a poop explosion or vomits, either or both of you may be covered in nasty, smelly substances. Do you really want to stink your way across the Pacific, offending all your fellow passengers?

My daughter was awake all night, right before we left Hong Kong for the U.S., because she had a tummyache. She then proceeded to vomit hugely all over both of us, just as we were rushing to board our plane. Luckily, I was an "experienced" Mom of about ten days, and had a change of clothes for me and two changes for Becca in my carryon. We ducked into a nearby ladies' room, changed from the skin out, and managed to make our flight.

In Los Angeles, Becca had a poop explosion during a long layover caused by a canceled flight. Luckily, I had one more change of clothes -- albeit pajamas -- for her. And luckily, the stool did not get on me.

One of the other single Moms in our group was not so lucky. She spent much of the Los Angeles layover standing in an airport ladies' room in her underwear, washing her clothes in the sink and drying them with the hand dryer, because her infant daughter pooped all over both of them! She had forgotten the cardinal rule of traveling with a baby, "Be Prepared."

Let me just say that some people differ a bit on two of your recommendations:

1. I, personally, recommend bringing at least some -- if not all -- diapers, wipes, and other baby supplies. First off, do you REALLY want to go shopping in Wal-Mart or somewhere for basics in China, when you can be enjoying your baby and sightseeing? And what if either you or your baby gets sick? If you can't stray far from a bathroom or are miserable for other reasons, you aren't going to want to shop. Also, many people feel that the diapers available in some parts of China don't absorb as well as those sold in the U.S., and many find that unscented or "natural" wipes -- much gentler on delicate or diaper rash covered skin -- can be hard to locate.

2. I fully agree with you about the weather in some parts of China. Lower lying parts of Southern China can be very, very humid and hot in late Spring and Summer. Your clothing will turn into a damp, wrinkled mess quickly. And you may also get caught in sudden, brief downpours. You will definitely want to be able to change your clothes daily, and occasionally twice a day. Your child may also get dirtier than usual.

While I agree that you probably should bring several changes of clothing, do remember that all the hotels also offer laundry service, and that laundry service may also be found, at a cheaper rate, in shops near your hotels. I found the hotel laundries to be excellent. Clothes were picked up in the morning and returned by evening, washed and pressed. It was so pleasant to be able to put on clean and freshly ironed clothing!

Personally, I didn't find the hotel laundries pricey, when compared against hotel laundries in the U.S. One way to keep costs down if using hotel laundries is to do most of your laundry when you are in your child's province, rather than in a major city like Guangzhou, Beijing, or Hong Kong, where prices are higher.

However, your guide may well be able to direct you to a laundry near the hotel, where you can get a better rate. You can bring your laundry there before you go out touring with your group, and pick it up when you return.

Doing laundry at least once or twice while in China will help you reduce the amount of clothing you need to pack for travel.

Some people like to travel with synthetic fiber clothing that doesn't wrinkle easily. However, bear in mind that the synthetics can make you feel extra warm, unless they are specifically made for sports or camping. They just don't "breathe" like cotton.

I found that I kept very cool wearing all cotton polos and socks, and cotton/poly blend or all cotton slacks. Yes, they wrinkled, but I used laundry services liberally and always looked reasonably "put together".

Whatever fabric you choose, go for light colors. They may show dirt more easily, but they reflect, rather than absorbing, heat. I chose beige or white slacks with colorful tee shirts and polos.

Some people say that the laundries in China use very hot water and that they can cause cotton clothes to shrink. I did not have that experience. However, to be on the safe side, never take brand new garments to China; wash them a few times, first. And look for items that are pre-shrunk.

Sharon

[KarenInCa]

More ZIPLOCKS! and clothes tips for baby:

We used the extra large ziplock baggies for DDs clothes and diapers.
We had considered buying diapers in China, but glad we didn't. I guess it's a personal preference. Buying them in China saves space, but bringing saves hastle. If you decide to bring them, put them in large ziplock baggies and suck the air out of the baggies, they go fairly flat. Consider 4-5 per day.

Also, we found it extremely helpful to pack DD's clothes that way too. For each day there, I packed one outfit and had that outfit in it's own sealed ziplock bag....undershirt, top, pants, socks, hair ties....all in matching coordinates if I wanted. That way, DH could grab a baggie and dress DD without a huge amount of guess work. You can buy cute clothes in GZ, so I would only pack 1 outfit per day, with a few extra shirts.
The large baggies then doubled as a wounderful stink pot when they were empty, for diapers, and dirty clothes.

Now a little about the CLOHTING POLICE!
There are many older ladies that will scold you (We called them clothing police) if you do not have your child dressed in layers. Three layers seems to be the norm. t-shirt, top, jacket (or thin button up over shirt during warmer months). Also, the legs should be covered completely by socks or tights under the pants, even when the child sits down. Some people think this is just rude to scold parents when they don't follow this ....but we followed it.
There were two reasons-
-First, our daughter was used to dressing this way, and changing that could upset her emotionally as well as upset her health.
-Second, we thought it was important to show respect to the people.
The older women (and some older men) that scolded adoptive parents seemed to feel they had an important job to do. They view 3 layers of clothes as an act of love by the parents. Keep in mind, in China, ALL heat is turned off by the government in the south by March and then it's all turned off in the north by April, so in their minds, without three layers, the child could become sick. That's also why you will see pictures from Gotcha Day with the child dressed like the pillsburry doughboy. Our daughter came to us with 5 layers of clothes and a thick outer jacket in mid March. We thought she was just really fat and couldn't walk yet. Nope....she was layered so much that she looked fat, and the clothing restricted her from walking very far :-)
We found though, that the t-shirts also absorbed the sweat away from our daughter, during the humidity. No matter which time of year, you WILL feel the humidity, at least while in GZ.

As for adults. Bring enough socks and underware to toss them as you use them. The clothes are easily washed by laundrymats that pick up clothes from hotels for you, and brought back the next day...but really, who wants someone to wash, dry, and press their underware and dirty socks?.....besides Mom. Buy a few bags of the bulk socks and bulk underware from Walmart or target, and you'll do just fine wearing them and tossing them without breaking the bank.

Keep the tips coming......Who's next?

[sakelley]

When buying things in China, always pay with the lowest possible denomination bill. This will help avoid getting counterfeit money as change. When we were at the Great Wall, we wanted to buy 2 bottles of water and my husband gave the guy a five (in yen). The guy tried to say it was counterfeit and refused it because he seen that my husband also had fifty's & hundreds. So my husband gave him another five and we walked away. We showed our guide the five he refused and she said it was not counterfeit but he was trying to get us to pay with a fifty or hundred so that he could give us counterfeit money as change.

[prechrswife]

Skype was great for calling home. It was very inexpensive. We did travel with our laptop, and are very glad that we did so. We were able to maintain our website and keep up with emails from friends and family.

This may sound strange, but pack some duct tape. (I have been told you can find it in small quantities in stores with camping supplies.) This kept showing up on packing lists of other people, but I didn't listen. One of our rolling duffle bags got a huge rip, and guess what would have solved our problem--duct tape, of course. (As an aside, the rip was in one of the smaller pockets, thankfully.)

Pack fragile items in your carry-on for the return home, as much as possible. TSA chose our souvenir suitcase for a random search and broke a couple of items, including several pieces of our dd's tea set from her home province.

I agree with packing extra clothes in your carry-on for plane travel. I would say to pack more than one outfit for the baby in the carry-on. Our dd went through every outfit I had in the carry-on on the way home. (If you have selected a special homecoming outfit, put that one on right before you get to your home airport, or wherever you want her/him to be wearing it. Don't expect it to stay clean all the way from China.) Also, pack more in your carry-on than you think you will need as far as diapers, wipes, formula, fruit puffs/cheerios, baby clothes go. We had an 8 hour weather delay in Chicago, and had to buy several things at the airport to get us through until our flight left.

On diapers, we used both. The diapers from home were definitely better, but we were able to get by with the Chinese diapers. We did have some leak issues, though.

If you are traveling in coach, spring for the extra seat for your child. It is WELL worth the added expense. Our dd slept on that seat, sat there and played, and when she was in our laps, we were able to use it as a place to spread out to make bottles, etc.

[Trace7]

Thanks for all the tips! We leave in 3 days.

[AmyOinMN]

Originally Posted by sakelley

When buying things in China, always pay with the lowest possible denomination bill. This will help avoid getting counterfeit money as change. When we were at the Great Wall, we wanted to buy 2 bottles of water and my husband gave the guy a five (in yen). The guy tried to say it was counterfeit and refused it because he seen that my husband also had fifty's & hundreds. So my husband gave him another five and we walked away. We showed our guide the five he refused and she said it was not counterfeit but he was trying to get us to pay with a fifty or hundred so that he could give us counterfeit money as change.

Oh that reminds me! Pay close attention to their money...Their 50 yuan & 50 cent yuan bills look alike, except the 50 cent ones are smaller. My mom got scammed by a taxi driver - gave her a 50 cent bill instead a 50 yuan bill back. They tried to do that at the jade market too but we caught it. They know that we don't know