[pjgodwin]

My husband and I are leaving Wednesday to pick up our son. Our embassy appointment is Friday, and we have to stay over the weekend to pick up the visa on Monday. Of course we have to pack extra clothes for us and the baby. (He is 5 months old.)

But, for those who have gone and picked up, what do you wish you would have packed? I am terrified that in my excited panic I will forget something... Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thanks as always,

PJ

[tybeemuffin]

I only went for a visit trip, but here is something I learned. These babies are very small. My little girl is 6 months old (and is actually fairly tall by Guatemalan standards) and the 6 to 9 month clothes fall off of her. This can be a bit dangerous if the sleepers are way to big. Thankfully the FM sent with her with some 0 to 3 and 3 to 6 clothes that I had sent down previously. If I didn't have those I would have had Marriott doing laundry everyday.

My suggestion would be to go buy some 3 to 6 month clothes and leave the tags on. If they end up being too small you can always return them when you get home.

Have a great trip!

[Scarletann]

We forgot dish soap to wash the bottles. We tried in everyway possible to get the Hotel Staff to understand what we wanted (Westin) but we got many things delivered ... none were dish soap. We ended up asking another family picking up for some to wash bottles.

Scarlet

[cerca]

Actually our son was huge. At 41/2 months he was wearing 6-9 month clothes so pack a range. We forgot petroleum jelly. Our little guy had a fever. We had a thermometer but had to use desitin instead of petroleum jelly. We were glad we had a stroller and a few little toys for him to play with. Don't forget the cameras!!!

Have a great trip,
Jess

[lwils89701]

Pack less!

The hardest part of both of my pick up trips was trying to navigate baby, diaper bag, carryon, stroller and luggage through all of the security check points, immigration, and in and out of vehicles. I took less than a third of the stuff on my second pick up trip and it was so much better.

Remember: Water, formula, diapers, wipes, baby cereal, shampoo, toothpaste and clothing can all be purchased so don't do what I did and double everything just in case. There is laundry available if you go through one too many shirts...and you can with a baby. Since your baby is so young, I would keep toys down to a rattle, a soft teether or two and maybe a soft book that makes soft sounds. My children were 6 & 8 months at pick up and didn't really have much interest in toys yet. They enjoyed everyday items more... i.e., a straw, cereal box, baby spoon, even the rougher texture on a dinner napkin could soothe.

Must haves include:

Paperwork...passports, copies of tax returns, etc.

A camera!

A phone card with contact numbers for the agency, facilitator, attorney's friends and family. (Email addresses are great too!)

A list of the questions you would like to ask the foster family...trust me, they will go right out of your head once you are holding your baby.

Heavy ziploc bags for the messy diapers...if you don't have a room with a balcony they keep the room bearable.

I missed not having small pocket knife...it seems like I was always wishing for one to cut a stray string, break the plastic seal on baby food jars, cut packing tape, etc. Of course, you can only take one in checked baggage.

A nightlight for late feedings. I found even the bathroom light was too harsh for those feedings and if I could keep it fairly dark my two would fall right back to sleep after a feeding.

Slip-on rubber shoes...great for hotel (their carpets aren't always very clean), the pool, and for the airport when the regular shoes have to go through the Xray machine.

Enjoy! Once you have your baby in your arms, you will find you have plenty of time and patience for the remainder of the red tape.

[gracie79]

Our little sweetie was 5.5 months...she wore between 6-9 months clothes (16 lbs). What we wished we would have done was to activate our calling card in the U.S. We forgot to do and couldn't use it over there.

Also...our baby didn't poop for several days. We had baby suppositories but they didn't work. Our agency coordinator down there took us to the grocery store to get prune juice... thank goodness!

Did you let your bank/credit cards know you'd be using your card outside the U.S?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

[kauai2k]

I wanted to emphasize the points about bringing toys or "things" for the baby to hold and explore that are age appropriate.

And also - for SURE - let your credit card company know that you will be in Guatemala.
diane

[gdbe]

I've posted this before, but I cleaned out my purse prior to the trip, and left my money at home . All the work to get all those nice crisp singles from the bank for nothing!!

It still worked out fine. I would just concentrate on what not to forget on the carryons for the trip home- like the extra clothes, and some toys for entertainment.

Gail

[Suzeb1]

I forgot toys. My daughter was a week shy of six months old and really appreciated the bear and other things my sister remembered to bring.

I second the advice to bring several sizes of clothes. I had to call home and have my mom buy some 12 month clothes for my not yet 6 month old. She's still at the 97th percentile 9 months later.

Sometimes those "little" Guatemalan babies aren't.http://forums.adoption.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[mildredjohn]

Well this is funny! I didn't forget anything at home but the day of the appointment I left at the hotel safe the money to pay the VISA!

[annaguat]

We traveled very light and I really liked it. For two babies and two adults two diaper bags, two umbrella strollers, two baby Maya pouches and two small cary on suit cases.I would say pack and repack and maybe bring a bunch of items you would not mind leaving behind like basic baby sleepers, formula,blankets, etc. Anything can be put to good use down there and you will need the space to take souvenirs home. Anna

[kcbailey777]

Don't worry. You can get anything you need in Guatemala. However, making a list of what you need will cut down on leaving things at home.

I made two mistakes while packing. The worst was using the suitcase I planed to leave the foster mother for my stuff. When I packed to return home I was forced to leave stuff behind. The second mistake I made is not taking enough asprin and sudafed. My allergies are better in Guatemala but I was sick before I left and got a lot worse in Guatemala. The altitude makes sinus pain 10 times worse and the pharmacy wanted about $17.00 for Sudafed.

Lisa

[Madison8]

We had brought these fancy evenflo bottles with comfort grip and all she would take were the plain old fashioned bottles with the brown nipples. We had to buy them at the gift shop. Another thing that worked well for us was ziploc bags. I packed everything in large, medium, and small ziplocs. By squeezing the air out and squishing them down we saved tons of room in our suitcases. They were also very handy to have around once we got to Guatemala. Good Luck and get your questions for the foster mother ready now. Its hard to complete a thought once that baby is in your sight. Have a safe trip.

[adoptionnewbie]

A Bottle Brush!

[snshaner]

A couple of notes
1) As far as dishsoap - we used the wipes that already have the dishsoap in them - ie: Dawn - or Palmolive - we found this easier than taking a bottle of dishsoap - and I was worried that it would spring a leak.
2) Don't forget to pack a change of clothes for you and hubby in your carry-ons - we got delayed and could not come home on the day we left Guat - I had plenty of extras for my kiddo - but none for us - and that was no fun!
3) Enjoy yourself! You will always remember this trip and will recall it forever!

Sharon