American mom's need suggestions !!

S

Sherry5

Registered User
Hello American mom's .. need suggestions for stuff to carry for a 12 month old we are shifting to HK this NOV for good.. planning to stay near tsing yi area (still looking for apartment/home) (my baby is 9 months old now)
1. what stroller to carry for HK..
I have a "chicco" stroller which is a little bulky but very good and Have purchased a new one of "Jeep" which is ultra light weight which is almost of the weight of a umbrellas stroller but has a Big storage basket underneath, a nice and good canopy, child and parent tray but its very light weight.. so was wondering will the CHICCO be too bulky to carry around HK and will JEEP be too light weight .. tooo confused please suggest..
2. Baby crib planning to ship our BABY CRIB .. are HK aparments bed rooms big enough to fit a bed and a baby crib ( we are planning for a 2 bed room apt)
3. Baby on SIMILAC ADVANCE(birth to 12 month) will try the same brand for after 12 months but do i need to shift or any suggestion on a good HK brand baby milk power/formula or should i ship from US (shipping is company paid so not a issue)
4. Anyother stuff you all feel I should carry .. I don't want to regret later..
Thankyou all in advance ..
 
Interesting questions. Here are my thoughts:

Stroller: You are probably going to use the light weight stroller much more than the other. But it depends on how often you use taxi vs. MTR. With my first, we had a light weight COMBI stroller because lived on Hong Kong Island and often ran into stairs. We now live in Kowloon and have a bigger Peg Perego stroller since we take the MTR on most occasions. I would just make sure the JEEP will survive city living and everyday use.

Crib: We have a US size crib in my daughter's room. It would be a tight fit to get a bed (assuming single) in there as well. Of course we also have a wardrobe and changing table in the room. With that said, I didn't really like the small Hong Kong size cribs (there are varying sizes) so was much more comfortable with a US size crib. If you do bring your US crib, make sure you bring sheets, etc as well as they are more difficult to find here.

Formula: You can find Similac out here that would essentially be comparable to US (probably has a slightly different name). No need to switch if happy with Similac. I have used Nestle NAN which is comparable to Nestle Good Start in US. I have also switched between the 2 when traveling to US with no problems. If your baby is sensitive, you may want to ship / bring a few cans with you just in case.

You can find most things you want here in Hong Kong. But keep in mind the variety is often much less and many things are more expensive (particularly if you want name brands). I do often shop in US and bring things back. If company is shipping you, you may want to consider buying some clothes and shoes in up sizes.

Feel free to page me if you have more questions.
 
Just came back from the States last week.

Here are my thoughts as an American who has been living in HK off and on for over a decade and who has two small children (one born in the States, one born here).

Stroller: It doesn't matter as much how light-weight your JEEP stroller is--it matters how wide it is. You'll need something you can squeeze into tight spaces--such as through the MTR turnstiles and other blockages found all over HK. Of course it needs to be light enough that you can carry it up or down flights of stairs as you will run into this situation a lot in HK. Depending on where you live in HK, this city can eat up your stroller in a hurry. With my first child we went through no less than 4 strollers before he was 3-years-old--all quality brands. But, that could have something to do with our "country living."

The stroller I liked the best for light-weight portability was a Combi URBAN--definitely no storage space on that one but could fold up and be worn as a backpack and had longer handles and was narrower than most. I know that MacClaren strollers seem to hold up a lot better than most in HK and they're also fairly light-weight. With our second child we have a Combi stroller but we rarely use it--we bought an Ergo Performance baby carrier and she nearly lived in that thing for a good 9 months and we still use it every single day. Best to buy an Ergo or the equivalent before you get here--will have more selection and better prices. For us, it's a must-have in HK.

Crib: HK apartments vary in size and lay-out. We had a twin-bed-sized crib (American-style) with my first child but my second child has only slept in a Pack-n-Play which has been good. With two children now we just don't have the dedicated space to set up a bulky crib--in fact, we gave our son's crib away recently because it was just taking up space in storage. We considered getting a small HK-size "space-saver" crib but my daughter co-slept with us for so long that it seemed kind of pointless in the end. Now, at 18-months-old we're planning to move her into her older brother's room in some sort of bunk-bed or trundle bed arrangement. If you have an extra room to make into a baby's room, might as well just buy a full or small-sized crib here but if you want a Pack n' Play best to bring one from the States--there is more selection and they are much cheaper there. That's where we bought ours--we just brought it over in our luggage.

Formula: Not much to offer in way of advice on this. With my son we used a brand found in HK and it worked well but my son didn't have any allergies. If I had used formula with my daughter I think I would have used goat's milk formula which you can get here as when I switched my son to goat's milk his digestion was better. Sometimes there are formula shortages here in HK for certain brands because of the Mainland demand for "safe" formula so I know that recently some parents have started going directly to wholesalers to buy formula for their babies. I don't know how many people are really affected by this. I guess you could order the formula and have it shipped if need be if money isn't an issue.

What to bring? Well, on my recent trip back I bought a lot of different toiletries and supplements that I use and can't easily get here. I also bought clothes--it's very hard to find clothes that fit well here for me. Another thing was shoes--I probably bought about 10 pairs of shoes! Those would be my top three: 1) clothes 2) shoes 3) supplements/vitamins and toiletries (okay, I guess that's kind of like four).

Happy Moving!
 
Thanksyou ... Thanka2 I really find each and every word of ur reply informative.. helped a lot to make some decision.
 
Hey American Mom, welcome to Hong Kong. I see that you have already gotten a lot of good info. The only thing I would add, having moved here from NY 5 years ago and since had 2 kids here, is that you should avoid buying too much stuff that you think you will need in the US in preparation for moving here. Some things end up not being totally useful once you arrive, such as clothes. When you arrive here it will be turning cold. It is often humid and most apartments do not have heat. You will end up bundling indoors your baby in more layers than you would otherwise if you were still in the states. That's something to think about but you can always get clothes here whenever you need here. A lot of US merchants ship to HK now (just be prepared to suck down the shipping fees) so you won't feel completely cut off from the things you are used to. Just one exception though, I love Carter's footed sleep outfits for my baby (now 11 months) and that you cannot get in HK.

As for formulas, Similac is available in HK but the formulation might be a little different. You should do some research to get comfortable on this. There are many many brands of formulas available in HK, including a bunch of brands from Europe that might not be available readily in the US. My daughter is now on HIPP Organic, which is a German brand. I love it. There are more choices here so if you keep an open mind to try you might find something else you like better than Similac.

Good luck!
 
swwich said:
Hey American Mom, welcome to Hong Kong. I see that you have already gotten a lot of good info. The only thing I would add, having moved here from NY 5 years ago and since had 2 kids here, is that you should avoid buying too much stuff that you think you will need in the US in preparation for moving here. Some things end up not being totally useful once you arrive, such as clothes. When you arrive here it will be turning cold. It is often humid and most apartments do not have heat. You will end up bundling indoors your baby in more layers than you would otherwise if you were still in the states. That's something to think about but you can always get clothes here whenever you need here. A lot of US merchants ship to HK now (just be prepared to suck down the shipping fees) so you won't feel completely cut off from the things you are used to. Just one exception though, I love Carter's footed sleep outfits for my baby (now 11 months) and that you cannot get in HK.

As for formulas, Similac is available in HK but the formulation might be a little different. You should do some research to get comfortable on this. There are many many brands of formulas available in HK, including a bunch of brands from Europe that might not be available readily in the US. My daughter is now on HIPP Organic, which is a German brand. I love it. There are more choices here so if you keep an open mind to try you might find something else you like better than Similac.

Good luck!
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Yes, there are much cheaper baby clothes here in Hong Kong and yes, you can get the footed sleep sets by Carters if you know which export outlet stores to go to--I've bought several here in HK. However, the US has more quality and quantity of selection for such items.

But, adult-sized clothes can be tricky to get at a decent price here depending on your size and shape. I wear size 9 1/2-10 in womens' shoes and cannot buy dress or athletic shoes off-the-rack here in HK (if I want womens' shoes that is) so I buy those in the States.

And yes, don't over-pack because apartments are small here and you may find that you have no room for most of the things you bring. Just pick and choose and bring the things you think will be precious to you here.
 
The stroller width issue is actually kind of a big deal. Yes, there are oversized MTR exits as most stations for luggage and wheelchairs, but not necessarily at every exit. Having a stroller that can fit through the turnstiles is actually very helpful. We have a McLaren that fits through most turnstiles but there are a few older stations that have more narrow gates where we get stuck. Be sure you can pop the stoller down to 'taxi trunk' size easily--you'll be doing that quite a bit moving it around.

As for what to bring, the 'musts' would be anything that you have a particular 'taste' for which might be more difficult to obtain here: cinnamon flavored toothpaste, or redheaded frizzy perm shampoo, or some BBQ sauce you like from a local place. The more unique the more difficult (but not impossible) to obtain over here.

You can get 'everything' over here but there are some caveats. For example, my local Wellcome will stock 'Prego' pasta sauce, but only one or two flavors that are popular here (like basil and garlic) and not something you may be more used to in the USA (like bolognese). Same goes for things like shampoo. You can get 'Vidal Sassoon' this and that, but most of it is for straight silky hair (i.e. 90% of the population) rather than say naturally curly. And on and on. You'll also have to deal with price and size differences, paying a bit more for a bit less than you are used to if you want the Western brands. If you are still in diapers, then bring over some of those as you'll probably get them cheaper at Walmart than you'll pay at the baby stores here. And wet wipes--whoa--the markup on those was obscene. I think I brought over two big cases of them when our youngest was still in diapers. Saved quite a bit of money.

Others have also mentioned bigger sized clothes and shoes. Also, if you are bringing over American mattresses be advised that they are a different size than the ones sold here, and thus, the sheets are also a different size. You may want to bring an extra set of bedding.

Again, you can find most anything, but it might mean heading to three stores over a couple of hours and a cab and an MTR to get the same thing you can find in one trip to Target or a few minutes on Amazon.com.

We stock up heavily when returning from trips to the US. On the last flight I brought about 30kilos worth of food and whatnot I bought in the US via Amazon / Target. I think it cost about $400USD. Had I bought it all here, it would have been about $600USD and would have taken a couple of days to go to this store and that.

If they are paying for shipping, and if you have a place to put it (which might be the tougher bit) then feel free to bring it over.
 
Hi Sherry5,

Welcome to Hong Kong! Looks like you have gotten some good advice from PP; I just want to add that the comment that you can "get everything" in HK is true, but there's a mark up and don't expect to find anything that is a specialty item. I stock up on vitamins from Whole Foods, Advil, our favorite Vermont maple syrup, and Annie's fruit chew bunnies when I go back to the US, just as an example of how specific the specialty item needs to be.

Stroller-wise, definitely an umbrella stroller is the way to go; there are stairs and narrow walkways everywhere here, and portability is key. We have a Maclaren. Good luck!
 
I wanted to say that regarding wet-wipes...we buy them at local pharmacies here in HK and they were actually cheaper for the brand we use than they are in the States. We use Huggies natural care (no perfume) and last time I looked they were anywhere from 28-36 HKD for a large refill pack (will last us about a 3 weeks for my daughter) which evens out to less than $5 USD. So, sometimes the mark-ups you'll find in the chain grocery stores aren't there if you know where else to look. I've become an expert at sourcing better and cheaper deals on products we often use and have relied on this and other local websites to find what I'm looking for as well.

Also, I've found that my taste in food has actually changed since living here. Things that were staples of my American diet I lived so long without and then when I go back to the States, I think, "Why did I think these were so hard to live without? What's the big deal?" The things I really wish I could get (fresh, organic, decently-priced produce) can't be carried in luggage from the States anyway. And in the same way things that are really luxury items where I'm from (fresh coconut juice straight from the coconut) are comparatively cheap here so I am able to enjoy them more often. It takes awhile but if you're here "for good" as you indicated in your original post and you take the time I'm sure some of the "must-haves" from the States will fade and be replaced by great things you can get here too.
 
lovely .. thankyou swwich & Coco123 on more inputs .. Its like I am getting more n more info from all ur experiences !!!
 
Oooh, I do agree on stocking up on Advil (can't get that in HK) and Tylenol, etc. brandname meds. Tylenol in HK is Panadol. We also get our supplies of Infant Tylenol and cold meds for the kids. I find those properly packaged syrups generally less suspicious than the orange bottles you get from the pediatrician's offices here.
 
Advil == ibuprofen
Tylenol (and Panadol) == acetaminophen/paracetamol

You can get these drugs, in generic form readily in many places. The brand name versions are more expensive it would be a waste of money and space bringing them over. May as well get used to local versions since OP is moving here for good.
 
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