What Baby Stuff To Ship To Hk ?

[Sonia DB]

I am shortly relocating to HK with my newborn & wanted to find out what stuff I should ship ? I.E napppies, formula milk etc etc

Any tips ?

 

[spockey]

We brought everything we had in our nursery to HK as it didn't affect our shipping costs too much. We couldn't get our formula here so we had to substitute with a localised version of it. So you may want to look into it. Our baby is fine though with the local version, although I think he actually was sleeping better (longer) with the Oz version. Most things you can get in HK. The only thing we still get our friends to bring in from Oz is over the counter baby medication - panadol, benazin, vicks baby balm etc... only because we were more comfortable using stuff like that from home. But there are lots of parents who use the local stuff and their bubs are fine.

The one thing we wish we brought was those cot protectors/fabric barricades, the cot sizes here in HK are smaller. We have a Boori sized cot and we can't find anything suitable here. I have never tried looking for cot linen but I'm presuming we won't be able to find it here either.

 

[kashismum]

It's so hard to say since only you know what your priorities are. Basically, HK is not third-world, so you can get everything for a baby here. Of course, there are local variations, though.

I would say, if shipping what you have will save you the hassle and the cost of buying stuff when you get here, do it. If not, just bring the stuff you love and could not do without.

Of course, you can buy cot linens here! And, one big advantage compared with elsewhere is that if you can't find exactly what you want, it's often cheaper to get it custom made than have it shipped from overseas.

 

[sky123]

My sister who came from UK did notice that the nappies here are not as absorbant as those in UK. But of course it just means you will have to change the baby more often. Oh I did get the baby daily nappy cream sent over from UK. I find that all creams in Hong Kong are more diluted (not as creamy) even if they sell it here (usually not manufactured in same plant as the UK creams).

 

[annahk]

You can get almost everything at Bumps to Babes in Ap Lei Chau or at their Peddar St. branch. They sell the UK Pampers which are definitely better than the version sold in Wellcome etc., just more expensive. They can usually order anything that they so not have in stock, but then you have to pay shipping. You can buy Sudocrem, anti-bacterial wipes, Carex soaps etc. there that I have not found elsewhere here.

There is no Gap here, even though you can buy lots of BabyGap stuff in Stanley Market (a whole lot cheaper), the range tends to be a season out and more limited. Same applied to Next. I load up on Gap socks when I'm in London. I also like to buy a few co-ordinating outfits, which they tend not to have in Stanley. There are plenty of wonderful children's stores though, and the shopping centres are very well organised so that most child-related shops are located on the same floor as one another. Singapore has even more , so you will not have to fly all the way home everytime that you need to stock up.

You will find Start-rite shoes here, but I have only found one store that stocks them and they have a much more limited range (and cost about twice the price), so that's another thing on my list every time that we return. Children's shoe stores in London seem to offer a much more extensive range and better fitting service. Unfortunately you cannot really place an order with grandparents or other visitors when they fly over as the child obviously needs to be present for the fitting.

I would bring lots of BBC DVDs of your children's favourite programmes though, as Playhouse Disney and Nick are not as good from an educational point of view for young children.

I'd still bring your whole nursery, buggy etc., as the marginal cost of shipping is minimal. Even in the year that we've been here I've noticed a lot more stuff available.

The one thing that I still miss is organic and 'homemade' baby and children's meals (I used to buy lots at Cook and Waitrose). I guess that because most people have helpers, they do not have the demand here. Miss foodhalls too. I cannot believe that I am admitting this, but I even miss M&S ready meals (although I was never a huge fan when I could walk down the road to get them. Cannot ship them though.

Will post if I think of anything else. Good luck with the move.

 

[Sonia DB]

Wow thks for the info everyone. I realise most stuff would be available but its what you get used to using for your little one. As we are shipping our stuff I will just stock up on the bits I use.

Thks again