An overdue post

Here it is, finally. The "way" overdue post about what items we took with us for Meghan to China that we used or did not need. I apologize for this taking so long. Things have been hectic lately now that Meghan is becoming more active. She is rolling everywhere and now loves to play on her belly. She used to hate being on her belly. Meghan is very curious and reaches for anything and everything. She still likes to play in her jumper or activity center, but also likes it when we stand her up against the couch or just hold her fingers. Meghan gets very excited when she stands. She went to the doctor last week and we are pleased to announce that she now weighs 18.8 lbs. She is packing on the weight! She is starting to eat more table food and has liked everything we have introduced to her. It is amazing as to how much she has changed since we first saw her.

Things that we definately used in China:

• 3 8oz Playtex bottles and 1 4oz Playtex bottle with drop in liners for both. These worked great for easy cleaning. We just boiled hot water (There should be hot water pots in your hotel room) to sterilize the nipples everytime they needed to be washed. We would wash the rest of the bottle in very hot water.


• Diaper bag. Bring one with for when you are out and about!


• Variety of bottle Nipples (bring 4-5 moderate/fast flow). Make sure you open the nipples before you get the baby. MJ and I did not know that you are supposed to squeeze the top of them to get them to start working. Meghan got upset with us the first time we gave her a bottle. It was horrible. Also, pierce the hole a little bit more to make it flow a little faster. The babies like the milk to flow fast from the bottle.


• Disposable baby spooons and three of those Gerber plastic bowls with lids. We used the bowls to boil her bottle nipples in and they came in handy for other things too. The disposable spoons were great too. We washed them and reused them. Unless we dropped one on a dirty floor, then it was disposed of.


• Snugli baby carrier. Meghan loved being in the carrier and it was great for traveling or touring.


• Bulb aspirator. She had a little bit of a cold, so this was definately needed.


• Disposable bibs. We brought 1 box of them with us and used only three. These are great because if they don't get dirty you can reuse them or vice-versa.


• A&D ointment (with Zinc oxide). This was great. Meghan had a really bad diaper rash when we got her. We put this on her after every diaper change and it cleared up in two days. We still use it to this day. It is the best diaper rash ointment!!


• Digital under the arm, in the mouth, or rectal thermometer. We used it under the arm a couple of times. Definately bring one, you never know when you may need it.


• KY Jelly. Bring a small travel size container with you, just in case. We did not use it, but we had it in case we needed it.


• First aid Kit. We purchased a small one and I made sure it had enough items that we use on a normal basis.


• Disposable changing pads. These are great. I had a plastic changing pad from Meghan's diaper bag that I used in the hotel room. When we were out, I did not carry a plastic changing pad with me at all. You can re-use them if they don't get dirty or dispose of it, if it does get dirty. I brought one package with me and only disposed of two, the entire trip.


• Hair accessories and Brush. Definately bring a brush. Even if there is a little bit of hair, you can still brush it! I brought some barrettes, but did not need them because Meghan's hair was cut short before we got her. Her hair was not long enough to hold them. But they do not take up much room and it was nice having them with because towards the end of the week I was able to put at least one of them in her hair for a picture.


• Prune juice or Prunes (food) for constipation. We did not use it, but I would definately pack it just in case you might need it.


• Fingernail clippers. Must have item. Meghan's little nails were little daggars when we got her! They were so long and she had a lot of scratches all over her because her nervous tick is to scratch herself and behind her head!


• Aveeno Wash and Shampoo/Lotion. This stuff works great. It is soft on the baby and smells good. It is really good for their skin because they have eczema problems. Meghan's skin gets dry and flaky, which is one of the other reasons she always itched herself when we first got her. The lotion has helped her skin stay moisturized.


• Neutrogena T-Gel Shampoo for treatment of craddle crap. Meghan's scalp was very dry when we first got her. We used this shampoo for the first 5 days and it cleared right up. But, I was glad we brought it. We hardly use it now.


• 1 hooded towel and wash cloth. (They are much softer than the hotel towels.) We used it twice in a row and would send it out to be cleaned when we sent out our laundry. We did not pay any more than 30 USD for laundry the entire time we were in China and we sent ours out at least 5-6 times when we were there.


• Cheerios. We brought a lot of them and did not use the majority of them. This would be your call. Meghan was not feeding herself and only would play with them when we gave them to her. So we wasted a lot of them. But, she did eat them if we fed them to her.


• Toys/Books. We brought stacking cups, a couple of teether type toys, a couple of soft books, a photo book (who loves baby), and a couple of soft rattle type toys. Meghan really enjoyed the stacking cups and photo book.


• Tylenol. We brought the cold and sinus along with regular tylenol for infants. We used both when we were in China. Meghan had a slight cold when we got her and the tylenol cold and sinus helped her at night and we used the regular tylenol for teething pain.


• Baby Teething Orajel. We used this for her because she was cutting her top teeth. I don't know how long it works on them, but it did help her some.


• Children's fingertip brush and toothpaste for infants. Meghan loves to have us brush her teeth. The little brush not only cleans them, but massages the gums too. Which helps with the teething. Meghan also likes the taste of the toothpaste. She liked getting her teeth brushed at night (and still does)!


• 2 Blankets and activity blanket. We used them all! I was glad we brought them because the blankets in the hotel were too thick and she does not like to be covered up much.


• 3 Cloth bibs. These we used all the time because Megahn was teething and she is a drooler! She still uses them!


• Formula. We brought one small can of Similac formula with iron. We never used it, but I recommend that you pack it in a zip lock bag because ours was opened by Hong Kong customs on the way home and was not sealed correctly. When we got home, there was formula all over Meghan's bag. Thankfully most of her stuff was packed in ziplocks, but we did have major clean up and that was not fun after many hours of traveling.


• Baby Wipes and Disposable Diapers. We brought about 15 American Diapers, size 3 with us and a couple of travel packets of disposable wipes along. We were able to purchase more diapers in China (get the green package of diapers) and huggies wipes. We had to get Meghan size 2 diapers because she was only 15lbs when we got her. The size 3 diapers were too big at first, but by the end of the two weeks, around the time we came home, she was able to fit slightly better in the size 3's.

Clothes: This is tricky. I brought all 9mos and some 12 mos based upon Meghan's referral information and from the update we got right before we traveled. Meghan's weight before we left put her right at a 9mos. size. When we got her, all of her 9mos. outfits were swimming on her. She was a 6mos. size, easily. I even brought her some shoes and they were way too big. I wish I had brought a couple of 6 mos. outfits as a backup. We did find some little outfits in China that fit her and shoes when we reached Guangzhou. Shoes were hard to find until we arrived there! I brought 3 sleepers, 3 of those outfits that have the footsies but are not pajamas type outfits for the airplanes, several onesies, a couple of dress outfits, and bubble type outfits. I think I had about 12 different outfits total. I also brought socks and a swimsuit for her! We used the swimsuit at the White Swan in Guangzhou.

Things that we did not use in China:

• Wash 'n' Dri packets. I brought these with, but hardly used them. I used my hand sanitizer more.


• Plastic Diaper cover. I had read on someone's packing list, to bring one with us in case Meghan would have "the big one" somewhere in public or on the airplane. We never had that issue, but it was nice to have it just in case.


• Teething Bisquits by Gerber. We brought them, and they were messy. Megahn figured out how to hold them and put them in her mouth by the 5th day we had her. The only problem with them is that she sucked on it and the bisquit got on everything! They are too messy for me to deal with. I stopped using them and preferred the Cherrio's.


• Hats for infants. Meghan does not like to put anything on her head, so we did not use it hardly.


• Baby Sunscreen. We were never outside long enough to use the sunscreen, plus it was so hot that it would have melted off anyway. I guess this would depend upon what time of the year you travel to China. In July, it is way to hot to be outside for long periods of time. It is very humid and you sweat like crazy!


• 1 Sippy Cup. We brought one with us, but Meghan had no interest in it other than as a toy. She would not put it in her mouth at all.


• Rice Cereal (to add to the formula in the bottle). I never opened the box when we were there and ended up donating it to one of the shops on Shaimain Island in Guangzhou. Meghan liked her bottles with just the Chinese formula.


• Liquilytes or Pedialyte liquid. Take one or the other, not both. I brought both and never used any of them. I tried to give Megahn some pedialyte and she refused it. I was worried she would get dehydrated because it was so hot, but she did not want anything to do with the pedialyte and to this day she does not. She likes orange juice, so I water it down to a 40 (oj)/60 (h2O) mixture.


• Disposable Washclothes. I brought them with and used one on Meghan, but I felt it dried her skin out too much, so I did not use the rest of them.


• Insect Repellant (Non-Deet). We brought it with and never used it. You can also buy infant insect repellant in China. I found it at Wal-Mart when we went on our shopping spree while in Nanchang.


• Thermos to keep water hot for bottles. We brought one with us, but never used it. Only for cherrio storage! Meghan was not fussy and drank room temperature bottles. We would make her bottles very hot (boiled the water in the room) before we left if we knew we would need to give her one when we were out touring or going somewhere where we could not fix her bottle.


• Benadryl liquid. We brought this with and never used it. I am glad we had it, in case we may have needed it.


• Neosporin or Bactracin (non-script triple antibiotic ointment for cuts or scrapes) We brought it with, but again, never used it.


• Diaper cloths. We brought them with, but never used them. Meghan never really spit up anything.

I hope this helps those of you who will be traveling in the future. I appreciated any tips or hints that I could find on other people's blogs, websites, or on any China adoption information websites. The most helpful website for me throughout the wait was the RQ website. I will post a link to it under my favorites list. RQ's site was a big help when it came to planning for the trip and understanding the wait. Now I follow it because it also addresses any concerns or questions we may have now that we are home. The site has a lot of valuable information and if it wasn't for the site, I would have been miserable throughout the wait for Meghan. When we started our adoption, it was only a 6-8 month wait. Well, the wait grew and we waited over 18 months after our paperwork was recieved in China. We actually started our adoption journey in October of 2004. I recently read that the CCAA only covered 3 days of LID's. That is a tough pill to swallow, but our agency did recieve some referrals so we were very happy to hear that news. I only hope that the wait does not get much longer, and for those who are still waiting. Hang in there. I know you don't like to hear those words, but trust me, one day, it will be your special moment. The time goes by so fast once you get your referral. Enjoy your time and accomplish any projects you have or take the trip you have always wanted to take, while you have time. There are many things I wish I would have done (but procrastinated) before we got Meghan. Now I don't have the time and I gather it will be a while before I will be able to do those projects. I just hope I don't get too far behind on them!!