Packing for China

Packing for China was a daunting task.  We would be away over three weeks, traveling to a country we'd never been to before and bringing home two children we had limited information about.

Before we decided on what to bring, we had to decide on luggage.  For two adults going over and two adults and two toddlers/preschoolers on the return (meaning, kids who can't carry any of their own stuff), we brought two 24" hard-sided suitcases, which we checked, two Mother Lode Weekender Convertible Junior backpacks by eBags for our carry-on and a cross-body travel purse for my personal item.  It felt like too much luggage (especially with that backpack on my petite frame) and too little luggage at the same time. The Mother Lode Weekend "junior" still felt huge and heavy even though I didn't have it fully packed. 

To organize our clothes and other gear inside our suitcase, I bought eBags Packing Cubes on the recommendation of experienced travelers. I bought four three-piece sets of eBags Packing Cubes in four different colors, one for each person, and then a three-piece set of medium packing cubes for "group" gear. I'm not the most organized packer, so I didn't have high hopes that the packing cubes would tame my packing, but they really did help.  They kept everything organized so that when we opened our bags, things didn't come spilling out and if we needed something, we just pulled out the particular cube we needed without having to rifle through suitcases. 

In addition to packing for ourselves, we had to pack for our two children, a boy, nearly 2.5 years old, and a girl, nearly 3 years old.  We were told our son was still using bottles, specifically special cleft lip bottles, and that both children were in the process of potty-training.  We were given measurements about two months before we traveled.  We knew they could come to us with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. 

I polled other parents who'd adopted before regarding what they thought we needed to pack and found packing lists on adoption blogs.  I asked around about what we could find in China and what we needed to bring unless we could live without it.

I think we did a good job packing, but of course there are some things I had wished I'd done differently.

• More food - We brought a lot of granola bars (Quaker chocolate chip) and protein bars (Cliff and Kind), but I wish I had brought more high-protein and/or healthy snacks.  So often on our trip we couldn't stop for a meal when we wanted to (due to appointments or traveling) or we were too tired to go out for dinner after a long day.  The food we did pack was a lifesaver, especially for me, a vegetarian.  Unfortunately, I was getting tired of the same old snacks, so I wish I had brought more variety.
• More clothes for us - We packed clothes for three days (but six sets of clothes - three for a colder climate and three for the warmer climate of Guangzhou).  However, sending clothes out took two days to get back and if we had hand-washed clothes, it would have taken two days to dry them.  To make the clean clothing situation worse, we couldn't send out clothes right away on the fourth day, which means they didn't go out until day #5, which we got back on day #7.  That was a lot of time wearing dirty clothes.  Thank goodness we brought a lot of extra underwear! 
• More clothes for the kids - I was very thankful we decided to pack enough clothes and supplies for our children to get them through the first two days with us, because we weren't in a position to do a lot of shopping immediately.  So we would have had nothing for them.  When we did venture out, we discovered that the Chinese dress their kids very differently and it was very hard to find clothes and shoes that appealed to our tastes.  The clothes we did find were way more expensive than we had anticipated, at least at the stores our guide directed us to.  At home I know where to find the best deals for clothes and can shop sales or get hand-me-downs.  When our son desperately needed shoes, we were determined to walk out of the mall with a new pair no matter the cost because we had no other option.  

Friends recommended two items I never would have thought to pack, but ended up being very useful:

• Anti-bacterial wipes - I had mini bottles of hand-sanitizer packed, but a friend reminded me that that stuff only gets rid of the germs, not the grime and dirt.  We used these things to wipe down tables, our hands before dinner, snot from runny noses, kids' bottoms after bouts of diarrhea, and the list goes on. 
• Travel router - Hotel internet connections can be slow.  And when you're forced to connect to a VPN before connecting to any of the sites China bans, the connection is even slower.  Sometimes the travel router was the difference between our VPN working and not working. 

The following is our packing list with notes about what we packed, decided not to pack, used and didn't use.  We arrived in Beijing at the end of January, where it was cold, and made our way south to the sub-tropical climate of Guangzhou.  Hopefully it'll be useful to a family traveling after us.

CHINA PACKING LIST

Medical Supplies (Family)
		Notes	Used?
Cough drops (1 bag)		We brought these because we heard the pollution can make your throat scratchy, but Chris only used a few.	X
Cold and flu OTC medication
Ibuprofen			X
Acetaminophen
Imodium		Brought tablets instead of liquid to save space
Benadryl (1)		Given that we had Zyrtec for allergies and Melatonin for sleep, we probably didn’t need this.
Zyrtec		Chris treats allergy symptoms with Zyrtec, so he brought it just in case he encountered anything that triggered a reaction.  He took one dose, but it could have been pollution making his eyes and throat uncomfortable.	X
Pepto Bismol		Brought tablets instead of liquid to save space	X
Small first aid kit
Motion sickness aids		We brought Sea Bands and Dramamine.
Melatonin		Used to help us adjust to the new time zone	X
Jet lag pills		We used No-Jet-Lag homeopathic pills on the way, but still felt jet-lagged, and we didn’t use them on the way home and didn’t feel jet-lagged, so the jury is out on these even though the reviews are great.	X
Vaseline
Hand sanitizer (3)			X
Didn’t Bring….
Antibiotics		We didn’t bring any antibiotics because I was told they’re easy to get at a pharmacy.  However, my daughter getting sick reminded me that we get sick at the most inconvenient times, like when our guide has gone home or the pharmacy is closed.
Latex gloves		Should have brought given how much poop I cleaned up thanks to the bacterial infection our daughter had.
Neosporin
Tums
Hydrocortisone cream
Probiotics
Miralax
Medical Supplies (Kids)
		Notes	Used?
Pedialax (for constipation)			X
Probiotics		Powder form we dumped in their sippy cups each morning	X
Thermometer
Thermometer covers
Ibuprofen (kids)
Acetaminophen (kids)
Dosing instructions for OTC medications
Liquid melatonin		Gave them 1 mg. each night	X
Dosing spoons (2)
Didn’t Bring…
Pedialyte powder packets
Pink eye drops		Decided we’d get there if needed
Lice treatment		“
Scabies treatment		“
Ringworm treatment		“
Antibiotics		I so wish we had brought antibiotics for the same reason I wish I’d bought them for ourselves - people get sick at the most inconvenient times.
Toiletries
		Notes	Used?
Travel toilet paper (8)		Brought the Cotton Buds brand. I did a trial-run with a roll of toilet paper – when I used it exclusively, I went through I a roll a day.  We often has access to toilet paper, so I think we only used four rolls.	X
Q-tips			X
Toothpaste (3)			X
Floss (3)		Went through 1.5	X
Mouthwash			X
Earplugs		I used them more to keep my sanity caring for crying, screaming children than I did for sleeping.	X
Body lotion		Could have done without since the hotels had nice toiletries	X
Face lotion with sunscreen			X
Hand lotion			X
Anti-bacterial wipes		We brought eight, 10-wipe packs.  We didn’t go through them all, yet still wished I’d brought more because they were so handy.  They removed dirt and germs.	X
Tissue packets (8)		Should have just bought one pack since they sell tissue packets everywhere.  Plus, I carried the travel toilet paper, which often served the same purpose.	X
Shampoo (2 travel-size)		Used the hotel’s
Conditioner (2 travel-size)		Used the hotel’s
Shower gel (2 travel-size)		Used the hotel’s
Toothbrush		Brought extras, because sure enough, both Chris and I accidentally rinsed our toothbrushes under the faucet instead of with bottled water.	X
Razors			X
Shaving cream (2)			X
Comb			X
Brush			X
Hair clips			X
Hair product			X
Hair ties			X
Finger nail clippers			X
Deodorant			X
Make-up			X
Lip balm			X
Flat iron		I had it plugged into a transformer, but could never get it heated up.
Didn’t Bring…
Hair dryer		Hotels had them even if they too much longer to actually dry hair.
		Electronics
		Notes	Used?
iPhone/charger		We installed three VPN’s on our phones and left them in airplane mode so we could access Internet at our hotel and not pay roaming charges.	X
Surface/charger		We never did figure out how to install VPN’s on our Surface.	X
Electrical adapter (2)			X
Electrical converter (1)			X
Camera/charger			X
Laptop/charger			X
Travel router		Invaluable	X
Didn’t Bring…
Power strip
Kid Gear and Clothes (for two kids)
		Notes	Used?
Kids shampoo		Ended up just using the hotel’s
Diapers (24)		We were told Chinese diapers aren’t as good, but the Huggies we bought worked fine.  For explosive diarrhea, no diaper worked.  I should have brought fewer - just enough to get us through the first night and day with our son.	X
Swim diapers (4)
Wipes (1)		One package was fine since only one of our kids was in diapers.	X
Diaper cream
Disposable placemats ( 2 packs of 24 each)		Brought way too many.  Our kids were eating off of plates.  While we didn’t use them for eating, we did end up using them as changing mats.	X
Gerber bowls with lids (4)		Used them in the bathtub, but never for food	X
Plates (2)		Could have gotten away with just using the Gerber bowls	X
Kids utensils (2 sets)		Never used them because we discovered that the traditional Chinese soup spoons worked just fine to spoon-feed our kids.  They also did fine using an adult fork when they fed themselves.
Snack traps (2)		Didn’t use them all that much; the snacks we bought there often came individually wrapped, or we used Ziploc bags.	X
Nuby sippy cup (2)		I bought these because my son has cleft palate and you bite down on the spout, not suck, which he can’t do, to get the water out.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure it out and they both eventually started leaking.
Philips Avent Natural Drinking Cup			X
Ergo (2)		We barely used these.  Our son barely tolerated it and both kids are over 25 pounds and even though the temperature was quite comfortable given it was February, we got pretty hot.	X
Formula container (2) Headphones		Since neither of our children would take a bottle, the formula container was not needed. They were too young to follow a movie storyline and when the TV on the plane did interest them, they were fine just watching the screen with no sound.
Bulb syringe		To use in case any food got lodged in his open cleft
Toothbrush (2)			X
Toothpaste (2)		Brought the fluoride-free kind	X
Cloth bibs (20)		I was told bring as many bibs as we can and I’m glad I did.  I brought ten Green Sprouts bibs that were leftover from when my bios were babies (they’re meant for babies, so they were better drool rags, as opposed to for eating) and 10 Koala brand bibs from Babies ‘R’ Us.  Both kinds are absorbent, but also waterproof.	X
Silicone bibs (2)			X
Long-sleeve shirt		2 per child	X
Short-sleeve shirt		2 per child	X
Pants		2 per child	X
Socks		3 per child	X
Pajamas		2 per child	X
Sweater		1 per child	X
Swimsuit		1 per child	X
Didn’t bring…
Underwear		We were told our children were in the process of potty-training and that a lot of “potty-trained” kids go through regression.  Well, our 2.5-year-old came potty-trained (day and nighttime).  Do you know how difficult it is to find 2T underwear in a country where kids wear split pants?
Shoes		Too much guesswork I felt in trying to get the right size
Coat		They came with coats.
Diaper bag		Packed supplies in Ziploc bags and packed in a daypack or purse
Pull-Ups		We bought them there; bought Huggies at Trustmart and they worked well.
Disposable diaper bags (scented)		Another family left these with us and they came in handy even in the hotel room because we’d put dirty diapers in the bags before putting in the waste basket in our bathroom.
Lovey (2)		We ordered a lovey for each child online (to match the ones their older brothers received when they were young) and they didn’t arrive in time.
Blanket (2)		Wanted to bring two large receiving blankets for them to have something to snuggle with, but ran out of room in the suitcase.  I don’t think they missed the blankets.
Training chopsticks		Our three-year-old was halfway decent at using chopsticks (but still preferred a spoon) and our son was curious about trying to use them.
Dr. Browns bottles and silicon y-cut nipples (3)		I had wanted to bring special cleft bottles, but couldn’t find any and bought the y-cut nipples because they supposedly work well for kids who can’t suck.  Then I forgot to pack the bottles, which ended up being good because our son refused to take a bottle.  My mother-in-law returned them for us while we were away.
Disposable bibs
Burp cloths
Stroller		Borrowed from the hotel and then planned to buy a cheap umbrella stroller for the plane ride home, but our kids were good walkers, so we did without
Car seat		No one uses car seats in China
Toys
		Notes	Used?
Beach ball			X
Sticker books with reusable stickers			X
Stickers			X
Stacking cups		These were their favorite!  I wish I’d brought a second set since we had two kids	X
Matchbox cars (5)		Wish we’d brought a few more, because they’re small and easy to pack, but easy to lose!	X
Books (5)		Our kids had never held a book before and between that and the language barrier, the only books they enjoyed were picture books or tactile books.  They could not follow a simple storyline.	X
Bubbles			X
Didn’t bring…
Photo album of family		Ran out of time to put one together, but amazingly, both children came with the albums we had sent them.  We also looked at pictures on our phones or Facebook quite often.
Crayons/markers and coloring books		We found Crayons and coloring books eventually, but given how much both kids liked to color, this is something that would have been nice to have right when we met them.
Balloons		Couldn’t find any on my last shopping trip, but I think balloons would have been a hit.
Doll		Our daughter’s update says she loved playing with dolls, but we didn’t end up finding one we liked before we left.  (We were looking for an Asian doll.) Grandma had one waiting for us when we got home and she LOVED it.
More toys		I’m one of the few who wishes I had brought more toys, because our kids really did play with them.  They lived in foster families and knew what to do with toys.
Miscellaneous
½ box each of gallon-, quart-, sandwich- and snack-size Ziplocs bags			X
Flashlight			X
Rubber bands of various sizes
Scissors
Plastic forks/spoons/knives		2 sets	X
sponges (3)		Brought one for each hotel stay and through the used one away when we packed up	X
Messenger bag			X
Money belt (2)		I felt safe enough carrying the money in my “anti-theft” messenger bag, so I used the money belt as a wallet and stored it in my messenger bag.	X
Notebook		Used to record all the information the nannies gave us on our kids	X
Headphones			X
Travel pillow			X
Sunglasses			X
Pens			X
Gifts for officials			X
Red gift bags			X
Red tissue paper			X
Red envelopes for tips			X
Hand-held luggage scale Luggage "add a bag" strap		It was inexpensive, easy to pack and gave me peace of mind that our luggage wasn’t over the weight limit for in-country flights. This is how we made it through train stations in China with our luggage and only two adults to carry it all. http://www.amazon.com/Travelon-4234-Multi-Bag-Stacker/dp/B001CZP2EQ/ref=cts_ap_3_fbt	X X
Guide books			X
Chinese phrase books		Simple Chinese for Adoptive Families and The New Crunch-Time Guide to Parenting Language for Chinese Adoption - great books that I enjoyed referencing even though I didn't actually use much of the books to try to communicate in Chinese with my children	X
Didn’t Bring…
Clothesline and clothes pins		We didn’t hand wash anything, but every hotel we stayed in had a clothesline across the top of the bathtub.
Laundry detergent		Bought at the grocery store
quick-dry dish towel		Used hotel hand towels to dry dishes
Dishwashing soap		Bought at the grocery store
Playing cards		Bought in China
Book bag		I wish we’d brought one, because the few times that we had to carry more than what would fit in my messenger bag and a cloth sack, we ended up bringing the eBag Motherlode backpack, which is really large.
Umbrella		Weren’t traveling during the rainy season
Sunscreen		Traveled in winter
Bug spray		“
Water bottles		You can only drink bottled water, which is inexpensive.
Food
Oatmeal packets		I ate a lot of oatmeal and was thankful to find quick oats and brown sugar in the grocery store there.	X
Quaker granola bars		Wished I had brought more and different brands/varieties; kids loved these	X
Kind granola bars			X
Cliff bars		Kids loved these	X
Peanut butter packets			X
Snackwell cookies packs			X
Dried fruit		Brought apples and apricots.  Wished I’d brought more quantity and variety	X
Dried prunes, individually wrapped		These worked better than Pedialax for our son who would get mild constipation.	X
Didn’t bring…
Puffs		Our son came with snacks that resembled puffs and found more at the grocery store.
Lollipops		Easy to buy there; used them to comfort kids on Gotcha Day
Goldfish		Found these at Trustmart
Teddy Grahams		Wished we’d brought these to diversify the snack options for both us and the kids
Plain Cheerios		Our son arrived with snacks the size of Cheerios and we easily found them in the grocery store.
Yogurt melts		A family gave our kids a package their daughter wasn’t going to finish and they devoured them.
Trail mix		Wished I had brought
Flavored or spiced nuts
Fruit leather
Granola
Clothes
Sneakers		You need a good pair of walking shoes, ones you can walk miles in, will still be comfortable with the added weight of your child, who you will end up carrying, and will protect your feet since you will walk through raw sewage at some point on the trip.	X
Leather shoes		I brought clogs, my husband brought a pair he wears to work, where he’s on his feet all day, so both were comfortable for walking.	X
Flip flops			X
Jeans (2)		Wish I’d brought a third pair	X
Belt			X
Sweatshirt (1)			X
Sweatpants (1)			X
Pajamas
Long-sleeve shirts (3)			X
Short-sleeve shirts (3)			X
Cardigan sweater			X
Nicer shirt and scarf for CA		You do not need to dress up at all for the CA, but we were getting our pictures taken afterward.	X
Bras (2)			X
Sports bras (1)			X
Swimsuit
Underwear (10)			X
Socks (10)			X
Wool socks (2)			X
Hat, gloves, scarf			X
Winter coat			X
Didn’t bring…
Dresses or skirts		We went in winter and decided to stick with jeans
Shorts		Went in winter
Tank tops		“
Watch		Used my phone
Raincoat		Took a chance since it was not the rainy season
Documents and Money
Boarding passes			X
Credit cards		We never used our credit cards because we paid all in cash.  We each had one that
Passports			X
Photocopies of important documents		Passport, visas, driver’s license, credit cards – left one at home, packed one, carried one in carry-on
List of phone numbers		Family and friends at home, plus agency’s emergency phone number
cash		We brought our orphanage donations and spending money all in cash.  But we each had a credit card with an imbedded chip.	X
Itinerary			X
Hotel information			X
Adoption documents		Copy of our dossier and everything else from our agency’s checklist, which we stored in a large plastic envelope.	X
Didn’t bring…
Travelers Checks		We were told travelers checks aren’t widely accepted in China.
Dollar bills for tips		We tipped in RMB.