China Packing List

Our son was almost three when we picked him up from the Beijing orphanage.  We spent a week in Beijing and a week in Guangzhou during August.  It was very hot in both cities.

I hope you find this list helpful! :)

For Our New Son

I have to start this list with one of the best items we took with us! I had downloaded the album “A Little Mandarin: Chinese Children’s Classics” on my Iphone and Ipad before we left.  Our son loved having these Chinese children’s songs playing in our hotel room and he still listens to them often. 

• Stroller – We brought our own and felt it was well worth the trouble.  We had purchased the Chicco Liteway Plus stroller and really appreciated having it with us in China.

• Sippy Cup & Bottle – We brought both, but our son was used to drinking out of a regular cup and had a hard time with the sippy cup.  However, we needed something for on the go while we were there, so I ended up trimming the top of his bottle a little bit so it was easier for him to use and it worked great.

• Disposable Bibs and Placemats – These are two of my top picks from my packing list.  We used these extensively while there.  I brought Bibsters disposable bibs and Neat Solutions Table Toppers.

• Snacks – Another top pick!  I didn’t go crazy packing snacks for him, but the ones I brought were all winners and were great for long waiting times like at the notary and civil affairs offices.  I brought Goldfish, Cheerios, Organic Lollipops (perfect for after the TB test) and snack bars (Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Days) I also brought Snack Cups to put the Goldfish and Cheerios in for on the go.

• Books – We brought a few board books but they were a big dud, he had no interest in them at all.

• Toys – We brought various toys and here’s a list of the ones he loved:

o   Fisher Price Doodle Pro – Travel Size

o   Beach Ball – He absolutely loved this!

o   Stacking Cups – These worked great as a tub toy as well.

o   Color Wonder Paper and Markers

o   Coloring Book and Crayons

o   Playdough – Four cans of the tiny party favor size.

o   Digital Camera – We had an old one that barely worked, but he really liked it and still uses it.

o   LeapFrog Chat and Count Cell Phone – This was his #1 favorite item that we brought for him!  We took this one with us when we picked him up and he’s loved it ever since.

• Small Backpack – This was great for keeping his toys in and as his carry-on for the airplanes.

• Small Teddy Bear – He still sleeps with this every night.

• Small Blanket – He didn’t want anything to do with a blanket.  He still won’t sleep if he’s covered up.

We brought clothes for our son based on the last updated measurements we received. Everything we brought was size 2T but 18-24 months would have fit him much better.  However, I had brought a travel size sewing kit and put in a quick seam on the waistband of all his shorts and pj pants and it did the trick.  We didn’t need to purchase anything for him while we were there.  Here’s what we brought:

• Shorts and Shirts – seven of each.

• PJS – four sets

• Pants – One.  We didn’t need because it was so hot.

• Jacket – didn’t need.

• Socks – four pairs, I wish we would have brought more because he liked wearing them.

• Shoes – Using the last foot measurement we received, I took a ruler to Payless and purchased a pair of shoes just a bit bigger; they fit perfectly.

• Swim Trunks, Rash Guard Shirt and Swim Diapers – We used these quite a bit.

• Hat – We brought a sun hat and he loved wearing it.

• Sunglasses – He wore these a lot, even inside.

Toiletries:

• Diapers – Very glad we took these, but wish we would have taken pull-ups.  He was semi-potty trained and it would have made using the squatty pottys much easier.

• Diaper Wipes

• Large Ziploc Bags – I’m including this here because they were great for bagging stinky diapers.

• Toothbrush and Toothpaste – He used the toothbrush but hated the toothpaste.  We were glad he wanted to use the toothbrush though.

•  Baby Wash – One small travel size bottle was plenty.

• Baby Lotion – I brought the Lavender one and he seemed to really enjoy being lotioned up after his bath, maybe it was the scent.

• Vaseline – Great for the diaper rash he had from the heat.

•  Children’s Tylenol and Benadryl – Didn’t need but was glad I had just in case.

• Band aids and Neosporin – So glad I had these, our poor little guy fell quite a bit when we were out walking.

• Boogie Wipes – We wish we would have brought more.  These little wipes are fantastic for all sorts of clean-ups, especially at meal time.

• Nail Clippers

The Rest of the Family:

Here’s an overview of some of the best things we packed and some of the things we didn’t need to bring:

• Shampoo, Conditioner, Bath Soap – Unless you really like a certain brand, the hotel supplies plenty of these.

• Over-the-Counter Meds – Here’s what we took and we used everything at least once: Tylenol, Motrin, Benedryl, Nyquil, Dayquil, Immodium, Zyrtek, Pepcid.

• Blow Dryer – Because I didn’t want to take the chance of blowing mine out, I used the ones in the hotels; however the hotel blow dryers are not very powerful.

• Downy Wrinkle Releaser – Brought a travel size and used it extensively.

• Febreze – Great for extending the wear of clothing items.

• Tide Travel Sink Packets – I love these!  I was able to wash clothing in the sink; items that I knew would dry easily.

• Clothespins – We got very creative with hanging wet clothes around the room.

• Travel Size Sewing Kit – I used this a lot for our sons clothes.  Be sure to pack a small pair of scissors.

• Clothing – I packed seven outfits for each of us (me and two of our daughters; my husband packed his own clothes).  It seemed like a lot of clothes; however it was perfect because we didn’t need to do laundry until we got to Guangzhou.  Laundry was so inexpensive there that we had them do everything. (I took three sundresses and was able to wear each one twice before washing.)

• Paper plates and plastic utensils – These were great for when we ate in our room.

• Wet Ones – We took the travel size and used them a lot

• Hand Sanitizer – Everyone carried one and used it a lot

•  Travel Size Tissue Packs – We never left the hotel without them.  We used them for toilet paper when we were out and about.

• Bubble Wrap – This was perfect for some of the fragile souvenirs we brought back.

•  Small and Large Ziploc Bags – Used these for various purposes.

• Gifts – We purchased all our gifts here.  I wouldn’t stress about the gifts for the civil affairs office or the orphanage caregivers and director.  They don’t open them in front of you, but are very appreciative.  We took a variety of items that were made in our local area.

• Gift Suggestion – We took an extra box of chocolates that are made at a local chocolate factory near our home.  We’re so glad we had an extra gift and we gave it to the Holt crew in Guangzhou.  We got to know them really well and had so much fun on our outings together. 

•  PandaPow – We purchased this VPN service for a month and it was worth every penny.  We downloaded it onto our netbook, ipads and cellphones for use when using the hotel wifi.  We had no problem accessing Facebook, Blogger, Netflix and some of the other websites blocked in China. (Just a heads up, the hotel wifi is excruciatingly slow.  But, we were glad it was available.)

• Step-down Converter – This was a heavy item that we didn’t even use.  If you bring your own blow dryer, flat iron or curling iron, then you may want to consider bringing one.

•  Sound Machine – This was wonderful for blocking outside noise at the hotels at night time and I think it helped our little guy sleep.  He still sleeps with a sound machine, he likes the rain setting.

Just a few last tips:

•   Souvenirs – We purchased almost all our souvenirs in Guangzhou, and almost all were bought on Shamian Island.  They were all very inexpensive and we were even able to purchase an extra suitcase from one of the souvenir shops there to transport everything home. (Only $13 for the suitcase).

•  Shamian Island – We spent a lot of time walking around this beautiful island and it was well worth the very inexpensive cab ride to get there.  If you get to the point that you’re absolutely craving American food, I highly recommend Lucy’s restaurant there.

• Jet Lag – There are some really good articles on the web about reducing the effects of jet lag; I wish I would have done more research.  We did the jet lag diet before we left and it worked great, but it was too difficult to do it for the way back.  Once we returned, I had insomnia for about a week and after reading a few articles online I see where I could have prevented it a bit (not fun).

•  Don’t Stress Over Packing – I say this because I did stress over it.;) I stressed over purchasing the gifts, what to bring for our son and what to pack for ourselves and really, I didn’t need to.  My best advice is to Google “China adoption packing list” and check out a few of the packing lists posted by some of those wonderful China adoption blogging moms out there.  They were the best help I could have asked for and made packing so much easier.