• 3 or 4 shirts, tops, etc. and 3 or 4 slacks (depending on time of year and weather conditions where you're traveling/laundry is good in hotels and cheap, don't overburden yourself with too many clothes)
• Underwear, socks, and such to last
• Sturdy pair of shoes—I brought a pair of Lands' End canvas deck shoes
• Travel-size only of toiletries and such
• Travel toothbrush
• Sanitary protection
• Couple sleepwear items
• Comb, brush, and such
• Blow dryer and converter—no one in our group brought one; we just let it "air dry"
• Lightweight jacket or sweater—depending on weather in the province you're going to and the time of year; I wore a Dallas Cowboys "Starter"-brand jacket in Nanchang in Jan/Feb when it was 45-55 degrees and was perfectly comfortable

• Cold medicine
• Pepto Bismal—We didn't need at all, but others in our group did!
• Immodium AD
• Some type of laxative—two of the moms in our group were badly constipated and luckily, some one in the group had some Correctol—who would think you'd need a laxative in China?!!
• Aspirin, Tylenol, ibuprofen (This I needed!)
• A prescription antibiotic for the type of diarrhea that Immodium AD won't help, i.e. Cipro
• A prescription antibiotic for you, for a non-diarrhea illness

• Baby Tylenol drops
• Baby cold medicine, i.e. Pediacare
• Amoxicillin powder if you can talk your daughter's pediatrician into sending some with you (See An Open Letter to Pediatricians on Chinese Adoption Medical Issues on the FCC website by Dr. Debra Borchers, pediatrician and China adoptive mom about bringing antibiotics with you for the baby.)
• Something for dehydration—there's a homemade formula and one you can buy
• Baby Oragel for teething, just in case
• Rid, for lice
• Elimite-prescription medicine for scabies, just in case; Elimite is geared more towards children than Lindane and is less toxic. It comes in a tube. Emilee had scabies (and lice) and one application did the trick.
• Prescription tube of Mycelex cream (for a yeast-like diaper-rash—we needed this)
• Cortisone cream, preferably 1/2%, for rashes (we needed this)
• Desitin
• Vitamins—I didn't bring them, but one mom in the group did, so that's a thought.
• Baby thermometer—digital if possible

• Travel size baby products
• Baby comb/brush if your daughter has hair (Emilee had hair curling up the back of her collar at 7 mo. and we really needed them!)
• Baby towel—maybe 1 or 2 (I used 1) and washcloths
• 3-4 cloth diapers for spit-ups and to pad your daughter's head in her bed
• A couple "drooler" bibs
  

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• Bibs—preferably wipe-off plastic or better yet, disposable bibs!!
• Baby spoon(s)
• Small bowls for mixing cereal
• 2-3 disposable bottle holders and one box of disposable bottles and also nipples—There really isn't a need for more than 3; we brought 2 and did FINE. Emilee did not mind the squared- off Playtex nipples, though I've heard some babies have.
• 4 cans of formula (We brought soy—Carnation Alsoy. If you run out, the local department store will have some, but it's much sweeter.)
• One box of rice cereal (I brought the rice w/banana and Emilee LOVED it).
• Gerber arrowroot cookies or Gerber mini-rice cakes, especially if she's around 7+ mo. of age
• Baby fruit, i.e. Gerber or whatever—especially prunes and pears—important for constipation- Emilee wasn't constipated, but one baby in our group was badly and the fruit helped—we gave them our prunes! Emilee liked the peaches as well.
  

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• 88 diapers (size #2 for a 7 month old)—came home with about 6 (no diarrhea!)
• 4-6 one piece footed stretchies—Emilee was 7 mo. old and wore 6-9 mo. and some 12 mo. sizes.
• Extra clothing if you don't want her wearing stretchies during the day, or depending on the weather where you're going
• Booties
• 2 receiving blankets
• Baby hat
• Light-weight sweater, jacket, snowsuit, etc.—depending on the weather where you're going and time of year  (All of us had the girls in snowsuits in Nanchang—the little old ladies wherever we went checked to make sure they had hats on under their hoods!!)
• 4 one-piece Piluchos (buy at JC Penney)—much better than Onesies as they grow with the child.
  

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• Snugli or Evenflo Hike'N Roll or sling (like Sara's Ride) depending on the age of your daughter
• If your daughter is about 10 mo. or younger, go to a Toys 'R Us and buy a blow-up Sassy bathtub—reason is that Chinese babies are not used to being bathed western style. With the Sassy, you blow it up, she lays in it and floats gently in the water. Emilee loved it! About $8 & it deflates to pack very easily.

• Camera and camcorder of course!
• Enough film for 200-400 pictures—I used everything I brought—about 400+ pictures
• Leaded bag for your film, if possible
• Instant coffee singles, international coffee, cocoa, tea, any or all
• Instant oatmeal when you don't feel like going for breakfast
• Pre-packaged snacks like breakfast bars, granola bars, peanut butter and cheese crackers, dry fruit—stuff like that!
• CHOCOLATE—like those mini Hershey bars—we were all craving chocolate after awhile!
• Raman noodles, cup-a-soup, etc. for when you don't feel like leaving the room to eat
• Things to keep you occupied on the plane, when baby is napping, when you don't feel like leaving the room, i.e. Gameboy (Yes, I borrowed my son's Gameboy. He came with me and I used it too!), crossword puzzles, paperbacks, etc.
• Some folks brought a thermos with to carry hot water when we were away from the room for mixing formula—I brought one and didn't use it. The hot water provided in the rooms was sufficient. I'd mix 1/2 bottle hot, sterile water, 1/2 bottled water, 4 scoops of formula, shake to mix, wrap in a cloth diaper and put in the insulated bottle carrier in my Lands' End backpack—the formula was always just right to feed Emilee when we were away from the room.

• One large canvas duffel with wheels and a pull-strap—checked through all the way to Hong Kong
• One carry-on suitcase with wheels and handle (I put everything in it for myself and the baby that I could just in case the duffel got lost)
• Lands' End diaper bag backpack—a lifesaver for me because I could wear it
• My son had an expandable under-the-seat suitcase and his backpack with his school books that also got some things stuffed in it.
• In Nanchang, I bought a small wheeled carry-on for breakable souvenirs

One thing to keep in mind is that on your flight from Hong Kong to the mainland, or within China, or from China to Hong Kong, you are limited to ONE CARRY-ON ONLY. They were very strict about this when we were there. I just rearranged things and stuffed everything into the canvas duffel!!

For those who have Bibles and are wondering about taking them, right before I traveled in January 1996, I called and spoke to someone on the China Team at Holt International and was told that as long as there was just one Bible and it was in English (i.e. not Mandarin or Cantonese) then it was OK. What I brought was a small, pocket-size Gideon New Testament/Psalms. One of the single moms in our group also brought a daily devotional guide too.

Hope this helps future travelers!!
Kim Breuer (gkbreuer@minot.com)