The "So Glad We Brought This" list!

I can't wait to wrap up my posts about our China trip and make it all into a book for Stella Claire! Life is busy, busy, with a new toddler in our home and we are loving every little minute (even the not so easy moments!) of it.  She's been home a month now!  But I wanted to take time to write out what we were so glad we brought to China with us.  Some of these items are on many of the packing lists that can be found around the web and on blogs of China mamas who have so carefully written it out for all of us!  This is just my short list of items that you might not have thought about bringing, but were so glad to have them in China while adopting a child.

The "So Glad We Brought This" list: 

*Baby carrier (our child was a newly turned 2 yr old at adoption day) - I brought my Baby Hawk, but I saw others with Tulas, Ergos and Becos.  Strollers are not always available but we did borrow one at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou and were so glad to have it too!

*Baby Blanket (I made one for Stella and brought it with us to China.  She has attached herself to it - for naps and nighttime at home now.  "Blankie" is a very special and important part of our sleepy routine).

*Sippy cups, snack up and plastic toddler spoons.  We had an "incident" in a restaurant with a broken porcelain spoon...  Porcelain and two years don't go well together. Ahem. Bring the plastic.

*Downloaded music to my iPhone - "Hidden in My Heart" lullaby hymns. Played at each bedtime, and any time we needed to calm her heart or ours.

*Iphone and Ipad (and a VPN like PandaPow or ExpressVPN if you want to connect to blogger or Facebook).

*Bubbles, stickers, stacking cups.  Just a few of our favorite toys!

*Moneybelt.

*Compression socks (for the long flights).

*Wireless phone charger!!!! I almost didn't bring this and oh.my.goodness. go get one if you don't have one.  It will keep everything charged during those long days of not having access to outlets.

*Some Chinese money.  I exchanged some with my US bank before leaving and we were all set to go once we landed in China (which was late at night and we were tired from the 24+ hrs of travel).  I exchanged approx. $200 US and it was plenty for those first few days when we needed cash.  All the hotels will exchange money easily once in China.

*Diapers.  I took one pack and wish I had brought more.  The China diapers are just different... They get damp quickly which makes for very frequent diaper changes and we went through them like crazy. I even bought the Pampers overnight ones in China.

*Wipes - Clorox wipes (for hotel and borrowed stroller), hand sanitizer wipes, facial cleansing wipes and baby wipes. Sounds like a lot but we actually ran out of the hand sanitizer wipes! And the facial ones were so convenient for quick airplane freshen uppers.

*Little packs of tissues (toilet paper is rare when out and about in China). 

*Diaper disposal bags (with arm and hammer).  Found these at Target in the baby section.  Trust me - stuck in a hotel room with a stinky diaper is not pleasant!

*Snacks for the airplane and granola bars for quick breakfasts.

*Ibuprofen.

*Lavender essential oil.

*Gentle baby body wash. Used for baby and for cleaning bottles, etc!

So that's our short list of items to pack when traveling to China for an adoption!  If you shop on Amazon, you can support New Day Foster Home (where Stella lived before we got her) by going here and then shopping through the link.