Moving to HK with infant....advice?

I came to HK when I was pregnant and I had almost everything I needed shipped here from home.

At the time I wasd grateful, just because it eliminated the need to spend each weekend shopping. If I had to do it over again, I would bring the bare essentials:

baby carrier
small toiletry/bath kit to get you through the first few weeks
emergency medicine and first aid kit
Blankies and washcloths


Almost everything can be bought here, and just in the last year I have seen so much improvement with the range of products available (thanks, in part, to "Bumps to Babes"). But I find some things soooo expensive here (like receiving blankets or good quality baby bedding). The one thing that I still get from home are Mylicon drops for gas. They are amazing and work instantly to calm a colicky baby.
 
Regarding goat's milk, I haven't seen fresh goat's milk, but a small store called Healthgate on Des Voeux Rd sells it in powder form and as long life milk. Most supermarkets have goat's cheeses, while Great (that's it's name!) sells goat's milk yogurt.
 
Fantastic! Thanks so much for all the advice and help!

I will not be bringing the stroller. Just the hip hammock (which is just super handy) and the backpack. I'm sure I'll regret the backpack - I have images of baby and I hiking all around the trails in the mountains but truthfully we'll probably just spend our days hiding from the heat in the apartment. By the time we get to hiking, he'll be big enough to do his own hiking! Second thought - scratch the backpack.

Thank you so much for the lead on goat's milk. My son won't take formula (predigested or soy based ones). That was a big question mark for me.

I'm all stocked up on Baby Ibuprofen and Baby Symethicone. We're also starting him on the TB vaccine this next go round, and vaccinating with an Asian formula version flu shot. Thanks for all your handy advice. You ladies are saving me a lot of worry.

I will be in Kowloon. What the heck does that mean? Anyone else in Kowloon?

As for helpers , I found this very confusing (from an agency website)

Is it Legal to hire a part-time maid?
No. Although it is common practice to hire a part-time Helper, in fact this is illegal and can result in criminal conviction for both the Employer and Helper .

What does this mean? Our apartment is small and not big enough for a live-in. I was hoping to just have someone come in twice a week to watch the baby and do the "deep cleaning". Is such a thing just totally not possible? I'm confused (big surprise!).

Thank you again. I will be in HK a month sooner than I thought, and all your advice is saving me a lot of worry and aggravation.
 
Don't worry too much about simethi...(forgotten how to spell it). It is available in Hong Kong and is marketed as Infacol - thank God, as I don't know how we would have survived without it.
 
It is illegal to hire part time maid only if it is a foreign domestic helper. Hong Kong has a large contingent of foreign domestic helpers, mainly from the Philippines, Indonesia or Thailand. They are on specific visas tied to particular employers. Therefore, hiring them part time is illegal. Many people do that though....

However, you can hire local part time maids - that is not a problem. The Hong Kong government has trained a lot of part time domestic helpers recently, but they are more expensive then the foreign ones... that is why so many people are "illegally" hiring foreign part time maid.

Kowloon - I am living in Kowloon - Tsim Sha Tsui. Hong Kong is made up of one big island (the Hong Kong Island), the Kowloon Peninsula and numerous small outlying islands. You will be closer to the everyday Hong Kong people if you live in Kowloon (pardon me you all Hong Kong Islanders). There are more expats on the HK Island.
 
Alright! Baby and I have our passports and our tickets. We'll be traveling from the States in mid Feb.

I really appreciate all the suggestions and resources. Once I get to HK, I'll be looking up the YMCA playgroups and will join the HK La Leche League.

We will not have a live-in because our apartment is already serviced by maids twice a week, and after living with my in-laws for a year I am really looking forward to some serious privacy with my husband *wink*. We only have one child and would like to save the money that a helper would cost, at least the first year. I wouldn't mind a mother's day out for the baby a couple days a week!
 
we moved here when baby was 7 months old, and what we didn't know (and never thought of asking) was that the voltage is different. Monitor, electric breast pump, etc. were scrapped.
 
I've thought of that! We won't be bringing anything with us but some diapers, an umbrella stroller, a lightweight car seat for the flight over (baby sleeps well in a car seat), a sling, and the hiking backpack. I'll be packing the stroller in a suitcase - it's small.
 
Are you going to stay on the Kowloon side? IF so, perhaps we could link up after you settle down. We live in TsimShaTsui on the Kowloon side. I have a daughter of 10 months who needs some friends! We have lived in Texas (Dallas) for over 10 years before we moved here. Have a good flight over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

About this archive

This is an archive of over 20 years of GeoBaby and GeoSchools knowledge and discussions, kept online as a read-only reference.

Back
Top