Things to bring back from the US

elizabethbkk

Hi all, 

I've just reached 14 weeks (yoohoo!) and am currently visiting family in the US. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice as to what I should bring back with me when we return to SE Asia. We aren't planning to make another trip back to the US again until Christmas '15, so I'm curious what others have found to be the most important + hard to find things for maternity and baby's first nine months. (Or things that are overpriced there/cheaper/more accessible here.)

Thanks so much!

arlinar

While your in America, go to Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby. Those places are huge and you will be able to find a selection of many baby products. 

Be sure to look up the size chart if you plan on buying any clothes for yourself or baby since the US uses a different measuring system (it sucks to be left out from the rest of the world) 

I don't know what regulations are like overseas but if you find yourself at a flea market, be sure to get a car seat that is not expiring. If its not an issue where you live and the carseat is in excellent condition, go ahead and pick one up. 

harmonicbabe26

Our LO was born in Switzerland, where everything is 3x as expensive as the US, so when we were on home leave 2 months before her birth I literally got EVERYTHING I would want for the baby, from clothes (0-9m bc that's how long it would be till next trip), bottles, pacis, Bumbo, diaper pail, developmental toys... Like the entire registry. The only things we did not send over was furniture (we bought stuff at Ikea, which was the only reasonably priced option, even though still more $$ than the same items in the US) and gear (car seat, stroller, PNP, swing - I was lucky and worked for the European branch of Graco and they happened to have American show samples which they gave me for free). Oh and diapers, we bought those local.

I'd say, if you have a way to ship stuff over at a reasonable cost, do it, esp if stuff is pricey in your host country.

GalLaura

I agree with @harmonicbabe26‌ We are in Australia and it's so expensive. But as much as you can in the usa. Maybe you can even send it back by sea?

elizabethbkk

Baby is almost here and I see that this thread has been viewed a bit, so I thought I would share how we ended up doing things.

We had two baby showers, one here and one in the US (although the US baby shower was only virtual). 

For the local shower, I only registered for pretty simple things like soaps, lotions, towels, and things that would make organization easier for baby's nursery (aka corner of our bedroom).

Our bigger ticket items are being sent from the US, all combined and shipped together by my MIL. Primarily, they include a play yard, cloth diapers, chair attachment and some of the most tried and true diaper rash/nipple creams. We also would have gotten a stroller, car seat (still not sure if we'll even use it here), boppy and bumbo, but those were all given to us as hand-me-downs. 

In my opinion so far, it seemed like a pretty good way to break things down.