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When you’re planning to go to Ethiopia to pick up your baby, it can be hard to know what is important to bring. Here’s my list of the most essential items to have in Ethiopia.
DIAPER SUPPLIES
Diapers–Plan for at least 10 diapers per day for every day you will be there. For a week I’d pack 70 diapers. Don’t forget to account for the flight home. That sounds like a lot, I know. But many babies and toddlers have diarrhea and go through diapers REALLY fast. You can buy more diapers in Addis, but the quality is not nearly as good as those available in the USA. (translation: L-E-A-K-Y!) If you happen to run short, be sure to set aside at least 10 good US diapers for your flight home, when you MOST do not want to deal with leaks. Then use the Ethiopian diapers there in Addis while you still have access to laundry and it is relatively easy to change your baby’s (and your) clothes.
Wipes– Wipes are nice to have not only for diaper changes, but also for hand and face washing. Buy the soft-sided kind that you can cram into small spaces. You may also like to have one of those travel cases for wipes that you can refill.
Small sacks– If you are dealing with a child who has giardia (very possible), you will appreciate having some little sacks packed that you can use to bag up the stinky diapers both on the plane and in your hotel room.
Diaper Ointment– Your child may have sore skin, and it is nice to have some kind of cream to put on it.
FEEDING
Bottles– 2 or 3 will probably be enough. Most of the orphanages in Ethiopia use normal bottles (the tall narrow 8 oz kind) with normal pointy straight nipples. However, I love the convenience of the playtex bottles with the drop-in liners, especially in Ethiopia where you have to boil water just to wash your baby’s bottle. You might want to bring one or two of each type of bottle–if your child is willing to switch to a Playtex type bottle, great– the washing up will be easier. If not, you’ll still have the familiar kind of bottle to offer him.
Formula– It is nice to have one can of formula brought from home just in case you get your child and then don’t have a chance to run to the store for formula for a day or two. Both times I was told to expect to be given a can of formula by my child’s orphanage. Both times I got ONE bottle. The brand of formula sold in Ethiopia is called ‘Nan’ and you can buy it many places in Addis. Sticking with familiar formula is probably easier on your baby’s system than switching over right away. Once you get home, you can gradually switch him/her over to US formula.
CLOTHING
Bring plenty of simple soft stretchy outfits for your baby. Think knits, with elastic waists. Stretchy knit cuffs on pants and shirts are nice because they will allow an outfit to fit a smaller or larger baby. You’ll probably have enough if you pack 2-3 outfits per day, including PJ’s. If the baby is having lots of diarrhea, you may need to use the laundry service so you won’t run out of clothes, but in general 3 outfits a day should be adequate. Also pack socks (the kind with grippy soles are nice and stay on better than booties), a soft light jacket or two, and 2 blankets.
BABY CARRIER
A good baby carrier is essential in Ethiopia, in my opinion. For a baby under 12 months old, a fabric carrier is usually best. Ergo and Hug A Bub are both excellent brands. I’ve also heard good things about the Moby Wrap. Even a toddler in the 20 lb range can be carried in one of these carriers, and they are very compact and light to pack in a suitcase.
MEDICINE
Your medicine kit should include baby versions of Advil, Bendryl, Robitussin, triple-antibiotic ointment, lice medicine, a medicine dropper, and a thermometer. Some families will get scabies medicine from their pediatricians to take along just in case. If you do this, be sure to read up on scabies so you can identify whether or not your child actually has scabies. Other nice-to-bring items include baby shampoo, baby oil or lotion, and a few toys.
DON’T BOTHER
I personally did not use my stroller in Addis. Most of the roads are too rough to make it work well. A few people have found strollers helpful in restaurants in the place of a high chair. Mine was helpful in the airport– till they asked me to gatecheck it, anyway. Then I had to do without it for the rest of my travel time. But in general baby carriers are better suited for Addis, and better for bonding too.
A car seat is another thing you might as well not bother to bring to Addis. The majority of cabs don’t have seatbelts. A few people have paid for a very expensive type of car rental with a driver (and seat belts!) But the vast majority of adoptive parents opt to do what the natives do, and carry their kids on their laps.
If you can think of other essential items, please feel free to make note of them in comments.
More on Packing
We took a mat for bubs to lie on on the floor and our nappy bag had a changetable in it – we took an extra one, one for the house we were staying in so we had one at “home” and one for travelling with.
We found the ethiopian nappies to be ok – we used our own for the flight home and overnight but the ethiopian ones did well during the day and left a lot more room in our luggage to take clothing for orphanages.
Both of our babies were far smaller than we expected (although we were not given acurate weights and they were 3 months old by the time we arrived. So we ended up with our children in our aid clothing.
We found that both kids fitted perfectly in the handbag part of the luggage trolleys at the airport.
Baby carriers can be converted into highchairs with a bit of inventive thinking.
BIBS BIBS and more BIBS
lots of those smelly bags for putting stinky diapers in!
you can buy baby medication in Ethiopia quite easily and heaps of baby food. Did you find any lactose free formular in Ethiopia? I would take a few cans of that just in case. My first baby was lactose intollerent but being fed cows milk. She put on a lot of weight when we put her on lactose free formular.
plenty of plastic bags on the trip home and a couple of changes of outfits just incase!
Our two fitted in our suitcases as beds which worked well.
We also found a baby carrier that faces in or out is good, our first bub wanted to face in our second one wanted less contact with us and wanted to face out.
Oh it brings back all the excitement!