What to take:
Playtex bottles are easy & disposables convenient.Take extra nipples, though, since you'll probably have to cut them (your baby will likely be used to having a bigger hole) and you may mess up on some. Some bring rubbermaid type shoe box to use as a washbin, rubber gloves because the water that you use to wash bottles with is boiling hot, a bottle brush and a nipple brush. This really made washing bottles very easy. When they were packing the rubbermaid box, they stuffed it with snacks, this way the snacks wouldn’t get crushed and all the way home you can put some fragile souvenirs in it so they don’t get crunched. Obviously not necessary but can come in handy.Formula:Consider buying the Chinese brand formula once you are over there. It has been said that if you switch right away, they may get constipated from the new formula.
Some Most people buy enough formula in China to last through their stay there and for at least two weeks after return home. That way, you can gradually mix in the new formula brand (whether soy or not) little by little so it isn't such a drastic change for a little one who is already experiencing so many events in his or her young life.
Formula is milk-based in China. Many pediatricians recommend taking a milk based formula, such as Similac with Iron or Enfamil with Iron. Others recommend Lactofree (a milk with no lactose sugar, but also no soy protein), as many people of Asian descent have a lactose intolerance.
Lactofree seemed to be the closest in taste to the Chinese formulas used in most orphanages, but the milk based formulas were tolerated just as well.
The soy formula can sometimes constipate the children, and many have already been on a milk based formula.
To ease the transition to US baby formulas, some people mix the formula in a lesser strength for a few days. This avoids some problems with constipation and stomach aches.
On the go:
Prefill the liners with formula and band. Buy some of the child-sized rubberbands that they sell for ponytails. That is a really easy way to rubber band the liner.
Fill a thermos with boiling water and bring along bottled water.
I hear that you have to put a little bit of cold bottled water in the liner first, then add the boiling water, so that the liners don't melt.
Not taking the bottle:
Just because your daughter doesn't take a bottle for the first several days, don't assume she won't!
Flow: Maybe the flow is too slow, so enlarge the nipple holes. You can use chopsticks or a nail clipper.
Temperature: Some babies need “to have her formula HOT - not tepid, not warm, but HOT - burn your tongue HOT, too HOT for my hands HOT ... HOT HOT HOT .... and even after we came home, I had to have the director of our daycare make her bottles special, using the hot water out of the bubble (you know the side you use to make tea) because she would NOT drink formula unless it was HOT.”
Consistency: A lot of babies are fed formula mixed with rice cereal so the contents is very thick.
Amounts: One mom said her daughter was 9 months at adoption a she was getting 4 bottles a day. 32-48 ounces of formula a day in China
Some say that the bottle feeding has been indispensable for the attachment process.
Other Foods: Some useful foods for children more than six months old include Cheerios, Kix, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, fruit bars, and other finger foods. Jar foods should probably not be taken abroad due to the increased risk of breakage in your suitcase. Most children will be able to eat limited food from the table if cut up into very tiny pieces, so as to avoid the risk of choking.
This is just some info I found useful, maybe you will too.
