Baby, baby, baby...
Along with a dog, we also have to fare relocating to Qatar with a 5-month old son. Here's what I learned so far.
Actual Travel:
We traveled with a convertible car seat, Britax Marathon, because we knew that we'd need one right away and didn't want to jeopardize his safety by holding him in our lap while traveling via plane or car. We bought a contraption called GoGo Kidz (see Gogobabyz.com for more info) so other than having to take it apart and put it together, it was really easy to wheel him around. Our first leg was from Dulles Int'l to London Heathrow. via United Airline. Because we got him a ticket, he was able to stay in his rear facing car seat. Not a problem.
When we got to Heathrow and had to change planes, we found out that any liquid or gel-like substance, including OTC baby medication, rash cream, nipple cream, etc. will need to checked in or thrown out. I was shocked that we had to go through another security at Heathrow and we were highly distressed that we had to pitch infant tylenol, mylicon, diaper cream, etc. Not knowing what I'll be able to find in Qatar, we decided to leave the area, check in an extra bag with all of our baby's medicine so that we could hold ontothem. What a pain. We were so disgusted by our experience that we'd avoid Heathrow at all cost if possible in the future. BTW, I haven't been able to find Infant Tylenol or Mylicon; I did find gripe water, though.
Our second leg was on a Qatar Airways carrier. Unfortunateky, we couldn't use the car seat because the spacing was too narrow. The flight attendants were super helpful but we ended up having to give up the car seat and hold him in my lap during take off. Despite being a nearly full flight, the flight attendants allowed us to have an entire row of four seats so the baby slept throughout the flight, all sprawled out.
Baby Products:
Diapers--We've always used Huggies (currently on stage 3). Huggies and Pampers are widely available but Huggies seemed slightly different: bulkier and more crudeliy designed. Will have to try Pampers to see if they're any better.
Formula--Similac and Enfamil brands are widely available but only in large powder cans: no individual serving sizes, ready-to-eat liquids, etc.
Baby food--I found Gerber's, Hero (never heard of it before) and some other brands that I never heard of, including Hero organics. The selection here is not as wide as you'd typically find at a US supermarket. But there's a wide variety of flavors from different companies.
Bottles, nipples, etc--I saw a lot of chicco, Avent and towmee (sp?) items. No Dr.Browns or Playtex Ventaire...so far. Bottle sterilizers can be find in any baby specialty stores.
Breast pump--Medela and Avent. I have Ameda Purely Yours and it's not dual-voltage. It doesn't really work with battery power and the voltage converter we boght turned out to be a waste of money.
Strollers--Mostly Chicco and MacLaren. Some Graco strollers. 2005 model of Pliko P3 (the baby shop at the City Centre mall)
Toys--Toys R Us and the baby shop may be your best bet. I bought two exersaucers--one with wheels and one without--at the Baby Shop. You can find early developmental toys in many places, albeit in smaller selections, including Baby Einstein videos.
Bath--Plenty of Johnson & Johnson products, either in supermarkets, baby shops or in pharmacies. I was concerned that I may not be able to find Eucerin lotion for my son's occassional eczema but found it in the pharmacy inside Lulu's Hyprmarket.
No Robeez shoes...
But found Bumbo seats at Toy's R Us!
So that's what I found out after being here fo a week...
..and thank you for it. My own peculiar reason for thinking so is that my best friends are all brand new parents and all will be concerned with precisely these issues you're discussing now as they contemplate visiting me. Not being a dad myself I simply wouldn't know where to start. I do now!
Of course, being Brit, I'm sure many of the brands you've mentioned will be ready available in the UK too so I'll actually be able to speak in familiar lingo.
Thanks again - much obliged!!
Han, I agree with that. It's a shame they can't get this stuff in to Qatar. I lived in Bahrain in 99 and they didn't get stuff either. My husband and I went to visit in June and they imported EVERYTHING. So, Qatar will catch up one day.
I used to live in Crofton, MD. It's beautiful up there. I don't think I could live in D.C., it's really busy. What is the beltway now, 5-6 lanes? And there's still traffic. My dad was a pilot for United Airlines and his home base was Dulles so he used to have a hell of a time getting down there. I enjoy the city though, it's nice to walk around down there.
Hopefully, we're going home in February. I have to prepare myself for the cold.
Do you plan on doing the day care thing while you're here? Or nanny?
yup i would agree where our kids are concerend, there can be no compromises, and yes lots of stuff is available here and more can be bought online also, but it is sad that what is available in your home town is not easily available here when it is possible to have those products here, considering the fact that Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world, and when they are opening theri doors to different nationalities, they should widen their scope of products too.this case is not just with baby stuff, its with everything, like cosmetics too.my information from cosmetic dealers was that when new products are launched in usa, the older, outdated ones find their way here.if i take one of the cosmo or marieclaire magazine and search for the stuff advertised in it, i dont think i will find it here.that is a sad reality.
agree once you get used to a particular stuff for your kid, then its difficult to change it.
take care
Or more specifically, from Northern VA...so what part of MD are you from?
I didn't like Beaudreau's butt paste at all so we're using Balmex. That was another item we had to pitch in London--wasn't going to give that up!
Like Han19 mentioned, you can buy just about anything here. I'd recommend Robeez shoes (~$25-29). They're great. If I think of any, I'll post on this website or give me your email address.
Thanks, Munuschick. Prior to coming here, I tried to learn as much as I could about the availability of baby items and pet-related items. Qatarliving.com is a great forum to share one's experience so that others can plan or adjust preparation accordingly.
Munoschick: The liquid ban mandated by TSA has been loosened a bit so that you can carry liquid/gel items each weighing less than 4oz. They all must fit in a quart-size zip lock bag. They will not make you test baby milk/formula. In Heathrow, nothing is allowed. If you're carrying liquid baby food/milk, they will make you test it in their presence.
If you haven't bought a convertible car seat, I would recommend Britax Marathon. I did a lot of research prior to buying one and we're really happy with it. The weight limit on it is 65 lbs so your baby will be using it for a while. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I think she is telling people these things in case they are on their way over here. It is very helpful to know what they sell and don't sell here. There are certain things that I like better here and things I like better in the States. Like you said, you learn to deal with it.
When you are using certain products for your child, you get used to it. It is hard moving to a totally different country where things are not the same as home.
why have you stated all this? are you dissappointed by all this or just plain pissed off at what you have deal with.
the lifestyle may not be that great as what you may have back home, but its good here and the stuff you get here is also good by this place standards. it irks me too that some of the stuff you get here is not the same as what is originally produced, for ex, u get huggies that is made in saudi and another that is made in spain or portugal, and there is a lot of difference, once i started using the latter i had a tough time using the one made in saudi. even pampers, in the megamarts u get a brand called cruisers that cost 2riyals per diaper, while in the normal stores u get an entire pack of 53 for some thing like 30riyals or something. once i started using cruisers for my little girl i didnt want to go back to the usual pampers, but i had to, bcos that is easily available.
there are lots of such things, but you learn to take it in your stride and get used to it, my consolation is, that such things ar e not easily available or are priced really really high, almost a luxury item in my home country. believe me we are better off alhamdullilah.
this place is quite particular about quality of their stuff, so insha'allah, your baby wont be eating/drinking anything that could be unhealthy for her.
you will get used to this.....take care
I have a 4 month old and we're planning on going back to Mississippi and Maryland in February. I'm going to look up this car/plane seat that you used. As far as the liquids being banned, they have been banned since July or August. Hopefully, they'll make some changes to that. My dad is coming to visit in a couple of weeks so we have a list of things like baby tylenol, beaudrioux's butt paste and nighttime oragel.
Are there any other things on the market in the States that would be helpful? We haven't been home in over a year and didn't have a baby at the time.
We feed Connor the Nestle Nan formula. I have a little thing that holds 3 feedings of powder to carry with me. As far as bottles, we have the playtex drop ins bottles. We order liners and extra nipples from Kmart.com. I LOVE the drop ins. It makes things so much easier.
Our parents sent us Huggies from the states and they leaked. We use the pampers here and they work great.
We bought our son the bumble chair and we love it. I accidentally got it in purple though. I had lost the receipt so I was SOL on that one.
We had a hard time finding a stroller/car seat combo that we liked. We settled on a Graco from Toys R Us.
Where are you from in the States?