Stroller or Carrier in Hong Kong?

Before our trip to Hong Kong, I decided that I wanted to buy a "new" stroller for our trip. Sure, I already had four strollers at home, but none of them would be suitable for Hong Kong. The Graco travel system was too bulky, the umbrella stroller had no canopy or recline function, the Snap n Go was obsolete since we weren't using the infant seat anymore, and my Inglesina Zippy stroller was just a little too heavy. What I wanted in a stroller was something that could recline (at least a little), had a canopy/sunshade, was lightweight (ideally less than 13 pounds) so we could carry it long distances if Baby wasn't happy in the stroller, and most of all, I wanted it to be cheap. This last requirement was most important to me because I didn't want to be heartbroken in case my new stroller got lost, stolen, or dinged up in our travels.

With this checklist of requirements, we went to Babies R Us to check out their inventory and test drive their strollers. We loved the McLaren strollers - but they were far too expensive. I also liked the Chicco Capri stroller, though I still wasn't willing to spend $80 for a stroller that might get damaged in its first few weeks of life. So we returned home from Babies R Us empty-handed, hoping that something would come up on Craigslist.

About a week before we left, and after I started getting a little desperate, I found the Chicco Capri stroller on Craigslist for only $35. I jumped on the deal. I was a little sad at first that I couldn't find such an amazing deal on a MacLaren stroller, but it turned out to be a good thing, because of the recent recall on MacLaren strollers. So for $35, I purchased an almost new red Chicco Capri stroller. It weighs only 11 lbs., has a detachable carrying strap, a travel bag, 2 position recline, 5-point harness, and an adjustable canopy. It also has a really small basket underneath the stroller (too small to be really useful, but good for small things like a jacket or blanket).

Unfortunately, we didn't use the stroller at all in Hong Kong. During our travels, we stayed mostly in busy districts such as Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, etc., where the streets are crowded and using a stroller would have been very inconvenient, if not dangerous. Since we walked a lot, we dealt with a lot of pedestrian traffic and also automobile traffic. The drivers there aren't very considerate of pedestrians (it's like there's a war between pedestrians and drivers over the roads), so I didn't like the idea of pushing a stroller with a defenseless baby in front of me while crossing the street, hoping that drivers would obey the red light.

Another reason why a stroller might not be the most convenient option - we used the MTR, or subway, a lot, and I noticed that elevator access to the subway station itself from the city level was either nonexistent or very well-concealed. The usual access to the subway station from city level is via flights of stairs, and having to carry a stroller and baby (and various other baby equipment like a diaper bag) would have been a pain, especially if I were traveling by myself.

We relied heavily upon the Ergo Baby Carrier - because of its design that distributes baby's weight evenly, I didn't experience any back pain. Baby was able to see the world in the Ergo and also fall asleep (and the attached hood helped him to stay asleep), and I even learned how to nurse with the carrier so that I could walk the streets of Hong Kong while nursing discretely. (I loosened the straps of the Ergo so Baby could nurse, and then I wore the Hooter Hider and draped it over the Ergo so nobody could see that I was nursing.) I felt like I could better protect Baby since he was so close to me.

I did see some locals use strollers in Hong Kong, but the norm seemed to be to either carry the child in one's arms or to use a carrier of some sort.

Breastfeeding/Nursing in Hong Kong - My Observations

In my 11 days Hong Kong (well, more accurately, 8 days in HK, 3 days in Macau), I don't think I saw anybody else nursing in public. (In fact, I didn't see many infants out in public either..., which is not to say that there are no infants in Hong Kong - there may be a many reasons why infants weren't more prevalent in HK, like the swine flu scare, cultural norms that encourage keeping babies at home and away from crowds and strangers, parents work during the day so helpers take care of children at home, I was just in all the wrong places, etc.) Like I mentioned in a previous post, Hong Kong has been trying to do a huge public awareness campaign about the benefits of nursing, and from what I heard from my "aunties" (my mom's friends), doctors are really encouraging women to breastfeed their babies.

So nursing in itself isn't shunned in Hong Kong, and from my own personal experience, neither is nursing in public, although not many women do it. Whenever I nursed in front of them, my aunties always commented about how nursing is always best for mom and baby and agreed that nursing is a lot more convenient than carrying bottles and mixing formula. Nobody seemed uncomfortable by the fact that I was nursing my baby in public (though discreetly under a Hooter Hider), and conversation simply carried on. No gawkers, no rude comments, nothing. Also, I do speak Cantonese, so I listened intently to make sure there were no rude comments about my nursing in public - and I'm happy to report that there indeed were no rude comments. So ladies, if you're used to nursing in public and are planning on visiting Hong Kong, by all means, go for it.

Now for a few tips. I was using my Hooter Hider the whole time, so I'm not sure if reactions would have been different had I not been using a nursing cover. I imagine that the reactions would have been much different, especially given that nursing in public doesn't seem to be very common. I would recommend using a nursing cover for discretion, however. In fact, when I nursed while using the cover, most people simply assumed I was trying to lull my baby to sleep or keep him asleep - not many people realized that I was nursing my child (once again, perhaps because nursing in public is so uncommon).

On the very few occasions that I was not already sitting down in a restaurant and need to nurse my son (I admit, a large chunk of my time was spent in restaurants since there's so much good food in Hong Kong!), I would just duck into a nearby cafe or fast-food restaurant that looked somewhat comfortable, would order something small to drink or munch on, and carry on with nursing. While there, I ducked into a McDonalds a couple times to nurse (and my husband ordered coffee), went to a few dessert cafes, etc. I avoided places that were really incredibly busy not only to avoid distracting my son while he was nursing, but also because I didn't want to annoy proprietors who wanted a high turnover on their tables. The great thing about Hong Kong is that there are so many restaurants - finding a somewhat comfortable place to sit and nurse and also have something appetizing to snack on is not a difficult task.

And of course, just in case, I always carried an empty bottle, some formula, and a bottle of water in my diaper bag. We never used the formula when I was present with my son because of the ease of finding a place to sit down and nurse, but bringing the formula was a good backup plan.

Back from Hong Kong!

I've been back from Hong Kong for a few weeks now, though I'm just now getting my life back in order. We had a fabulous time, and Baby was miraculously very cooperative during the trip. He adjusted so well that I'm thinking that taking more trips (even international ones) with him will be a genuine possibility.

Now that I'm back from Hong Kong, I'll start a series of posts about traveling with a baby in Hong Kong. Stay tuned!

Ergo Carriers on Sale - $85

I really love my Ergo carrier - it's really comfy for me, my husband (when it's not too warm for him to use it, since he's a human furnace), and Baby. They're incredibly convenient, especially in crowded areas, such as malls or cities, where strollers may be a bit difficult to navigate. They usually retail for over $100, however there are some on sale for $85 (+$8.50 s/h) here: http://www.yellbaby.com/ergo-baby-carriers.html. Sale is limited to supply on hand, and they're not going to get any more carriers in stock.

Flu Shots

I just took my son in to get his flu shot today at Kaiser. I wanted to get him his flu shot weeks in advance of our upcoming Hong Kong trip, in case he suffers any reactions. The flu shot clinic was surprisingly efficient! There were no tears during the injection; in fact, Son just gave out one loud squawk, and that's it. After the flu shot was administered, we were asked to stay for 15 minutes so the nurses could monitor any reactions to the injection. It was a good thing that we stayed, since Son experienced some slight swelling at the injection site - nothing too serious. The Kaiser nurses promptly noted the reaction in his medical record, gave us an ice pack, and sent us on our merry way.

Since Son is under 9 years of age, it's recommended that he receive 2 flu shots, 1 month apart. Given his reaction to the initial shot, it'll be up to the discretion of his pediatrician as to whether or not he should receive the second shot. He has a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks, so we'll see what she says.

I'm hoping that the H1N1 vaccine comes out soon so he can get the shot before we leave for Hong Kong.

Relevant links:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Information about H1N1 Vaccination

BebePods

Since my son is on the small side, he doesn't really fit in restaurant high chairs - this really is a drag if my husband and I actually want to eat our meals at the same time, without having to hold a baby. We've figured out a temporary solution, however. We just lug our BebePod around with us. Actually, we've just been leaving ours in the car, and bring it with us to restaurants. We have the fancy version with the seatbelt, so Baby stays pretty secure in the seat so far. We've learned that placing the BebePod on bench seats, in booths, or on banquettes work the best, since it's less likely for the BebePod to fall of the chair. When we have to put the BebePod on a chair, though, I usually keep my left arm on the chair (because of new-mother paranoia) and am still able to eat with my right hand. After all, new parents learn pretty quickly how to do all sorts of things with only one arm.

There are plenty of travel-friendly high chairs on the market. The ones that I've seen clip on to the table (for example, the Chicco Caddy Hook-On Chair for approx. $40 or the Phil and Ted's Me too! Travel High Chair for approx. $50). I've refrained from shopping for one of these chairs because we tend to frequent hole-in-the wall Chinese restaurants with unstable tables, so hooking on a high chair to the table isn't safe at all. (Another plus of the BebePod option at these venues is that the high chairs at a lot of these restaurants look absolutely filthy. At least if my BebePod is filthy, it's my baby's filth, and that's always okay.) And further, I already had a BebePod, so spending money on an additional baby item just doesn't appeal to me.

Ikea!

There's a great song about Ikea from Jonathan Coulton (you can find it here, just search for "Ikea"). Seriously, this song runs through my mind every time I'm at Ikea, and sometimes upon noticing that people are giving me strange looks I realize that I'm singing the song.

Anyway the point of this post is not to plug Jonathan Coulton (who also does a great cover of Baby Got Back, found via the same link posted above), but to discuss Ikea. Ikea is incredibly baby-friendly, which is surprising, given Sweden's low birth rates.

The Ikea in Palo Alto, CA has these great baby care rooms. There's one on the lower level when you first enter the store, and another on the top floor near the cafeteria. These baby care rooms are stocked with baby wipes and even diapers (size 3 only, but still...)! There's a changing table, a sink, and an Ektorp chair for nursing. They also have these strategically placed speakers next to the door so that the music that they pipe in covers up most of the sound outside. It really helps when you're nursing so that Baby doesn't get distracted by loud and sudden noises outside. My only complaint is that they should put another chair (even a simple wooden chair) in the bathroom, in case husbands, partners, family members, or friends are in the baby care room while Mom is feeding Baby.

The cafeteria also has bottle warmers in case you need to warm a bottle. I tried it once, and I couldn't seem to get it to work - it took a looooong time for the water in the bottle warmer to heat up. Either the bottle warmer sucked or it was broken. I just ended up filling a cup with hot water from the hot water dispenser attached to the coffee machine and warming up the bottle that way. (Caution: that water is HOT - you might want to mix it with some cold water so you don't melt the baby bottle.)

I believe all Ikea stores have these great amenities.