taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

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hello i’m taking my 8 month old girl to pakistan soon. pls share your experiences and tips regarding travelling and what to take along etc. my baby takes top feed of formula which is not available in pakistan so i’ll have to take that along…what else shall i take? baby food?..plz share i’m realy tensed and confused…and also that how to care of the baby there? which things do i have to avoid and what brand of mineral water shall i use to make baby formula etc etc…plz help

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

If you are visiting main city like Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad/Rawalpindi there is nothing to worry about. All baby foods and formulas are available. For mineral water use Nestle.

Remember one thing, if you are visiting relatives take some protection with you. Like some sort of nazar-e-bad sey bachnay ki cheez. Some supplications from Quran. Recite them daily and blow yourself and baby.

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

Mmalik is expert in all kinda formula food :D

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

Yes, I used to buy lots of them for my brothers kids. It was my duty....and I also used to take my bhabi to doctor in final weeks as brother was at work :)

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

ths so sweet of uuu , thn u mst b an experienced husbbbbbb:)

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

That's really nice. When I was in Pakistan, I used to take my mami to the doctor all the time! :)

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

And being a 20 year kid, I always used to stare at her tummy :)

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

Being a 20 year old kid, I did stare at her tummy too all the time. lol.

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

To the original poster…
I am traveling with a 6 month old Inshallah in a week…and I started this thread awhile ago

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/parenting/451085-traveling-internationally-with-an-infant.html

Hope you find it helpful.
Regarding what to take with you,I know I am taking her formula (powdered) enough to last her during the entire trip,her baby cereal (rice and oatmeal) and baby food containers (first food veggies and fruits like peas,carrots,pears etc).Will also try to take as much diapers and wipes I can (depending on the weight of the luggage).Since yours is 8 month old she might be eating different stuff so you can take whatever she is taking accordingly.
Where are you headed…I mean what city…??..Lahore has the baby food and formulas and other essentials readily avaialble,but I think it is better to take whatever you can.
Regarding water,make sure you let the water boil for atleast 5-10 mins and cool it down before using it,even if it is bottled water.

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

If you are in a city, please dont take diapers with you. Its just extra luggage. A few ppl had told me to take diapers from the US since the ones in Pak werent good quality. I did it on two trips BUT this last time i tired the pampers brand there and honestly they werent bad at all. I mean they seemed a bit thinner than the huggies i use here but they were much better than the local baby magic brand.

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

pls dont be paranoid bout baby food etc sold in pakistan is somehow of worse quality than that of the same brand being sold abroad.

all major cities of pakistan sell the entire range of baby products.. the only thing i would take is baby formula and that too if its of a brand that isnt available in pakistan...

most ppl are clever enough to use mineral water to make their babies food in but forget that the water they are using to wash the utensils is tap water.. so i would go a step further and use mineral water to boil sterlize the babies bottles in and the utensils it uses.

an 8 mont old can eat a variation of grown up food so that should take a load of your shoulders in the sense that you dont have to buy so much jarred food...

honestly... just relax.. its pakistan not mars. the more your gonna worry bout something bad happening, mostly likely it will. just go in with positive thoughts and inshallah your child will stay healthy

yeh tho phir bhi desi bacha hai... my white friend took her 6 month old to karachi and she didnt have a care in the world. the child stayed healthy throughout the trip and came back in one piece. yes be smart but dont overdo it.

chin up :) enjoy your trip!

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

I would also not take it on an easy shoulder, do take some emergency medicine for the baby, ask ur doc to prescribe them to you. As along as u use mineral water, the nestle one is good and cook his food with that everything should be fine. One mistake we did was to give cow milk to our daughter and she got every high fever, so avoid that.

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

I didn't take diapers for my daughter (she was 2 months old) and it was a nightmare.... we ran out of the ones I had taken (I thought oh I'll buy from there) and she got a really bad diaper rash even from the imported pampers there, then I found these Chinese brand of diapers at Zubaida's mothershop..... Thank God for those, otherwise I don't know what I'd have done :( Apparently, my daughter's skin is sensitive and we found that out after we used the diapers there.

Do not take a risk and do take enough diapers with you, I would rather take those then any gifts for other people.

And also take your baby's thermometer and OTC medicines like infant's tylenol, mylicon, etc. just in case

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

I was in no mood to carry diapers/wipes with me but my daughter developed a severe rash just within a day of me getting a different brand of wipes for her...
It was horrible and took atleast 10 days to heal...:(
I dont use wipes that much though,but I just dont want to take chances...so I might carry as much as I can and is allowed...

:)

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

Khawa has given a very informative reply.

I will just add a few things since I am living in Karachi and I have a baby too :)

Baby Food- you don't need to worry about. In places like Naheed super market , Ebco , Agha super market and even the smallest general store have imported and local made baby food. Nestle' cerelac is the only locally made baby food available rest is all imported. You will find bottled food and imported cereals etc everything.

Milk Formula- I use enfalac for my daughter it's very easily available and it's imported. Local brands like Nido & Nestle' baby milk formula etc are equally good as well. My friend used nan1 formula for her baby till 1 year and after that Nido and her baby is just fine. You will get many brands of formula milk here.

Diapers- all these supermarkets sells variety of diaper brands. I use pampers for my daughter and to date she has never got a nappy rash (alhamdolillah).

The best brand of mineral water is Nestle I think. I feel what you need to have with you is a electric kettle for boiling water (you can also use the traditional stove for that) and a steriliser. My daughter's bottles , pacifiers , spoon all are sterilised before use and I wash the feeding bowl with mineral / filtered water before using it.

Please don't give her the regular cow milk. The tetra pack milk is ok to use but not the one from dairy farm.

If you are travelling to Karachi or Lahore or Islamabad then I don't think you have anything to worry about.

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Re: taking 8 months old to pakistan for first time.

I agree with khawateen, i have a white friend married to a Pakistani, she took very less baby food with her for her 8 months old daughter from here, she slowly started giving her baby pakistani food, maggi noodles n other stuff n she was just fine n she came back with her suitcases filled with maggi nooodles n otehr food stuff from pakistan...