Hong Kong with 12-14 week baby

[lottonetts]

Bambino has not arrived yet but already starting to think about planned trip to Hong Kong late Sept/early Oct (Hsbnd's bf wedding). we are staying in nice hotel in Kowloon (pool, spa etc) but worrying about buggy, nappies poss formula (if bFeeding does not work!) and any other issues that a 12-14 week baby may have in HK! Appreciate buggy may be a nightmare on th main island - but obviously need to take one (I think?!) any tips gratefully received...

Haven't lived in HK for ages but don't want this to go unreplied so here's my advice!

Ppl do use buggies in HK but given the age of your baby I would really think a sling will be best. If you want to take a buggy think lightweight and collapsible not all terrain pram IYKWIM! You will need to lift it up/down steps and in/out of buses, MTR etc.

Most ppl use public transport in HK and this would be so much easier with a sling although it's very modern and I imagine most MTR stations have lifts to platforms.

Taxis are everywhere and v reasonable but I doubt they provide infant car seats so unless you are willing to lug this around with you, you might not feel comfortable about travelling this way. IIRC the traffic in HK is so bad you would never be going very fast to have a serious crash anyway!

Brand name nappies, wipes etc will be no problem - can't comment on formula but I imagine you will be able to get this as well though not necessarily the brand you prefer.

Everyone drinks bottled water in HK so I would boil this, not tap water to make up formula feeds.

Generally, children are loved in HK and family is very important - you will see babies and children in restaurants in the evenings etc and ppl are very tolerant.

Have a lovely time

We took dd when she was very little and found a sling AND pushchair very useful. A baby bjorn type sling is necessary to take baby on the bus/taxi. And we found that a pushchair would not be a good idea in some busy tourist shopping areas. But out and about in general pushchair was fine. But be prepared to carry pushchair up and down some stairs on public transport MTR.
HK people are very conservative and it's is not commonplace for people to breastfeed in public like it is in the UK so prepared to be stared at out of interest (people told me that bf'ing is on the up but most local women would only bf at home).
Look at forum for information regarding supermarkets selling baby things. Beware formula differences so bring your own if baby prefers a specific brand/type.
On memory I think I used evian water to make up bottles as their minerals etc were ok for baby to tolerate.
Good luck and have fun especially the eating part!!!

Was living in HK when I had DD a few years ago, only info I could add here would be that you can pick up chinese brand formula from Watsons chemists which are everywhere. In Central, in the Pedder building (near M&S) there is a shop called Bumps to Babes where you can buy western branded formula (Aptimal, Hipp etc and just about anything else you'd need for a baby). The tap water (at least where I was living) was fine to drink and I boiled it for DD's bottles when she moved onto formula.

Most of the big shopping malls iirc have a 'baby room' where you can bf, change your baby etc, just ask. I have BF in some of the coffee shops there, quite discreetly as people are quite conservative.

this website is quite useful as is geobaby which someone else linked to.

Its a really nice time of year to be going, have a lovely trip!