Packing list for Kaz

Someone recently asked about this, so I thought I would add it here as well! This is what we took and used and some of what we wish we had taken=)

Packing list for Kazakhstan

over the counter meds:
benedryl
sinus
Tylenol
Nyquil/Dayquil
Tums
Pepto
Sucrets
antibiotic from doctor
first aid kit + ace bandage

scissors

spool of cord for clothes drying

charmin toilet paper to go (small rolls sold in travel section at target/walmart)

hand sanitizing wet wipes (in travel section; I used them to clean toys off as well so I brought several small packages)

hand sanitizer (1 large and 1 small per person for carrying on plane)

packets of 1 use Tide ( one packet lasted about 3-4 loads in our small sink in the bathroom. It was about 2 large loads in the bathtub. We did laundry about every 3-4 days and used one packet each time.)

clothes pins

washcloths (they don’t have any!)

disposable baby wash cloths (huggies makes a disposable washcloth with the soap already added. Just add water! We used these at the Frankfurt airport to refresh ourselves. I also used them for Alina after bringing her out of the baby house.)

face cleaning wipes (also nice for the long trip to Kaz)

mouthwash (several small travel sizes work. I took one with me on the plane so that I could clean out my mouth during the trip. When brushing our teeth in Kaz we used bottled water and rinsed our mouth and toothbrush with mouthwash.)

Travel size shampoo and soap. (To get you through until you can go shopping. They have a lot of the same brands of shampoo and soap that we do in their small grocery stores. You can also get Gillette disposable razors there, Always pads, dish soap for doing dishes in your sink, and boxes of Tide laundry soap.)

I brought a small tool that has Phillips and flathead screwdrivers and pliers on it. I never needed to use it.

If you travel in the summer bring sunscreen, bug spray/lotion, anti-itch cream (I took the benedryl itch stick) and a fly swatter! We had a few flys we couldn’t get rid of and wish we had thought to stick a fly swatter in. If nothing else it could have provided entertainment=) )

Lots of stuff to do; crosswords, books to read, card games, DVDs….

small flashlight

glasses repair kit

plenty of extra contact lenses

nail clippers

a couple toothbrushes ( you can also buy them there)

shout wipes, tide stick to go - get out stains

two adaptors/ converters – at least one should be able to convert the voltage!

long phone cord – we ended up not needing but if you have dial-up you might.

LOTS of Ziploc baggies. I took sandwich size and gallon.

Febreeze so you can refresh your clothes

small notebook ( we carried it around to shop with and had the shopkeepers write the price in it. They also used a calculator to show us. Also used it to take notes on Alina's progress, what we wanted to add to the blog, and what anyone told us about Alina. ie: the doctor, coordinator, social worker...)

IPOD
Camera
Tape measure – fabric (came in handy to measure our daughter)
safety pins
sewing kit
Vaseline
tape – wish I had brought masking tape
lint brush

Clothing:
I brought 4 pairs of pants and about 6 shirts. We ended up sending jeans down to the hotel laundry. They took 3-4 days to dry if we did them in our room. T-shirts are also kind of a pain to do in your room. Light cotton shirts (like the button down kind) would have dried quicker and been easier to wash. My husbands dress shirts he brought were very easy to wash. Take dark colors for pants. You will be sitting on the floor and kneeling when you are playing with your child!

We also each brought one nice outfit to wear to guardianship council and court. My husband brought a suit. I brought a pair of black slacks and a white top with black jacket. I now wish I had worn a skirt. It seemed more appropriate.

The laundry you will do the most is underwear and socks, so take a lot and you won’t have to do laundry so much! Also, a pair of slippers or slipper socks to wear around your hotel or apartment. The floors are never very clean and all my white socks I brought looked so bad when I got home I tossed them. Or you could just always wear your shoes. The baby house may require you to remove shoes (ours did not) so you might want a slipper to wear there.

Gifts:
I brought these the second trip.
I brought lots of tissue paper, ribbon, and gift bags I could lay flat in my suitcase.
I also made thank you cards out of printable business cards. Avery has templates you can use online. I put a picture of my husband, daughter, and I and wrote a short generic thank you and printed them out. I used a hole punch to make a hole and tied a ribbon through it to the gift bag. Really simple and it didn’t take up much space.



Carry On:
I packed a small carry on with one set of clothes, all our adoption paperwork, travel size toiletries, face wipes, some baby disposable washcloths, Tylenol, and other stuff I would need if my suitcase didn’t make it with me to Taraz (And it didn’t! I was very glad of the extra clothes). I also put some snacks in for the car trip from Almaty to Taraz. Granola bars and chocolate=)

I also had a neck pillow that I was very glad to have on the airplane. Quentin took an eye covering, too. Wish we had thought of ear plugs=)

I had a small travel purse to carry my passport, travel info, and a copy of our LOI in.