I have only visited Switzerland once and I noticed how expensive baby clothes are...but what about all the other items? Is there anything you cannot get in Switzerland that you didn't realize until after you moved here? Or you had to pay a pretty swiss franc for that you could have brought from "home"?
Oh and what about maternity clothes? Easy to find? I would assume they are rather expensive like all other things in Switzerland!?
Thanks for all your insight, it's greatly appreciated!
As a tip (if this is your first baby): you don't need anything like the amount of stuff you think you need for a newborn.
We are kicking ourselves for buying half the baby shop of things we never used...
And if you have an allowance and a diaper genie, bring refills!
Cheers
L.
They do have everything you need here, but it comes at a cost and there is not much choice. I always take an extra case when we go home to the UK or visit the states. You will have a wider selections of strollers, cribs, activity toys, clothing you name it.
You may kick yourself if you see something you really like and think you can find it here... odds on you won't find the exact same at a comparable price.
First babies are a special time and yes you will not use half of what you buy but that never stops anyone. A big move, new baby and strange country will be enough to deal with, bring as many home comforts as possible to get you through the first few months
Be aware though that beds and bedding are different sizes here. The standard "cot" (not moses basket or newborn crib) size is 140cm x 70cm. Just an FYI in case you bring a cot but decide to get mattress here etc...
Good luck with both the move and baby
You know you can also buy things second hand here from parents both on this site and families yahoo group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Families-in-Zurich/ .
As for suppositories, I prefer them for small babies as the medicine is quick to administer and the results are faster. I do, however, prefer the teething gels from home and have quite a good stock.
If I now were to move to the USA, I would assume that there is an equivalent or a suitable replacement there of whatever I can find and normally use here. Even if things are cheaper, is it really worth a hassle shipping stuff across the Atlantic all the time?
But if bringing familiar, culture-specific objects makes you feel more confortable and less stressed about moving to a foreign country, then I understand.
Not only are things two to three times the price here, but having more than one type of any item on the shelves is seen as inefficient and economically wasteful. Case in point for me was the bouncy chair I bought my Bub. We looked everywhere, and the only ones available were either Baby Bjorn or one other very expensive marque. Cost around CHF 85, built like brick sh*t houses and ugly as sin. The manufacturers probably had to convince the inspecting authorities that they would survive a nuclear strike.
Got one from Amazon UK, cost equivalent CHF 30, Bub delighted with it, and has christened it with a variety of different fluids.
Cheers
Jim
Also, I *cannot* get decent nursing pads here - the same *crap* brand is stocked by all the supermarkets/department stores, but inside it's just the same product.
Oh, and nappies, we use the cheapest brand we can get - again, same product, different packaging (in fact, it's the same product we buy in the 'home brand' packaging in Australia!)...
Essential baby items:
A bigger bed for mum and dad so baby fits (breastfeeding in bed makes life a lot easier).
Good baby sling (ask around your friends, I have an Australian one made by the breastfeeding association which I love, there are lots of *crap* ones out there)...
Good baby books (again, ask around from experienced mums whose parenting philosophy you agree with, plenty of *crap* books out there too!)...
Stroller/Pram - there is a whole thread on the forum here on how to choose a good one - but in some ways better to save your money and buy one *after* you have the baby, so you know what is practical (I'm in no hurry to take my bubs out in the snow in a stroller, prefer to carry them in a sling because they are against my body and warm/protected and I can constantly check their hands and feet to make sure they aren't cold).
I gotta say too the idea of the 'diaper genie' is lost on me - purely on an environmental level, plastic-wrapping every nappy with added perfumes simply to throw it in the bin...seems overkill. Although I do use plastic nappies (I don't like to call them 'disposables')...so I guess my kids already have made an enormous contribution to the waste pile..
Yes. We did most of it on 2 adults' economy ticket luggage allowance. Grandparents fill in the blanks.
The one I have doesn't individually wrap each diaper nor does it have perfume, it's just a bag that is sealed in what is essentially a closed pail. So smells don't come out. Even though they sometimes do. Bad smells cause bad moods which I had the link on hand. In case anyone does have one, the angel care refills sold locally fit the diaper genie.
This is the one I know about - it wraps each plastic nappy separately and the plastic is impregnated with perfume.... I think it should get an 'unenvironmental award'...
However, I never formula-fed, and I understand that formula-fed poos are a million times worse than breastfed poos...
As for the nursing pads i used Anita`s really good, i still have half a pack left (all sealed) if you want them (or anyone else)
-Price: Those $3 onesies at Target? Try 30-40 CHF here. Everything else is wildly more expensive here.
-Time constraints... shops close very early, and you will simply not have the time to handle the move along with shopping for all the baby stuff. The move while being pregnant is stressful enough, so best not to add more to it.
-The company paid for the move, so why not? ;-) The container was a fixed price with or without baby stuff.
I argued with my wife at the time that it was not necessary to buy everything in the US, but she won that argument, and of course she was right.
We now have the apartment ready and nothing to do but wait for baby... due Dec. 31.
Oh, and bring maternity clothes too. My wife found lots of cute boutique maternity stores, but a pair of maternity jeans averages around 300+ CHF.
Good luck!
-Alan-