Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

[luckybee]

Okay, anyone with small baby:

I am gonna travel to the US this summer. I was planning to shop for some good quality baby stuff that isn't available here. Like safest car seat, stroller, new cool inventions for babies, best breast pump, best baby pillow, etc. Like, what stuff would you say you can't find here that you would recommend picking up in the US?

[Julieta]

Hi Lucky bee,

How old is your baby? I have a 2 year old boy and I am about to give birth to a little girl. For the toddler, there are many things, although some brands like Petit Bateau are hard to find and the selection is poor. I also miss H&M everyday clothes. There is Gap here, but again, the variety is extremely limited and it only comes from 3-6 months onwards, which brings me to my next point...

For newborns it's quite a nightmare to find some nice stuff! For some strange reason a lot of baby shops only store clothes from 3 months onwards...so I don't know whether babies are kept naked for the first 3 months or what! I mean, you do get to find a few things like in Mothercare, but I was fairly disappointed and had to get things from the UK.

Regarding buggies, strollers and prams, the selection is not very good. Thankfully, someone told me about it in this forum and I bought my new tandem pram in the UK. I would strongly advise you to get yours in the US. Brands like Bugaboo and Phil& Ted are not available (although I saw in the Mothercare catalogue that they will offer P&T, but who knows when and at which prices)

That's another thing, you might be able to find some stuff, but the markup is quite high. For instance, the new Avent IQ Breast Pump, which costs £85 in the UK, after chasing it up for months (only a few shops are storing it) I had to pay more than £100 to get it. Other Avent products are readily available (except a very nice cream called Magic Cream, as I haven't been able to find it).

Another thing I would buy abroad are nappy sacks, only Spinney's (a local supermarket) sales them, they are not available all the time and are so much more expensive than in the UK (and I am sure than in the US too).

Formula. Imported one is quite expensive. I did manage to find Hipp Organic, only in Ibn Batuta Mall, in Geant. I have heard some friends complaining about the prices of SMA gold and other brands. Of course you won't be able to bring all the Formula you need, but if your baby is used to a certain brand, try to bring some tins.

Now, for the things and brands you do get here: Osh Kosh, Mothercare (UK), Okaidi (French), Gocco (Spanish and lovely, especially for girls)a local shop called Babyshop (I particularly don't like it a all, very naff things, but according to some people you can get some nice basic stuff...I will have to take their words!) and some other smaller shops like Orchestra (French), A to Z (Thai), Tape a l'oeil (French) etc.

I hope this is useful and good luck!

J

[luckybee]

thanks Julieta for taking the time to write this, I will print it out and take it with me. I am not as concerned with clothes as I am with safe stuff and good quality stuff like nappy bag, pram, etc. So Good to know what is here and what is not. I am not due until December but I won't be able to go to the US at any other time than this summer, so I am making my shopping list now.

Much appreciated,

Luckybee

[Wonderwoman]

Hi

I have an 11 month old and was advised by friends to make sure I get a baby stair gate from the UK because the ones in Dubai are not as good.
Although you might not need the gate for a while yet - but if you are shipping a bunch of stuff over, it might be cheaper to get everything you need sent at the same time.

Also baby food is definately not as good as the stuff in the UK, and even the UK brands that they do stock are very overpriced. Not so sure about how it compares to baby food from the US.
I've heard that baby clothes are generally more expensive in Dubai as well, but I have seen almost all the brands you can get in the UK as well as brands that aren't available here. I did notice that the selection was more limited though.

[MaaaD]

Wonderwoman do you have a cape ?

[Wonderwoman]

No I dont have a cape.

I have hotpants and knee high boots, and bulletproof bracelets and a whip.

[Julieta]

You welcome Luckybee, glad you found it helpful. I know the feeling and in spite of bringing a lot of things from the UK I still wished with hindsight I would have brought some others and wonder why I bother with some readily available here.

For instance, Sudocrem ( a nappy rash cream) is everywhere, so is Calpol (paracetamol medicine) and I brought loads of both. I mean, I am still glad I did (you can never have too much of either of them with a baby), as sometime you take for granted you'll find them and then you struggle to find something similar. For instance, in Venezuela children medicines just taste vile and In Tunisia it was a hassle to find a decent baby shampoo! On the other hand, wished I had brought some Garnier's Ambre Solaire Children's sunblock, as of course you can find sun protection here, but it is quite sticky and not too nice (nor easy!) to put on a toddler!

About security feautures, I haven't really paid too attention, as I already have most of the things from my son. There are some in Mothercare, don't bother with plug protectors (especially since plugas are diffrent here than in the US) But my advice, there are so many different styles, some more practicals than others, so if you see anything you like, just buy it, they are usually small and you will probably regrett not having bought it.

I also bought those bolsters you put newborn babies to sleep on(so they don't go on their tummies), I know you can find them anywhere in the US, but I haven't really seen them here. Having said that, as I brought mine, I haven't really paid too much attention here.

And last but not least, bring your pram, chances are you won't find the one you like here and even if you did, they will charge you the earth for it, so not worth it.

So buy as much as you can but of course realise there will be things you'll forget and well, you'll just have to live with it and try to get some substitutes here. That's life!