Baby questions (hospital, baby supplies, bulk purchases, taxi, private drivers)

[3js]

We just moved from the US to Repulse Bay a week ago. I am due on August 1st with our 3rd child. Our other children are 10 and 7.

I am on the wait list at Matilda and Adventist. If I don't get into Matilda or Adventist, is Queen Mary the next best place to go? I am looking for somewhere with a private room, my husband must be present at the delivery, and a place where children may be present nearby and visit all the time. We don't know anyone in HK to watch our children during this process.

Do you also have any suggestions on where to buy everything related to babies. We only have a crib and we have a month left to buy everything else. We are looking for reasonable pricing and a place that delivers. Is there anyplace to buy diapers and formula in bulk? Does anyone ship such bulk purchases from the US?

Last question--we have been taking taxis everywhere. With the birth of the baby, we will have 5 in our family. Will 5 (including a car seat) fit in a taxi? Is there a special kind of car seat used in HK? Would the best option be to hire a private driver and if so, does anyone have any ideas on how to locate such a driver?

Thanks,

[geomum]

I think Queen Mary would the public hospital for you since you live in Repluse Bay. Private rooms are not so easily available at QM since they only have a few and booking is much in advance. Your husband can be present after the second stage of labour during delivery but not emergency C section. Children below 12 are not allowed to visit you at the hospital neither the private room nor the general ward. Visiting hours for other visitors are 12- 1pm and 6- 8pm.
You can buy baby things from Bumps2babes, Mothercare and Eugene Club all located in Central, they will charge you for delivery. You can get formula and diapers delivered in bulk from Parknshop or any of the shops above.
5 people cannot fit in a taxi comfortably. Hiring a car would be a brilliant idea.
Good luck!!!

[rachrobin]

Things have changed at Queen Mary recently.

There are more private rooms available (in a newly renovated ward) and until further notice standard visiting hours are only 6-8pm (no lunch time hours). No children allowed at all, at any time.
Apart from attending the birth, your husband is also restricted to visiting hours, unless you walk out to meet him in the waiting room (and you can't take your baby out of the ward!). Private rooms at QMH cost pretty much the same as Matilda etc.

I am giving birth at QMH next month, and have looked at the facilities/policies very closely. From your post, I really don't think QMH would be ideal for your requirements. You would be better served to look at all other private hospital options and get on a few more waiting lists.

By the way, I have never heard of anyone not getting into a private hospital when on a waiting list - it seems more of a formality. It would have to be pretty dire circumstances for them to turn away the money!

You can always call QMH to book a tour of the maternity ward, they do them every fortnight on Saturday morning - it would definitely make things clearer for you.

[3js]

Matilda and Adventist seem to be the top 2 private hospital choices for expats. Does anyone have any input on the next few choices in ranking order?

Some of the characteristics that matter most to me are that the husband can be there through the entire labor process, doesn't have visiting restrictions, and children are allowed to visit. If there are other characteristics that set the different private hospitals apart from eachother, please also include them.

Thanks,

[peainpod]

Canossa and the Hong Kong Sanatorium are also top-ranked hospitals (and with pretty much the same price-tag) located on Hong Kong island. Although both are also very popular and thus heavily booked up.

As you'll probably have read in other posts, a lot depends on your OB. For some docs, the waitlist is a formality if they are very close to that hospital; with others, the waitlist is just that - a waitlist and there's no guarantee you'll get your room.

(E.g. My cousin who is with Dr. Ghosh managed to get a private room confirmed with the Matilda even though she didn't get her booking in until three weeks AFTER another friend (with a dif OB) who was only put on a waitlist, despite having contacted Matilda 3 weeks earlier.)

[salevizos]

There is a shop called Gateway on Des Voeux Road (close to Wing On Dep't store, but other side of the road). They specialize in US imported products and do sell diapers in bulk; I snagged a massive box of Pampers swaddlers. I didnt see formula, but wasn't really looking for it either.

Best of luck,
Sarah

[megan2008]

Hello,
I found this website to be useful as it shows the products it has and you can have them shipped to your place without even going to the store: http://www.bebedream.com.hk/souce/index.asp

[soon2bmom]

I did find some HK websites for ordering diapers and formula in bulk, and they deliver, too. Unfortunately, they are all in Chinese. So you need someone who knows Chinese to do the ordering for you:

http://birth.hk/catalog/index.php
http://www.bbboomhk.com/
http://www.etwhk.com/
http://www.bnm.com.hk/
http://www.megasavehk.com/baby/
http://www.re-on.com.hk/cat.php?mc=1&lang=us
http://www.hkbabyzone.com/index.php?...info_type=home

I find these websites a little hard to navigate but I guess ordering online is still better than me having to go out to get the supplies (especially since we don't have a car)

Additionally, after I checked out all these websites, I realized that Japanese baby products are very popular here. Anybody knows why? I was planning to use Pampers when baby#1 pops out in Oct, but then I heard that the Pampers sold here are made in China and hence of a different grade then the ones sold in the US. Don't know if that's true, though.

Hope this helps!