How To Feed Your Newly Adopted Child in China

Babies from birth to six months in Chinese Social Welfare Institutes (SWIs) typically solely eat Chinese baby formula which has high sugar levels and therefore tastes sweeter than American formula.  Unfortunately, it contains little protein and lower calories than American formula.  In some SWIs, babies receive only formula until about eight months of age.  Eventually – sometimes fairly early – the SWI workers add rice flakes (similar to American rice cereal) to thicken the formula and add caloric content.

You will find that Chinese baby bottles are simple, “straight” bottles, usually with very large holes cut in the nipples, so that the babies simply swallow rather than actually sucking.  Plan to pack small sewing or first aid scissors with your checked luggage in order to enlarge the nipple holes.  We first cut large holes in our American, sized four nipples.  Then we transitioned to nipples cut with an X, then a single slit and then, finally, American sized four nipples with no alterations.  It’s a pain to keep purchasing new baby nipples, but our daughter did finally learn to suck.

Most American parents bring one container of American formula with them to China.  They also purchase Chinese formula once they discover the brand of formula the SWI uses.  The new parents gradually transition to American formula by slowly altering percentages — some more leisurely than others, depending upon the level of objections from the child.  Most babies transition to American formula within one or two weeks, but some, like our Tongginator, take several weeks longer.  If you pack American formula, do not repackage the container as it can lead to bacteria growth.  It is tempting because the package consumes so much space in the already crammed luggage, but it is not wise.  If you opt to avoid purchasing Chinese formula, as some do, you could instead add one teaspoon of table sugar for every six ounces of formula for the first few days and then gradually reduce this amount: most babies are off added-sugar within a week or two.  As an aside, many parents choose to bring soy-based formulas such as Prosobee or Isomil because an estimated 11% of Chinese infants are lactose intolerant.

Since most older babies drink the “thickened” formula with rice flakes, you might also need to purchase Chinese rice flakes once you arrive in China.  As with the sugar, simply gradually reduce the amount of rice flakes added to each bottle until the bottle is straight formula.  Most babies transition easily if the change is gradual over one or two weeks.  If your child struggles, as our daughter did, with oral defensiveness, oral-motor low muscle tone, dysphagia (an ability to or difficulty in swallowing) and/or orofacial myofunctional disorder (including tongue thrust and tongue chewing), consider contacting your state’s early intervention program.  They can connect you with a speech therapist or occupational therapist trained in oral therapy.

Older babies in foster care probably received table food appropriate to their developmental stage.  They will expect to eat from your plate rather than from baby food jars and baby cereal.  Most of the older babies and toddlers, whether in foster care or an orphanage, love steamed tofu (called bean curd by the Chinese), congee, steamed eggs/ egg custard, noodles and various broths.  Many also love softer fruits such as watermelon and mashed bananas.  As for baby food and snacks: Chinese grocery stores have many options — just bring a translator or prepare to “read” the pictures.  You may wish to pack a few bags of pitted, soft prunes – which can be a tad difficult to find – because some of the children become mildly constipated due to travel, diet change and grief.  Every hotel room we stayed in contained one electric kettle, so you can mash up the prunes after softening them with hot water if your baby is younger.

Speaking of grief and the transition … most newly adopted babies do not eat well the first 24 to 72 hours.  Babies and toddlers, no matter how young, attach to people and routines.  When those primary care-givers or scheduled routines change, the children express their grief, anger and confusion not only through sobbing or shell-shocked reactions, but also through refusing to eat and sleep disturbances.  Your child may also experience difficulties feeding because she isn’t used to close contact (touch and eye contact) during mealtimes. If you find your child has difficulty during the first few days of the transition, be patient and remember that your new daughter will eat when she grows hungry enough, usually within the first two days.