We were incredibly fortunate that my husband had to go to the US & Canada last month on a business trip. Why fortunate, you ask? If you read this blog regularly you know that I HARDLY want to get rid of my husband, even for a few days! It also was not "fortunate" weather - he was snowed in in Houston, and had to tolerate blizzards and -40 temperatures in Calgary. Fortunate because now we are expecting, not planning more trips back to North America before the baby, and frankly, we needed a lot of stuff!
Everyone with kids here had warned me I'd want to buy as much as possible back home and either have it shipped or brought down with other people. I soon realized why.... the prices are out of control. And that's when you can actually find this stuff here. I have yet to see my stroller here.
Just SOME examples:
1) Dr. Brown's bottles (supposedly the best for newborns as the internal vent technology prevents too much air from getting into baby's system). My husband bought an entire starter pack (10 bottles, cleaning brush, various nipples, lids, etc.) for US$49.99 at Toys R Us in Houston. So to break that down it's less than $4.99 US per bottle considering all the extras they throw in. I have seen Dr. Brown's products in one store here in Rio, in Barra at Via Parque. One 4 oz bottle was R$37.99 or US $16.90. So roughly 4 times the price (and frankly, that's being generous as the 4 oz bottles are more inexpensive and I am not allotting anything for the extras thrown in with the starter pack...)
Admittedly these are imported products so the sticker price should be no shocker and yes there are Brazilian alternatives but with all the "plastic" scares out there I do want to make sure these bottles are up to snuff. Potential TMI alert - yes, I am hoping to breastfeed but want the baby to take a bottle per day as well! (Bonding time for dad, freedom opportunities for mom!)
2) Peg Perego Car Seat - I have located one in a store in Shopping Rio Sul, R$1300 when you include the base. Toys R Us in the US - $249.
So it's more than double the price to get it here.
Again, there are Brazilian alternatives but considering how well any Brazilian-made appliances I've bought have survived the test of time (like coffee makers that fall apart after 6 uses), and that this is a device that could potentially save our child's life, I want the one with the North American safety rating, please.
3) Grooming Kit - I spotted this Safety First grooming kit yesterday in a toy/children's store for $R120. We purchased exactly the same one in the US for US$9.99. A savings of over US$40, it is literally 5 times the price here.
All is not lost, however, in moving to Brazil and having a baby. Especially if you have a lot of people coming and going from North America bringing stuff for you!
I have found a number of beautiful shops for baby clothes and as my girlfriend with two kids pointed out to me the other day, I could decorate a gorgeous kids room just shopping at the hippie fair alone! Besides the bedding that I am getting from Restoration Hardware of course!
There is a baby fair at the end of the month at the Convention Centre in Barra as well, so I will be checking that out.
Something cool I did not realize that "Red" is the color of choice for luck for babies in Brazil. I love it! My Portuguese instructor bought us some red booties, so adorable. There is way too much sage green and yellow unisex stuff out there, why not red? I have also been buying anything grey I find as it's pretty unisex as well and who doesn't look good in grey... haha.
Here is a photo of our "stash" so far - a lot of it has been coming in handy with two little munchkins running around our place the past week.
I have found that it is so hard to find baby supplies here. I have a toddler and am having a hard time finding electrical outlet plug covers here. If you run across any, please let me know! This is one thing that you can't get in the US because the plugs are different. I am about to resort buying some from amazon.com/france.....
Posted by: caroline.n | January 08, 2009 at 06:43 PM
Burigotto is a subsidiary of Per Perego. I bought their car seat and was really happy with it. It was about R$260. When I bought mine the model did not have a base, the newer model now does. But, yes, baby gear is expensive. The equivalent of my US$300 Pre Perego stroller is over R$1000 here. I have only found it on the Lojas Americanas website. I also try to get most toys and baby equipment in the US. In addition, I have found that baby and kids clothes on sale at Target and Old Navy are better quality and cheaper than stuff here. I try to plan ahead and get clothes when the seasonal sales are happening in the US, then get someone to mail me the clothes. I have not had trouble getting outlet covers aren´t hard to find. You can get them off the Lojas Americanas website or at baby stores. At least I have not had trouble finding them. I also found that wallpaper and such was expensive to decorate Kevin´s room, but found darling bedding and other decor (the wooden lamps, hygene kit, picture frames or cut out wall decorations) really reasonably in BH. However, my sister-in-law noted that that kind of artesan stuff, which is all over Minas is hard to find in Rio. I had a lady custom make a set for her with a boy car motiff.
If you plan to pump get the bags (including the microwave sterilizer bags). It is near impossible to get that stuff here. There is one Medela outlet in SP and I had them send me freezer bags, but it was much more expensive than getting them Stateside.
Posted by: Corinne | January 10, 2009 at 02:17 PM
Thanks for the tips Corinne!
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