Hi ,

I am currently based in Delhi and living with my parents.I have a 7 month old son Soham. My husband who is working in Bangalore right now is now planning to move to California in the US. We got our visas as well.

This is a very big move for me as over here I was having support of my parents and a full time maid for the baby.

I have a few questions for moms who r already living in the US with their babies as to how they manage it over there.

1.Do you use cloth nappies or r ur babies in diapers all the time? Over here in India we use cloth nappies or bloomers during the day and use diapers only in the night. We have a maid to wash the diapers with hand.So how do u mommies manage in the US?

2.What about home made food for the baby ? Do u prepare urself or use the readymade variety of foods

3.Do u get part time maids /full time maids in Calif ? What about getting cooks and cleaners?how expensive?

4.Can i send my baby to day care if i start working over there (which i plan to eventually)? How r the day cares ? How expensive?

Pls tell me so that my move becomes much more smoother.Although I have travelled to other major countries but only for short visits and this is the first major move which is long term

Pls help.




desi replied. hi,
well to usa!
frist of all life in america is not easy.
i think every mommy in us use the daipers cause over here we have a carpet in every room.and nobody has a time to wash tons of wash cloth daipers anyways.
about hiring a maid is as good as taking care of an elephant.still it depends how much u and your husband earns.its not very easy to get a indian cook over here.and lucky if u get one its very expensive.but there r lot of indian grocey stores in califonia.
u have to do little research about day care here.obviously u don,t want to send him to any day care.and again nothin is cheap in america.day care little expensive.
but don,t worry.u will be fine once u come here.i am from kansas.its near to chicago.but if u need any other tips or suggestion then do let me know.
good luck Rebecca replied. Hi Ruchika,

I am an American who just moved to India 3 months back with my then 2 month old daughter.
Regarding your questions about the US.

1. Cloth nappies. I used cloth in the states and I use them here. There is a dedicated population of cloth nappy users in the US, although the majority use disposable. Our basic cloth nappies (called Chinese prefold diapers) tend to be a little thicker than the ones you use here, they require diaper pins or these cool “Snapi” fasteners you can get online, and we almost always use them with a diaper cover (called diaper wrap too) even at home (I have liked the Bummies Super Whisper Wrap but the Indian cover of your choice will be just fine I’m sure). You should certainly be able to use your Indian cloth diapers in the US too. If you are interested in learning more about cloth diapering in the US try softclothbunz. I bought my diapers and diaper covers from them and thought their service was great. There is also the diaper hyena: thediaperhyena (sorry can't type the whole URL on this site), which has a lot of really useful information about cloth diapering and online retailers. Cloth diapers will seem outrageously expensive from an Indian perspective but they work out to be less expensive as the weekly cost of disposables adds up. If you do choose cloth, make sure to look for an apartment or house with a washer and dryer, or at least a hook up where you can install your own. Daily washing of nappies at a Laundromat would be miserable. It is usually recommended that cloth diapers be washed in hot water – your washer will most likely have a setting for this. Most mom’s then just throw the diapers in the dryer. They don’t get as white as they do here when hung in the sun, but they do get fluffy and warm, hanging your clothes outside to dry won’t be an option unless you have your own house and yard.

If you want to let your baby be “free” at home, be sure to look for a house or apartment with at least one room with tile or wood floors. Some apartments are carpeted and this would not be sanitary. Also, I recommend a washable mat if you are going to let your babe play free. Yoga mats have worked for me.

2. Fresh homemade baby food. Yes. Absolutely. My family has always made their own baby food (except when traveling). Most pediatricians recommend you use organic fruits, vegetables and grains to make baby foods. Most grocery stores now carry at least some organic products, but the best places to find them are stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats. Organic is a little more expensive, but worth it. You can cut costs by just buying whatever is on sale. There are also a number of companies making organic baby products, like prepared food in jars and whole grain baby cereals. You can find these at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, other health food store, and perhaps in the natural foods section of your grocery store, if you’re lucky. Be careful of foods labeled “All Natural” all natural doesn’t actually mean anything at the moment, the use of the term is unregulated in the US, whereas the term Organic is regulated and to be labeled Organic products have to meet certain standards. As for mixing, you can find these nice, simple, manual baby food mashers at BabiesRUs, Target may have them as well. Of course all sorts of mixis are available too. Dishwashers also make sterilization easy.
3. You will dearly miss household help in the US. I feel VERY fortunate to be living in India at the moment. To make your life a little easier, you should consider hiring a home cleaning service to do a thorough clean twice a month, or more frequently if you can afford it. Luckily, there isn’t as much dust in most US cities as there is here, so you can get away with letting things slide a little longer. As for cooks, Americans use restaurants. Almost no one except the hugely rich and famous has a cook. To cut down on your work, consider making large batches of food. Fridges and Freezers in the US tend to run at lower temperatures and power is consistent. My husband and I would make large batches of food and then freeze some in small plastic containers. If we didn’t feel like cooking a few days, weeks or months later, we would just pull something out of the freezer and reheat it.
4. Daycare. There are many daycares in most communities of the US. Make sure the one you choose is licensed. Every state has regulations for day care providers – how many care giver/child, safety standards for facilities etc. Most care providers have to be trained and licensed. You should be able to find the California state regulations online. You should review them and make sure the daycare you choose follows requirements. Feel free to shop around too. Don’t leave your child at a daycare you are not comfortable with.
5. Lastly, I would imagine that one of the hardest things about moving to the states as a mom of a young baby would be isolation. Even American women who have family or friends around often feel very isolated when home with a little one. Find a mom’s group and join in if you can. The public library system in the US is excellent. Most libraries have children’s sections. Often there is a sign board there where events for children and parents in the community are listed, including information about mom’s groups. You can also try looking on Craig’s list for your community. Go to craigslist, choose the city closest to you, and then go to the childcare section. Or, go to the La Leche League website:lalecheleague. and get the contact information for a La Leche League volunteer in your area. They will probably be able to direct you to a mom’s group, or to other resources.

Having just moved in the opposite direction I can say with some authority that moving is very hard. Don’t try or expect yourself to do everything at once. I have lived in a couple of different countries and I always feel a little uncomfortable the first three month. After six months I feel settled, but not necessarily fully confident. It usually takes me a year to feel like myself in a new place. It always gets better though.
sirisha replied. Hi ruchika,
welcome to USA,,my baby is 14 months old

Here in USA cloth diapers r very difficult to use so we use disposable diapers only.

getting maid is very expensive so we have to do ourselves of course we r provided with dishwasher n laundry facilities

regarding baby food u can make her use of rice but in the begining we give them ready available gerber food u get these food in all grocery stories those food available in market r fruits n veggies n u have lunch n dinners too,they r prapared in baby portion,so ucan start with ist stage foods then u can go for 2nd and 3 rd.

of course u can send to day care if it is run by indians n if they r reliable we cannot trust in all day cares as we here that they give cough drops often to make them sleep u have to watch all this .

as sweth said growing a child in foreign county challenging
welcome again

i have been in california for 4 years


thanks sirisha sweth replied. Hi

Welcome to the USA.

I have a 5 month old.

First reg diapers, mostly we use the diaposable ones. Clothe diapers are cheap but hard to wash and resuse everyday.

Getting help for house cleaning or cooking is very expensive, we got to do the work ourselves.

Baby food, I buy gerber readymade foods, u can make it at home also, but readymades are readily available, esp u have to check the nitrate content in veggies before u use, hence advisable to use readymade baby food.

U can send ur baby to day care,its expensive too, it depends on how muchu earn, if u want to take up a part time, its not advisable , sicne ur income wud go towards day care and other baby exp.

Raising a baby in foreigh countries is definetly challenging since we dont get any support here.

Welcome again.