Travel in Italy with a baby

My wife and I swore we'd continue travelling after our first child. His first plane ride was at three weeks old, and we've done a good amount of air and land travel since then. But this month was our first international test. We planned to travel from Boise to Venice, tour Italy for ten days, and return from Rome. We also planned to hit some of the major galleries, do Vatican City, and eat out most nights. I've done some travelling, but I'll admit I was a little nervous about this one. An eleven month old boy, confined spaces for long periods, art galleries, non-existent nap times, major time changes, and a different bed most nights did not for obvious reasons inspire a great deal of peace and confidence within me.

My main purpose for writing this entry is to provide a record of my experiences for others who might be interested, but I will briefly mention that our boy did wonderfully. He did well on the planes, was perfectly happy to sleep in the backpacks in most cases, was willing to sit and eat at the restaurants, and was in general a joy to have on the trip. I won't suggest that his mother (especially his mother) and I didn't have to work a little harder than we've had to in the past, and that we didn't willingly pass up some things along the way, but I will simply say that had I to do the trip over again I would still choose to take the boy along.

Following is a list of items we found to be absolutely invaluable on the trip.

Most restaurants in Italy don't have high chairs (thanks, Greg and Patti), so we brought along Phil and Ted's MeTo chair. This turned out to be an excellent solution. It is compact enough to reasonably pack, and sturdy enough to handle a hungry, bouncing baby boy. It allows for some space so mom and dad can enjoy a meal, and the baby still gets to participate. We didn't have it with us for a couple of lunches, and the meals were not nearly as enjoyable. We didn't run into any restaurant owners who minded our attaching the chair to one of their tables. As a side note, the chair also works really well at home, and his level of comfort with it when travelling may have had something to do with his sitting in it for most meals at home as well.

Sometimes the boy got tired while we were out and about. When we could tell he was starting to get ready for a nap, we'd put him on our back in the ERGObaby carrier and carry him around for awhile. When he fell asleep, we were able to snap the hood over him to protect him from harsh light and moving objects that might wake him suddenly. We also had a larger Kelty pack with us, but he seemed to prefer sleeping in the ERGO. It may have been the proximity to us that helped him fall asleep, but at any rate, we took both packs with us most times we went out. The Kelty was more comfortable and cooler (mainly in temperature, but I'm sure to some degree also in appearance), as well as allowing for a better vantage point for the boy, so it was more successful when he wasn't tired and when we were doing a lot of walking. If it's possible to take both kinds of packs, I'd recommend it. If you can take only one, take the ERGO.

It's pretty tough to avoid large crowds in Italy in May. A few nights we came back to the hotel from dinner and we were all fairly wired from the crowds, the sights, and the newness of it all. Sometimes it was pretty tough to relax. I had Italian wine to assist me, but my wife said that wouldn't work for the child. We had however brought along a bottle of Calms Forte 4 Kids, which is a completely natural aid to relieving restlessness. We didn't use it every night, but we did use it a few nights when he wouldn't relax, and we also used it on the planes to help him sleep at important times going both ways. It worked very well, and we noticed no obvious side effects.

Hunger and fatigue are two killers on anyone, and a baby is no exception. We took some snacks with us that we could carry around (graham cracker sticks he could hold and some Cheerios) that completely saved us a few times we got caught in a place without any food readily available and the boy's blood sugar reaching desperately low levels. I'm confident we would have had several complete melt downs had he not been able to munch on something until we were able to locate food.

A set of grandparents. If you can take one along, by all means do it. You'll get a little more sleep, do a little less walking around at restaurants when the food is taking a bit too long, and get an evening or two out.

I'd prefer not to travel again without the items above, but there were also a few things we found handy, but that we'd probably be fine without.

Sticky place mats kept more than one restaurant's tablecloth from meeting an early demise, and also were nice for offering a fairly clean surface on which to place food.

A couple of little toys were good for temporary distractions, but I wouldn't take more than two or three on the next trip.

A little music was nice every now and again, especially lullabies on some evenings. We found an iPod speaker that was small enough to pack, but produced decent enough sound. It also looks like a LEGO, which is of course a perk.

We bought a Nalgene with a loop so we could easily carry it with a caribiner. We had another cup we couldn't hook to anything and we found the Nalgene to be far simpler to keep track of. It's also BPA free, naturally.

As I said in the beginning, I'd do this trip again, but the timing seemed to be good with regard to his mobility as well. He could crawl, but wasn't extremely fond of it yet. Looking back, I would think twice before taking him on a trip like this when he really wants to crawl or walk with assistance almost all the time. Obviously his walking would have also posed some major problems.

If this post helps you out on your adventures with your kid(s), I'm glad. If you've got questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to respond before your trip is over.