Italy with an 11 month old in late April/early May

We spent 2 weeks in Paris with our daughter when she was 9 months old. We just went to dinner earlier then normal or had a great babysitter for the nights we were eating at really nice restaurants. But, make sure you are staying at a hotel you can trust if you do that. We were there in January(schedules got in our way and my husband is a chef---not the ideal month to be there but we were there for the food). As far as getting around, we had a great stroller and did tons----yes, you have to figure in nap time. For that trip we spent 9 nights in Paris and 4 nights in Reims so little travel which made it easier.

A year and half later when our daughter was turning 2 we took her to Italy. Also late April like you are doing. Again a great stroller, lots of parks and piazza's. Italians love babies so there again go to dinner early so you are not bothering other diners. To make your trip successful make sure you have new toy's and plan on normal nap schedule. Jet lag is not as bad for an 11 month old---when our daughter was turning 2 we just had to get up in the middle of the night and play with her the first night. For this trip we rented a car and went to 6 different locations in 3 weeks. We flew into Rome(did not spend any time in Rome on that trip), rented a car, visited relatives in Nocera, Umbria, visited Parma, Bologna, Milan, Lugano, Lucerne and took a train to Zurich to fly home.

Sorry, I know this post is all over the place---memories are coming back-----30 years later our daughter and her husband asked us to go to Italy with them for there first trip(that she can remember). Obviously she inherited our love to travel.

Be prepared, the flight may not be easy-----both ways. That was probably the hardest. They don't always sleep when you want them to. Also be prepared if you are arriving early---9-11AM--you might need to pay for the previous night if you want to check in early and you will. You did not say anything about your schedule.

Remember to have a bottle for takeoffs and landings to help with the ear issue.

What are some more of the things you'd love to do? This would help to answer your question. For instance, do you want to go only to heavily touristed places like Rome or would you be happy going to a less touristed town (like Padua) or area (like Puglia) and just experiencing Italian life with her?

Will she have her own seat on the flight over or be on your lap? If in her own seat, will she be in her carseat? If a carseat, will you be using it during the trip or lugging it around when you move from place to place?

Stroller or backpack? Strollers have always seemed to me like more trouble than they're worth and we never used them with our kids, but I have to admit that when we took our grandchildren to Italy, the stroller was really useful several times. The five-month-old often slept in it all through long lunches, it was nice to have in airports and train stations, and her big brother used it when he got tired of walking. Our son and daughter-in-law didn't seem to mind carrying it up and down stairs or pushing it over cobblestones.

It's hard to know what kind of 11-month-old yours will turn out to be. Our grandson didn't walk until he was 18 months old but his sister was running around and climbing stairs at 11 months --- she would definitely not have put up with long sessions in a stroller or backpack, or art galleries, or waiting in line to get into a popular tourist sites. Is yours likely to be able to nap wherever she is or will you need to schedule activities and outings around her naps?

I guess, in general, try not to go anywhere where you'd be trapped (like the Vatican) or reluctant to leave (like a paid-for tour). Explore a town, see art in situ rather than in a big gallery, avoid fancy restaurants, eat your big meals at lunch, rent an apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine rather than staying in a hotel, hang out in piazze and parks, don't over-schedule your days, and try not to have to pack up and move too much (having a base and doing day trips is more kid-friendly). Take as few pieces of baby equipment as you can --- on our trip with our grandchildren there was WAY too much stuff and it was a pain to carry it. There will be highchairs in restaurants, for instance

It's probably helpful to know that most apartments will not have a dryer, only a drying rack, so you'll need to pack more clothes for her than you'd need at home.

Your daughter will be cooed over everywhere she goes, by everybody --- even boys playing soccer or riding bikes will stop to admire a baby. It's really fun to take a baby to Italy!

Of course you can tour with a baby, but if you can arrange not to, it would be much better.

Hi Simone,
We just returned from a week in Rome with our 8 month old son. First, regarding flights, we flew British Airways. I believe we were charged a 10% fee for our son but booked bulkhead seats (we flew business but before we upgraded, had bulkhead seats). When flying with an infant, you can book seats ahead of time even with basic economy tickets. With bulkhead seating, you can request a carry cot or seat that attaches to the wall. We ended up using the carry seat which is like a comfy, padded car seat. Our son slept wonderfully on both legs of the flight. The only time he couldn't stay in the seat was during take off, landing and turbulence. The crew were also fantastic with our son. On our return flight, the flight attendant carried our son around while handing out amenity kits. On our flight over, the attendants checked on our son while we slept. Every lavatory had a changing table. We also were able to store his stroller in the overhead bin. We were told at checkin that if there wasn't room, we could use a closet. To help with his ears, we gave a bottle at take off and landing (you can ask for a bottle of water once seated and they'll gladly give you one).

As for our time in Italy, we were welcomed with open arms everywhere we went. If you plan on staying in Rome for a few nights, I suggest the apartment we used; https://www.vrbo.com/6895985ha. The owner was so kind to us and made sure everything was perfect for our son, not to mention the location is fantastic. We planned around our son's nap schedule, which made it easier for us to relax between outings. As for restaurants, if a high chair was available, we didn't have to ask as they would grab it immediately. One restaurant we ate at didn't have one, but provided us with a small chair. Our son was teething during our trip (yikes) but every restaurant was very understanding if he got a little fussy. They would dance and play with him to distract from the teething pain. One restaurant gave him a wine cork to play with :)

To get around, we brought our Britax stroller and our Ergo 360. We used the stroller at night, folding it up and placing by the door when in the restaurant. If you're going late April/early May, you'll have more alfresco dining, so your child can stay in the stroller, especially to sleep if a late dinner. The ergo 360 made it easy to get around during the day. We faced him outward while he was awake but would put him towards us when getting sleepy.

Most importantly, don't get too stressed about having your child with you, it's a lot easier than you think. We loved every moment with our son and took it day by day. He won't remember the trip but we will.

Hope this helps
Amanda

You will have a great time together; just takes some planning and packing.

As the previous posters mentioned, Italians love children, so you will always feel welcome. Here are some things that helped us when we traveled with our two children while they were babies and toddlers:

1) bottles and pacifier for each take off and landing. Earplugs to pass around to your fellow travelers (a nice ice breaker gesture); people are always quite nice
2) multiple extra diapers, clothes, baby food, formula, etc.; we had enough supplies on us for 3 days to not worry no matter what happened to our flights or to our luggage
3) print out of the TSA rules for baby bottles/baby food in case you have any problems at the TSA checks; not all agents are 'familiar' with the rules and if you have them on you it helps
4) stroller with a large bottom storage area for shopping bags and diaper bag; you never have to carry anything anywhere which helps; gate check the stroller
5) scout out all the play areas at the concourse/airports before you go so you can easily plan to tire out your child prior to boarding the flight
6) find the nearby playground at your hotel/apt and make a routine of lunch, play, then back at the hotel for a nap or use that time to go for a stroll/museum visit if your baby sleeps soundly in the stroller. You can also take turns visiting museums while she naps and one parent stays at the hotel.
7) go on frequent walks--we called them laps-- on the airplane with the baby--it keeps them engaged so they don't get board and whiny
8) a 2+ hr layover if you have any--enough time for a bathroom trip, a play area trip, and a snack--so she stays happy and not rushed
9) a bunch of surprise toys that you pull out of a bag to play, a new one every few hours, to keep her entertained on the plane

Just wanted to say a belated thank you to you all for sharing your thoughts and feedback. It was all very helpful! We've decided to fly in to Rome, train to Venice and stay there four nights, then stay four nights in Florence, and then spend 6 nights in Rome and fly out from there.

If you haven't bought your tickets yet, you might be better off flying into Venice and out of Rome.