This past May/June we traveled to Tuscany, Italy for our friends wedding. I had the honor of being able to photograph my first international wedding! This was also our first international trip with our then five month old. I get asked often how we did it, what we packed, what tips I would give to others traveling with a little one, and where we all went.
We booked ourselves an overnight flight because I had a wedding in Minnesota the night before and we hoped our daughter would sleep in the airplanes bassinet. However, we didn’t realize when we booked the seats with the bassinet we would need to get her out every time the seatbelt sign went off. Needless to say the seatbelt sign was going on non-stop so it ended up not being beneficial to us. When we traveled back home we got lucky and got an entire row to ourselves and she got her own seat.
During our time in Italy we explored Tuscany, Florence, Lake Como and Venice! I am sharing what were some of our favorite items.
Our favorites:
Summer 3D Lite stroller: This stroller was great for this trip as it was light weight and reclined enough for her to nap. We knew we were going to need a light weight and smaller stroller since we already were brining camera gear and our suite cases. It also came in very handy when we had to walk up five flights of stairs to our flat in Florence or when we were in Venice walking all the bridges.
Airbnb: We learned from others to book either a Airbnb with multiple rooms or a hotel room that has a patio so you don’t need to be sitting in silence or darkness after she went to bed for the evening. We also booked a really beautiful place on Lake Como where we went to the local market to buy fresh food to prepare dinner each night. These slow dinners at our place overlooking Lake Como was one of my favorite!
Sollywrap: I use to wear her in this wrap multiple times a day so I knew having it along would be helpful. She napped in it while we were in the airports and it made getting around easy and functional.
Snooze Shade: I loved having this with us! It fit over the stroller so she could sleep on the go and be protected from the sun. We used this every day!
Ergo baby carrier: It was nice to have an alternative to use other than always having to push a stroller especially on the Florence streets. However, it was very hot when we were there that she would get uncomfortable and sweaty.
Sound machine: Helped cut out all the noise at night. We also packed her sleep sack, blankie and a crib sheet to make it feel a little more like her space from home.
OXO on the go: Made cleaning and drying bottles on the go easy!
Highlights from our first international trip as a family of three:
-Our daughter jumping right into the correct timezone on night one! It was so helpful because we were all so tired.
-There were babysitters at the wedding!!!! After, I got done photographing the wedding and attending part of the dinner with my family I was able to put my daughter down for bed and still enjoy part of the reception with no baby!!
-Having so many of our friends family love on our sweet girl during the wedding festivities.
-All the Italians take care of us very well cause they LOVE babies! They would come up to us at dinners just to talk to our daughter in Italian. We had no idea what they were saying but she loved all the attention and we loved listening to them.
-Taking her on her first carousel ride in Florence and first swing experience overlooking Lake Como!
-Our daughter excitement over an espresso spoon. Any time we would get an espresso or gelato we would give her the spoon. She would get so giddy over these tiny spoons. As a souvenir we bought her a spoon.
-Explore Italy as a whole together as a family.
It was so special that we got to bring her along and also extend our travels beyond the wedding. We gave ourselves lots of grace and didn’t put much expectations on anything. I believe this is why it all went so smoothly. With being able to bring her along it forced us to slow down and enjoy traveling in a different perspective.
