Parenting after a Loss

Italy with 2 kids??

DH has to give a presentation in march in Florence. I have family nearby and really want to go! Am I nuts to take a 4 month and almost 3 year old?? The flight would be rough but I am mostly worried about the time change. Thoughts??
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Re: Italy with 2 kids??

  • you will be fine!!!! when we went overseas we did spain italy and france and i just did lots of research and planned and it worked out so well - for the long flight you can sit at the bulkhead and they will give your 4 month old a bassinet to sleep in (amazing!)
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  • We went to Belgium and the Netherlands with a 9.5m old.  Is it ideal?  NO.  Is it easy?  NO.  Can you do it?  Yes.  Will the flight suck big donkey balls?  OH YES.

    Keep in mind that it's Italy.  While I love the joint, it's not exactly, how do I put this nicely, as kid-friendly or "modern" as the States.  You won't find a highchair in a restaurant.  You won't find a changing table pretty much anywhere, or heck, even space to change your baby.   Most Europeans change their babies wherever they are.  We had church employees in Delft, I think, tell us to change him on a 500 year old church pew.  We also changed him on my lap in the street.  Every space is tight and crammed.   Also, don't make me laugh about the concept of an elevator.  Be prepared to slept all of your crap and kids up 15 flights of stairs yourself.  We're quite good at the stroller carry in train stations.  Not to mention that getting all of that crap, and two kids in carseats, into a cab will be quite difficult.  Don't expect to see much stuff.  You'll be too busy with your kids to actually pay attention to much else.  I'm amazed at how much I missed.  

    But then the magic of Italy pulls you, so it's a hard decision.  FWIW, Italians really do love children.  They tend to be especially kind to them.  It also does help that you have family nearby.  

    BFP#1 4/17/10...EDD 1/6/11...M/C 5/28/10 BFP#2 11/19/10...EDD 8/4/11 Squeaker born 7/30.
  • imagetbone_bride:
    DH has to give a presentation in march in Florence. I have family nearby and really want to go! Am I nuts to take a 4 month and almost 3 year old?? The flight would be rough but I am mostly worried about the time change. Thoughts??

    I think this sounds like an amazing opportunity!

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  • I would go!! While you'll have to adjust your expectations as to how much and what you can do, I think you already know that. I think a lot of it has to do with your attitude. If you expect to move slowly, and are adventurous in the sense that you don't mind lots of physical activity and doing things a bit differently.
    In my experience, Europe is great for children. You just have to leave your home mindset behind and attempt a more European way of doing things while u are there and you'll be so much happier.
    Leave behind the chunky stroller, invest in a baby carrier, one of those fabric things to make any chair a high chair, and just bring less stuff in general.
  • imagepiedpiper07:
    I would go!! While you'll have to adjust your expectations as to how much and what you can do, I think you already know that. I think a lot of it has to do with your attitude. If you expect to move slowly, and are adventurous in the sense that you don't mind lots of physical activity and doing things a bit differently. In my experience, Europe is great for children. You just have to leave your home mindset behind and attempt a more European way of doing things while u are there and you'll be so much happier. Leave behind the chunky stroller, invest in a baby carrier, one of those fabric things to make any chair a high chair, and just bring less stuff in general.

    This is dead on.  We used a Snazzy Baby (fold up chair thing) and loved it.  It wipes clean easily and folds small.  It also fit all sorts of chair sizes and types. We didn't introduce him to a baby carrier until this trip and that was a BAD idea.  He HATED it.  It would have been so much easier to fit into some places if we could have gone sans stroller.  

    You will also meet and talk to people you'd never even notice if you didn't have kids with you.  Kids really do change the traveling equation.  We have great memories and pictures of playing in a really neat park in Brussels.  However, places like the Uffizi are not kid-friendly.  At least not for that age of kids (the 4m old, yes, the toddler, no).  So, you have to modify what you want to see and do.  

    Also, March is a nice time of year for Italy.  It's a bit cold in Tuscany (at least for a Texan), but things are starting to bloom and there are very few tourists.  Florence is painfully touristy now, so it's nice to explore when it's not so crowded with tourists.  My favorite time to see Tuscany is in the Spring.  I love exploring the little towns and hills.  Rome is also actually not hot in March (bonus!).  It's a pretty easy day trip from Tuscany, especially if you do the high speed from Florence.  It'll be a long day, but Rome is worth it.  Pisa is also an easy day trip (no high speed, though, I think).  It's a couple of hours from Florence by train. 

    One thing about the trains, though, if your toddler is crazy active like mine, trains can be a bit of a nightmare.  We found that anything over about an hour became a bit hellish cooperation-wise.  However, if riding the train is a distraction in and of itself, then go for it.  

    Also, we swear by Rick Steve's books.  His Italy books are EXCELLENT.  I've been to Italy multiple times and spent a couple of months there and his books are by far the best for Italy.  He also has a recommendation for a gelato place in Rome just off of the Pantheon piazza (I think it's St. Crispin, but I can't remember the name) and it's divine.  If you're looking at the front of the Pantheon, it's behind you and up a street and around a corner (it's basically one piazza over).  I had a favorite in a small Tuscan town and had yet to beat it.  This one blew it out of the water.   

    BFP#1 4/17/10...EDD 1/6/11...M/C 5/28/10 BFP#2 11/19/10...EDD 8/4/11 Squeaker born 7/30.
  • I would definitely do it. Just prepare for what adjustments you might need before. Ie stroller, high chair etc. having family there would definitely be a help

    BFP: 01/08/11 EDD: 09/15/11 Natural MC: 02/03/11
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