How I'm Prepping to Travel to Italy for Three Weeks with My Baby

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Picture this: I'm sitting here with my calendar, and guess what's barely one month away? Our next trip to Italy! The excitement is real, and so is the realization that there's a bunch of stuff I need to sort out before we can say 'ciao' to our everyday routine.

To hold myself accountable and hopefully help you for your next trip to Italy, I’m going to share how I’m getting everything for our baby ready one month before we embark on an Italian adventure like no other. Did I mention this is our baby’s first trip to Italy? AND… that we’re flying to Italy without Jake?

We’ve got this.

Here’s my overall strategy

Pack lightly and buy supplies as need in Italy

This might sound scary to some, but I promise, there are babies in Italy and they use the same stuff that babies use in the United States.

First things first - here are the documents that need to be in order

Passports

I’m making sure that I know for sure where our passports are stored, and that they’re valid at least six months past our return to the United States from Italy. Different airlines, countries, and other authorities have varying rules on this, but to me it’s always better to be safe than sorry and make sure that we’re covered in any event.

Global Entry

Then I double check that our Global Entry cards are safely stored in the same location, and that our KTNs (Known Traveler Numbers) are correctly applied to our flights. Unlike TSA PreCheck, all travelers need to have their own Global Entry accounts. Our baby got to have their own in person interview for theirs - this was a no brainer for us, because Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck membership for expedited security lines at airports in the United States, and it includes expedited service back into the United States through customs. With a baby, we are DEFINITELY wanting to move through long lines as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Birth certificate

I’m also bringing a copy of our baby’s birth certificate. This isn’t something that’s always asked for (in fact, we have yet to be asked for it) but it’s a possibility. And you know me - I prefer to be safe rather than sorry.

COVID vaccination records

Currently, proof of vaccination isn’t required for travelers to Italy - nor is a negative test. I won’t be bringing our vaccination cards, but I do have these records accessible through an app by my health care provider in the very unlikely event that we will need them for this trip

ETIAS

At the time of writing this post and our trip to Italy, ETIAS is neither in operation nor accepting applications, which I verified on their official website.

Consent to Travel form

Finally, we are packing a signed and notarized consent to travel form because Jake isn’t flying to Italy with us - he’ll be joining us later in the trip. We want to make sure that if any officials questions me about traveling internationally with our baby WITHOUT their other parent that we’ll have the documentation we need. I know a lot of travelers say that they’re never asked for this, but it’s great to have just in case, especially because international kidnapping is a very real issue and the more we can do to keep kiddos safe, the better!

Next, our baby travel gear

Car seat (NOT packing this time)

Because we’re traveling via train, gondola, and private transfer, we’re not bringing our baby’s car seat. I have made arrangements with our transfers to have a carseat for us in the vehicle which cost a few more dollars but is soooooo worth not having to lug our carseat across Italy for three weeks. Carseats aren’t required for travelers in cabs and private car hires in Italy but it’s too scary to take a chance on, and was worth the extra cost for us.

Baby wearing (Tushbaby and Moby Wrap)

For carrying our baby through the airport, the cities, and around Italy as we travel, my go to item is going to be our Tushbaby. Because our baby is more active and wants to get up and down, it’s soooo much easier than having them in a carrier that straps them to me. The other major benefit for me is the huge reduction in back and shoulder pain from carrying our baby around as they’ve grown bigger (and heavier)! I actually use our Tushbaby around home when our baby is having a hold-me day, too - I love baby gear that has multiple uses. Shoppers can use my discount code for 15% off! Check out the Tushbaby website here
We opted not to book our baby their own seats for our flights since we can take advantage of the ‘free’ lap child tickets due to their age. However, I do want to have our baby secured to me for the flight from the US to Italy since ideally I’ll be asleep. My plan for this is to use our Moby Wrap as it provides more security than the Tushbaby but gives our baby a bit of wiggle room to adjust while they sleep.

Stroller

I’m debating taking our stroller or not - it’s huge (we have the B.O.B Gear Revolution Flex 3.0 Jogger Stroller, which we absolutely love) and we’ll have to check it, and lately our baby prefers to be held rather than pushed in the stroller. The big draw is that it lies back so our baby could nap while we’re on the go… TBD on this. My alternative plan is to rent strollers as needed in various cities.

Travel sound machine

In my gear audit I’ve found that our travel sound machine is nowhere to be found, so I’ve ordered a new one. This is a must have for our baby currently, and although we can use our phones in a pinch, we prefer having the sound machine.

Crib/pack and play

All of our hotels provide cribs or pack and plays for baby guests, so I’m not traveling with ours. Worst case scenario, my plan is to make a Montessori bed on the floor and co-sleep… wish us well if we have to go this route. I am going to bring 2 fitted crib sheets with us to put down for our baby.

Blackout gear for sleeping

This trip we’re going to bring our SlumberPod so we can essentially create a “room” for our baby that’s nice and dark and won’t be disrupted. I may also bring our SleepOut curtains, but the downside here is that anytime we open the hotel room door, light will come in and might wake up our baby. They can sleep without blackout equipment, but they sleep so much better with it.

Baby monitor

This might be a pain depending on how reliable the WiFi is at our hotels, but we really like being able to check on our baby. We use the LolliPop

Baby clothes

Sleepsack

Part of our bedtime routine is snuggling and reading books after we get our baby in their sleepsack. It’s wool so it cools or warms depending on the weather and our baby’s temperature. We love our Woolino sleepsack, and we actually got a second one for when it’s laundry day.

Dressing for the weather

We are planning to do laundry at least twice on our trip so we only need to pack at most a week’s worth of clothing. Because the weather may get a bit chilly at night since we’re traveling in the fall, our plan is to layer our baby
5-7 bodysuits
4 pairs of pants
4 sweaters
5-7 pairs of socks
2 pairs of shoes (one light, one waterproof)
Sunglasses, sunscreen, and sun hat
Warm jacket

*taking a nap in Amsterdam on our Tushbaby*

As for the rest of our baby’s gear

Backpack

We love our backpack for baby travel supplies. It’s got two cooler pockets which are perfect for traveling with milk now that our baby is transitioned off of formula, and there’s room for plenty of diapers, wipes, changing pad, toys, books, and snacks.

Bottles

Our baby uses Dr. Brown’s 8oz bottles, and I’m going to pack 3-4 bottles and rotate through. I’ll also bring a travel size bottle of dish soap to wash them as needed while we’re traveling through Italy.

Diapers

I’m going to bring enough diapers to get us through our time in the airport, our overnight flight, and our first day or so in Italy. From there I’m going to buy what we need as we go. We use Huggies diapers and we should have no trouble finding them at neighborhood supermarkets and pharmacies.

Baby wipes

My plan is to bring two full packages and one half full package - this one I’ll store in my Tushbaby for changing on the go. A full package takes up too much room in the storage pocket under the seat. As with diapers, if we need more I’ll buy them while we’re in Italy.

Diaper Cream

Each night we put Desitin on our baby for barrier cream. I’m going to bring a travel size container and buy more if needed, but I think the travel size should be sufficient

Favorite books

Nap and bedtime requirement! I would love to buy some new books on our trip too, so I’m only going to pack 4-5

Baby toys

This will be a game time decision. Our baby likes to play with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, and honestly empty water bottles and the info cards in the seat back pockets of the plane seats kept our baby busy for a WHILE.

Clear plastic bag for our liquid baby supplies for the flight back to the United States

Security at Italian airports requires that we have all our liquids presorted separately into a clear plastic bag. If your stuff isn’t already packed that way when you get to security, you’ll be handed a bag and asked to do so before you can proceed through. You can buy clear plastic bags, or just grab a gallon size Ziploc or two from your kitchen pantry!

Wish us luck! I have full confidence that we’ll have a great time, that we’ll be able to figure out any curve balls that get thrown our way, and that this will certainly not be our baby’s last trip to Italy.

Buon viaggio!

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