Invited to wedding in Italy with 4 month old, advice needed

[PrinnyPree]

Hi Everyone

Well my lovely friend invited my husband and I (and baby) to their wedding in Lake Como Italy in September (his fiance's Russian so a good halfway point that won't need visa travel), I'm due to have my first baby in May so the baby will be 4 months old by the wedding.

I'm really just after as much advice about flying, holidaying and attending weddings with a baby as possible please. I'm totally clueless.

I'll be travelling from Manchester if that helps narrow down airlines (eg BA don't do a direct flight to Milan so they're out) any tips on the best airlines for travelling with infants?

Will I have to be teetotal? I'm hoping I will exclusively breastfeed till 6months, is it feasible to express whilst on holiday the days before? Is having a drink whilst breast feeding a 4 month old a total no-no (obviously not getting drunk)

Feel free to give any tips about accomodation too :)

Thanks in advance xxx

Take a sling. It's handy for when you have to juggle things at security and walking around whilst flying.

BF whilst having the odd drink is fine.

DS slept in a baby sleeping bag and LittleLife tent type travel cot when we went away at a similar age. You can get various togs of sleeping bag to suit the weather.

If you're flying short haul, I don't think the airline matters much.

Stay somewhere with separate space to the bedroom- a balcony at least. You don't want to be stuck in a dark room from 7pm whilst your DC sleeps.

The Italians are absolutely lovely with babies. DO NOT fly Ryan Air. You can drink while bfing. Plan on bringing baby with you everywhere. I bfed everywhere in public in Italy without issue. We traveled with a MacClaren buggy which worked well for the cobbled streets. It was 18 years ago, so maybe there are better/different buggy options these days. If you are renting a car, bring car seat with you....DO NOT rely on anything to be potentially provided by the car rental company.

@MinnieMountain great advice regarding the sling! Will make sure to get one, will also make sure to get a balcony too, thankyou.

@SofiaAmes thanks for the ryanair tip (I try to avoid them when I can anyway as I've had a couple of terrible ryanair flights.) I think easyjet looks likely. Carseat was the #1 thing I intended to bring but will take note about the rest.

Also thankyou both for putting my mind at ease about having the odd drink whilst BFing theres so much conflicting information. Xxx

Definitely get a sling. Italian cobbled streets and strollers are a pain.

Take a small travel cot with you, and your own car seat. You can get big over the shoulder bags for them off amazon.

No worries re BF'ing - in fact you get more stares for bottle feeding :)

Having a few drinks is absolutely fine! Your body processes the alcohol and gets rid before it'll reach your breast milk. Someone told me it's like pouring a bucket of water into the ocean.

Also a gro blind....

Enjoy! x

EasyJet are neither better nor worse than Ryanair. Both will get you there cheaply. Just think of them as being like buses so don’t expect frills.
Travel as light as possible

Italians, generally, like small children and babies. Expect much cooing. However if you’re using public transport there may not be much in the way of lifts and ramps for a pushchair so a sling is a really good shout (in fairness I’ve never been to Como, it may be much better, but Rome was a challenge to get around with a buggy!). Also, our pushchair went temporarily missing at the airport which was a bit stressful (and that was on BA as well) - a sling is less likely to do so. Breastfeeding will be fine.

Have a lovely time!

While yes Italian people are accomodating with children, don’t expect to be taking him to pubs and bars (even if you don’t drink) as you are unlikely to be served; and may even receive some curt parenting advice. Restaurants / hotel venues are fine.

Wait with buying an outfit until you have the baby. My friend also went to a wedding with a similar old baby and really struggled with a dress suitable for bf as her boobs exploded for several months.

A top/skirt/trousers combo may be easier than a dress unless you buy a bf dress you may never wear again.

@reluctantbrit Ooooh good shout on the two piece, that makes alot of sense. I will definitely be waiting for as close to the date as possible before buying an outfit in the vain hope I can lose a few pregnancy pounds too. x

@PetPeter oh sure I've travelled with a few budget airlines, unfortunately my options seem to be pretty limited with airlines that service that route, however in my experience Ryanair tend to be the worst. x

@GinAndTings thankyou so relieved about the BFing advice expressing does seem like a massive hassle. x

@Spudlet I hope I can take a pram but will definitely invest in a sling too, I imagine we'll either get a private hire car or private transfers if they're not astronomical (hopefully won't need to rely on too much public transport)

@GrumpyHoonMain thankyou for the advice about pubs/bars obviously I had no intention of bar hopping with a baby but imagine my husband would want the odd pint whilst we're out sightseeing, I would hate to cause a bit of a faux pas by entering a pub and getting a telling off.

If you travel easyJet they let you check two additional items for free. I took dd to spain when she was 4 months, I checked my stroller and travel cot for free.

I also has a sling (Cheap one from Amazon) but didn’t need it cause dd loved the stroller.

EasyJet also give you priority boarding with the baby.