a basinette on a plan? Please explan! I am wondering if I can take my future wee one on trips... in fact if you have time to reply let me ask you, when is the best time to travel with a wee one? My husband and I love to travel and I'm afraid once we have the baby we won't be able to anymore. I don't want to be the annoying person on the plane with a screaming baby, or a screaming 2yo.

Any advice you have would be great!

It sounds like your trip was a really good one, in spite of traveling to a country with heat near 100 most days and humidity nearly to match (we were in Milan, Lucca, Rome, Vatican City, towards the end of June and that was the weather on a daily basis!) Still, to travel with three children and one a baby and still have a great trip is marvelous. The kids won't remember all of it later, but they will remember specific details like the Leaning Tower, and the great gifts on the airplane to make wonderful memories for all of their lives. So glad you had photos to help jog the memories, and that you shared them with us.

What a great travelogue -- thanks for sharing. Some of the sites seem familiar, since I'm an avid watcher of PBS travel shows. Nothing like being there in person, I'm sure. I will have to go in spring or autumn, though -- would not be able to tolerate the heat and the crowds of summer....

I'm in awe of you taking our bambinos to Italia!

BTW, I'm knitting Ravenclaw House Socks and loving them!

Sorry for posting this in the comments, but I can't seem to find your mail. I am working on your baby pants pattern and have a question. Maybe it's because I am on vacation (and my brain with me), but I find this odd (this is the 6mo size I am talking about): After increasing on the legs you have 56 sts on the needles, bind off 4, makes 52, you put everything together in the round, makes 104 sts. Then you decrease until there are 104 (!) sts on the needles. So, no decreases at all? Is there a typo or is it me not getting it?
Thanks in advance!

ahem, me again. it is a typo, didn't look close enough before: 60 (56, 68, 72, 78). Damn it! That means I am frogging.

Welcome Home! It's such fun reading about all your airplane activity. Reminds me of times I've been in charge on my niece/nephews on various flights. I'm so sorry you couldn't get pics. :-)

I feel like I've been on vacation too!! Thanks for the commentary and the great pix. Thanks TOO for Sockapalooza 4. I haven't enjoyed knitting so much in a long time!! Knitters have got to be the GREATEST people in the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I can't wait for Sockapalooza 5 now!!

Hi there! I'm not sure if I've commented your blog before, but I've been reading for awhile. Fabulous pictures!!! I went to Italy a few years ago and I loved it as well. It sounds like you and the little ones had a fabulous time!!

It's great to see pictures from you trip! Welcome home!

aw i hope you get wee one's suitcase.

On our flight back from France just over a week ago there was a two-year-old little boy on there with the cutest tiny suitcase that he pulled himself. He was so proud! :D

Thanks for indulging those of us who love those baby pictures.

That's a cute pic of S or B.

Sockapalooza has been fun for us lurkers, too. I'm going to miss all those beautifully, gorgeous socks.

Pixie, all the airlines we've used to fly overseas had a center row right in the middle, behind the bathrooms, where they could hang up two baby basinettes. You have to reserve a seat in that row and one of the basinettes. They're only big enough for up to about 1 yr. or 20 lbs. but they're a huge help, since usually an infant has to be in your lap the whole time.

I would definitely recommend finding a flight during a time when the baby usually sleeps. That's not usually a problem on a flight to Europe because they mostly leave at night. The trip back can be difficult, but if you're child is a good sleeper/napper, there's no reason to assume that it's has to be a total nightmare. Breast-feeding is also a definite plus here, since you can feed the child at take-off and landing and don't have to worry about any of the rules about bringing fluids with you.

We found that this age (4/5 months) was a good age for travelling with wee one. Any younger and it might have been too much for her and too much older and she'll be too active and too bored to lie around in a basinette or stroller for hours at a time. It would have been a little easier in Italy if she would have been old enough to sit up on her own. We had difficulty in restaurants, etc. since we didn't have our usual car seat with us and she couldn't use a high chair yet.

We didn't really travel with the twins until they were one year and they were way squirmy and climby in the plane! But still, they didn't scream the whole time. They were fussy for take-off and landing and when they got tired but were otherwise fine. A handful, but fine.

I say if you really want to travel and your kids are healthy, good eaters and sleepers, there's no reason not to give it a try!

Hope you get the suitcase soon!

Here's my 2 cents on travelling with kids. My daughter made 20 plane trips in her first 2 years. The best ones were when she wasn't crawling but you can take anything for a few hours if the end result is vacation! Yes, they might cry or be very fussy - people with kids will understand, people without kids will never understand. Nothing you can do and you shouldn't not travel because of it.

You had a great vacation! I hope jet lag is not too big of a problem, though in my experience sometimes it seems to be easier for the children to adjust to different time zones, especially if they are still used to napping during the day. Flying long-distance does get harder once they become mobile.
Thank you so much for organizing Sockapalooza 4. This was my first time participating and I enjoyed it a lot. I received my socks already and they are beautiful.

Italy IS lovely, isn't it? I hope they found the lost luggage. How was tha airplane food? On my return trip it was horrible!

Hello Alison. I have a very important question to ask you, and if you could e-mail me, whenever I would love it.

(I would have e-mailed you but i couldnt find your e-mail address)

We were over there last Sept..had a heavenly time & can't wait to go back next year. Venice was wonderful, Cinque Terra, awesome, Florence & Siena, equally awesome...and Rome Out of Site..get caught up on your sleep & daily activites. We used the stuff from New Zealand to combat jetlag..really works.

If you like sunshine, I invite you to visit Israel...we have nice beaches and historical sites to boot.