Our Italian babymoon was the very last trip Mr A and I took alone together before our first little adventurer’s arrival. It was quite a lot of work to organise, alongside everything else, but we were so glad we did it and have so many great memories of our babymoon in Italy.

When you find out you’re pregnant, it feels like there’s a million things you suddenly need to organise. But in amongst booking the NCT classes, sorting out the little one’s nursery and signing up for mummy yoga classes, one of the things which quickly made its way to the top of my to-do list was deciding where Mr A and I should go on our final couple’s holiday.

Our Italian babymoon

Of course, we’re still planned to travel when our little adventurer came along, but our Italian babymoon was the final trip just the two of us. So the pressure was on to plan the perfect adventure. This meant that initially deciding where to go was a bit of a challenge. We wondered about going somewhere far-flung and exotic, where we’d be unlikely to travel with a baby, like the Maldives. Or to a destination we’ve always dreamed of visiting, like Cuba.

But one of the biggest lessons I had to learn when pregnant is scaling back the crazy expectations I have of myself.

As Mr A pointed out, I was going to be seven months pregnant when we took this trip. So we should a) probably stay a bit closer to home and b) plan something relaxing and low-key. Our babymoon was going to be more about relaxing and spending quality time with each other, rather than running about following a over-ambitious schedule.

So this is why we set our sights on Europe and immediately decided that a babymoon in Italy would be perfect. Ever since I met Mr A we’ve said we would go to Italy one day. Mainly because, and I feel I should probably whisper this as it’s so unbelievable, I’ve never been before!

People often find it strange that for someone who’s travelled so much I’ve never been to Italy. But in truth, there’s lots of European countries which I still haven’t got round to exploring. I guess when I was younger I would choose further flung places, safe in the knowledge that I had plenty of time to explore and that prices would be cheaper. But over the last few years I’ve been trying to rectify that and choosing destinations which are closer to home, such as our minimoon in San Sebastian. And I’m definitely hoping to do more of that in the future.

An Italian babymoon

With the country chosen it was time to get down to the business of deciding whereabouts to go and once you start researching Italy it’s hard to stop! Also what makes things more difficult about planning a trip when pregnant is that you have no idea how you’re going to feel further down the line. When we first started planning the holiday and I was four months pregnant and still full of energy, I remember asking Mr A ‘Do you think I’ll be okay doing a ten-mile hike when I’m seven months pregnant?’ and him looking at me like I was mad.

Eventually we decided on the lakes for our Italian babymoon for a number of reasons. We wanted somewhere relaxed, where there wasn’t too much to do and we wouldn’t feel bad just sitting in coffee shops or lying on the beach all day. That instantly ruled out places like Rome and Venice, where I knew we’d be tempted to try and squeeze in all of the tourist attractions. We also wanted somewhere that was easy to access and wouldn’t be too crowded. We hoped that by arriving just after the peak season had finished things would be a bit calmer.

So Lake Como and the gorgeous Cinque Terre became our destinations of choice. Adding to that a couple of nights in Milan, where we’d fly into, and our two-week Italian babymoon itinerary was complete. (If I’m being totally honest I may have tried to squeeze in one or two extra stops but Mr A, quite rightly, managed to rein me in!)

We’re now a week into our adventure and having the best time. There’ll be lots of posts coming up about our trip in the next few weeks, but for now I’m off for another gelato. Ciao!

Have you ever been to Italy? I’d love to hear about your favourite parts. Leave a comment below!