Hi all! Long time no post! Seems everybody is good and well!
Playpen vs cot,
I think if we get a good mattress for the playpen, it shouldn't be that much of a problem for the baby's back. But most playpen have a weight limit of 13kg and a size of 60 by 120cm.. so about an age limit of around 2 years? But why not a cot? I find it more stable and robust and dimensions are bigger. The babies learn not to hit their heads on the bars and the cots can be changed into toddler beds by removing the sides. My boy is still using his cot without problems. I guess it's a matter of choice.
Ewie, welcome! Wow, I didn't know that gynaes recommend such early exposure. I've heard about 'conditioning'... like you listen to a particular piece of music and relax and after time, the baby associates that with relaxtion. When the baby is born and is crying, we could try to relax it with the same piece of music. What are you listening to? Your gynae's advice is so interesting!
Hi Eileen, regarding your question about marriage. The ROM will need prove that your bf is either single or divorced in Italy, so he will need some certification from the ROM or city hall in Italy. So if the status is still separated, I think a marriage is then not possible. But if the ROM in Sg allows his status of being divorced in Sg as proof, then it's not a problem to be married in Sg. The problem would be then to get the marriage to be recognised in Italy (You can't just get married a second time in Italy), which would show that he got married in Sg when he was still officially not divorced. Anyway, the marital status of the parents do not influence the benefits your child will recieve in Italy. The problem then would be the baby bonus in Sg. My hub's German and I'm assuming the procedure is more or less the same in the EU. Best would be to check with the ROM about what proof they need and also with the Italian embassy. I'm sure they can give you a pretty concrete idea. Hope this helps!