I think the two-year-old has me figured out. His response, the other night, to my attempts at persuading him into bed was, “you sit on da sofa with MORE yarn”. He meant, you sit there and get so absorbed in your crochet you’ll forget it’s bedtime. Wins!

The cheek of it. But to be fair to him, it has been an utterly yarn-tastic week here at P&P, and it’s only Thursday. On Tuesday there was a much-anticipated delivery from Deramores after the Crochet meets Patchwork blanket juddered to a halt (I had a colour crisis). Then yesterday I decided the perfect antidote to being informed of a 5K tax bill by my accountant was a trip to my local yarn paradise, Lanar Emporio.

And oh! The scrumptious squishiness, the deliciousness of the colours! So it’s yarn, yarn and MORE yarn, in every nook and cranny of the house.

There is everything, from cotton brights perfect for playing around with...

... to thick Egyptian cotton just waiting to be made into a blanket.

And then there was also a touch of rustic: a huge skein of angora mix in the loveliest of mustard yellow, and a cute pair of alpaca tweeds that might just persuade me to knit.

So it’s yarn, yarn and MORE yarn, in every nook and cranny of the house. You might think, with a month to go until our cross-continental move, I’d be trying to reduce the amount of Stuff That Needs Boxing Up. I probably should be, but… But: a) I can’t resist; and b) it’s all for a very exciting, though still top secret, new project for P&P :-)

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... and Mama Wobbles too, if I'm being completely honest.

In just over 48 hours I'll be on a plane to the UK. By myself, for a 4-day work trip. It'll be the first time since the Bean was 4 months old that I'll have left him for longer than 24 hours, and even that has only happened once in that time.

We are both wobblier than a plate full of pink grapefruit jelly at the prospect.

It's been simmering for a couple of weeks. Mildly quivering. Lots of middle-of-the-night feet pitter-pattering over to my side of the bed, but during the day many a "NO" with extra vehemence to what I thought were reasonable propositions. Then last Sunday this happened at 3 in the afternoon, and it's all gone total jelly since then.

It's not that I don't want to go. I do - I'm giving a presentation at a prestigious conference, so it's a fantastic opportunity. The conference is in York, a beautiful city I haven't been to since 2002. I'll get to meet new colleagues and catch up with old ones, a rare treat when you consider my work life normally consists of me + tea + twitter. And three (THREE!) uninterrupted, SOLO nights sleep in a fancy hotel? Hell yes.

But the boy. My Bean, my little one who seems grow up faster with every week that goes by. He's wobbling so badly and I'm filled with anxiety along with him. For him. For every parenting decision that I've ever made (because there is nothing like a little anxiety to make you a little dramatic, too).

We decided to tell him in advance that I was going to York - Mama goin' in Yawk, as he pronounces it - because we didn't think it was fair to spring it on him. Just like we didn't think it was fair to hide the fact that we are leaving Italy and moving to Sweden soon, either. So there is a big calendar up in the living room, packed with all the fun stuff like a trip to the French Riviera and Oma coming to visit, and that shitty thing of Mama goin in Yawk, too.

We thought it would be best to give him time to get used to the idea, to express his anxiety and to allow room for conversation and reassurance. But now that he is expressing his anxiety in a most vocal, physical, heartbreaking way I am wondering whether we should have just told him on the morning of my departure. I am wondering whether I am being selfish, putting my work first. I am wondering whether I am a terrible mother for sending him in to nursery with his tears and fears today, and tomorrow, and the day after. I am wondering whether we have created this monstrous anxiety ourselves, by deciding to live abroad and away from most of the people who love him the very best and give him just the two of us. I am wondering whether I've failed my husband (I told you the anxiety came with drama), as I see him sitting there over-tired and alienated but still wanting to help. And not able to because the Bean won't let him.

In my head, my rational heart-of-hearts, I know none of this is worth wondering about. I stand by our point of view that it's right to include him in all our plans, even if he doesn't necessarily have a say in them. I also know that I need my work, my time to be alone and to do the things that make me me, to then be a better mother when he is with me. Not that our bank account would hear otherwise, in any case.  Likewise for living abroad - we are following opportunity in the hope of a good life, as good for him in the long term as it is for Mr P&P and I now. For us as a family of three, which does of course include Mr P&P despite the Bean's current protestations, his assertions spoken and implied that only Mama matters. Mama who is goin in Yawk. I know that they will both be fine, while I'm off in Yawk.

But still. The wobbling. It's coming with lots and lots of extra cuddles, but it's hard.

I know our toddler isn't the only one to wobble lately - both Sarah and Hannah have written about the very same thing - but if you have any tips or just reassurances that it'll be alright, I would dearly love to hear from you.

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At the tender age of 3 months, the Bean was hauled onto his first plane. By me, on my own, seriously questioning both my sanity and competence as a parent. But we survived, and since then we have travelled by air together countless times - short haul, long haul, stupidly epic 33 hour-haul. I'm now watching some of my friends prepare to take their babies abroad for the first time, so I thought it might be useful to share what I've Learned About Luggage.

Although what you need to take (and leave behind!) does evolve as they grow older, two things remain absolutely clear to me:

1. You don’t need half as much stuff as you think you do
   
2. Organisation is key

In this post I want to share what I think are truly essential items when travelling by air with a baby, and what I think you don’t need to worry about.

BEFORE YOU GO:

Check out your airline's luggage policy for accompanying infants. Some will allow you to take a separate carry-on for your baby and some will not, which will determine how much you can take on board in total. Most airlines will allow you to take a collapsible buggy up to the gate, and some will also let you check one other large item (such as a car seat or travel cot) into the hold free of charge.

Research whether the brand of formula/baby food you prefer is available in your destination country. If it is, you can just buy it there once you arrive rather than carting it all with you in your hold luggage.

If you know anyone with children at your destination, ask to borrow as many big items as possible - cot, high chair, a buggy, toys, etc.

Have an honest chat with yourself about how much carry-on luggage you can actually carry. A change bag, a small wheelie suitcase, a buggy and a baby may seem doable when you've got your feet still firmly on the ground, but after 10+ hours in the air you will be tired and sore. Stuff will have gotten disorganised, in and out of the bags. The buggy will refuse to fold up and if it does, the baby will refuse to go in it. The less you have to carry, the better so be ruthless - your future travel-weary self will thank you for it.

HUNGRY BABY - breastfeeding   

Nothing, other than a cover-up for you if you wish. Boob on tap will suffice (especially during take-off & landing!)

HUNGRY BABY - formula feeding

1. ready-to-pour formula milk, or formula powder already measured out into the required no. of feeds. You can get special, easy-pour containers for this.
2. enough clean, empty bottles for the required no. of feeds. Once you get through security you can ask for tap water or buy as many bottles of mineral water* as you’ll need and ask airport/flight staff to heat the water up for you.
   
   

HUNGRY BABY - solid food

1. finger food in a ziploc bag or small Tupperware. Ideally it won’t be smushable, so things like breadsticks, crackers and dried fruit are good options.
   If your baby is still eating only pureed food, make your life easy and don’t bother bringing any. It can be a pain to get through security (was I once frisked over a pot of purée? Yes I was). Also, the potential for mess is far too great! At that age they will be totally fine on just milk for a while, even if your journey takes all day.
2. a non-spill sippy cup that you can fill up with tap water or mineral water* once you're through security.
3. 2-3 bibs
4. an empty ziploc for dirties
   

MUCKY BABY

1. 1 pack of wet wipes
2. no. of nappies required + extra in case of delays
3. 1 travel changing mat
   
4. spare clothes divided into 3 ziplocs: 1 with trousers, 1 with t-shirts, 1 with extra bits like socks & hats. Squeeze as much air out of the ziplocs as you can to save space.
5. 1 big empty ziploc for dirties
6. one set of clean clothes for each accompanying adult (because you KNOW baby will be sick on you when you’ve still got 10+ hours to go)

SLEEPY BABY

1. 1 sling, as compact & fiddle-free as possible (I like the BabyHawk because it comes with a little travel bag. Also useful is a simple fabric ring-sling which can double as a blanket).
2. baby’s usual comfort thingie - dummy, lovey, etc.
3. 1 lightweight shawl (which could be a ring-sling, see above) for warmth, or to cover their buggy/travel cot with if it’s too bright to sleep.

HAPPY (AND VERY AWAKE) BABY

1. 2 small toys, of which one is a favourite and one is new for extra entertainment value. If you don't have any space for toys, think creatively - your car keys, wallet or glasses case will probably do too!
2. 2 books, of which one is a favourite and one is new for extra entertainment value.
3. a muslin or fabric sling (see above) for playing peekaboo
4. well-oiled vocal cords for singing

SICK BABY (THOUGH HOPEFULLY NOT!)

Pack these in a Tupperware and store it somewhere you can easily get to, like the front pocket of your carry-on bag, in case it needs to be inspected.

1. a thermometer
2. teething gel
3. teething ring
4. baby paracetamol
5. rehydration salts suitable for children

* Some brands of mineral water contain too much sodium (salt) to be suitable for babies, so do your research on which brands are okay to use in advance if possible. That said, you may temporarily prefer any brand of mineral water over tap water if you're not sure the latter is safe to drink where you are.

In addition to the obvious - suitable (but easy to wear & wash) clothes and footwear for everyone! - you might want to think about taking (or leaving) the following:

TAKE

1. a spare of every one of baby's usual comfort thingy - dummy, lovey, favourite blankie, etc.
2. your preferred brand of formula/baby food, but only if you use them and if they're not available to buy in your destination country (see above)
3. your preferred brand of sun cream, mosquito repellent and nappy cream, but only if you'll need them and they are not available in your destination country.
4. a travel cot, but only if you're certain you can't borrow one and/or your hotel won't provide one (which is very rare).
5. a travel (booster) seat if you can't borrow a high chair at your destination and/or you're reluctant to use restaurant high chairs. We've never tried any but I like the look of this one by Totseat or this one by Tomy.
6. travel black-out blinds. Whether this is really necessary depends on how light a sleeper your baby is and what they are used to at home. This fold-up, portable one by the Gro Company is a little heavy but it does work very well.
7. a tiny night light to make feeds, nappy changes and random wake-ups easier to deal with. We swear by this super-dinky one from IKEA.

LEAVE

1. more toys. You might think you'll need them to keep your baby entertained at your destination, but in my experience being in a different environment is often entertainment enough.
2. baby's toiletries, wipes & nappies - unless your baby needs a specific brand that is hard to find, you will most likely be able to buy what you need at your destination.
3. travel bath tub - there is nothing wrong with bathing your baby in  the sink.
4. baby cutlery - it's perfectly okay to give your baby a stainless steel teaspoon as opposed to a plastic baby spoon.
5. baby's bedding - unless they are very attached to a specific blankie, you'll probably be able to make do with what is on hand at your destination. An adult bed sheet can be folded several times to fit around a cot mattress, for example.

Have you travelled by plane with your baby? What do you think of my list - would you add or remove anything? Do you have a favourite, must-have travel item? I'd love to hear about it!

PLEASE NOTE:
The product links contained in this post are not affiliate links, nor have I been compensated in any way for mentioning the companies that make/sell these products.

Come say hello:

About this time last year, when he was 17 months, we started our toilet-training journey with the Bean. It involved little other than a simple potty and a very naked little boy. Oh and lots and LOTS of muslins to wipe up the "misses". Thank goodness we have a stone floor.

It was a very gradual one, this journey, one which Lucy over at the Lulastic blog coined "stress-free" potty training (in a really great and useful post, by the way!). Stress-free and ultimately successful in that the Bean ditched the nappies during the day (and stopped "missing"!) at 2 years and 3 weeks. 4 months later he decided he didn't want them at night anymore either, and that was that.

Stress-free, certainly, but pretty darn messy. In hindsight, would training pants have helped? We did try them once, a pack of disposable pull-ups. I was horrified at them. The expense, the waste, the uselessness of them. They can only hold one wee, and the Bean would always do that one wee. They didn't help "train" him at all (he didn't get the difference between the pull-ups and the ordinary nappies) and they were horrendously difficult to remove when he'd done a poo. We didn't even get through the entire pack before we decided we'd rather go naked. Eventually we persuaded him to wear ordinary underpants.

In hindsight though, I wish we'd thought of trying some washable training pants. Perhaps from 20 months onwards, when he became interested in dressing himself and could start to understand the concept of pulling off his pants before weeing.

Ones such as the 2-in-1 Swim Diaper & Training Pants that Charlie Banana sent us recently. We were big fans of their washable nappies and even though our toilet-training journey is done, I still happily accepted them: they double up as bomb-proof swim pants! Until I know I can trust him 100% in the pool, these will be our pool bag must-have.

We were sent two types to try: the "Ahoy" print without snaps (left) and the "Blackbeary" print with snaps (right). Don't they look funky? Read on to find out how we got on with them. And if you want to win a pair of Ahoy 2-in-1 swim & training pants, plus a lovely waterproof tote bag to carry it in, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the post!

DESIGN

Both the non-snap and snap version of this washable 2-in-1 swim/training diaper is well-designed. The elasticated waist and gusset ensure a snug fit to help contain any messes. The outer lining is waterproof, while the inner lining is made of a soft, organic cotton that is kind to the skin.

Both versions have an absorbent panel sewn into the middle, capable of coping with one wee before you need to change it.

The 2-in-1 Swim Diaper & Training Pants with Snaps is the newer version. Each side has two snaps, designed to make it easier to remove the pants in case of "solid accidents"...

COMFORT & FIT

Both versions are very easy for a toddler to pull on and off by themselves, and once on they are snug and comfortable. I was concerned about the elasticated waist and gusset leaving pressure marks after a while, but this wasn't the case at all. They allow a complete range of movement, whether as training pants... [ENTER TRUSTY SABOTAGER-SORRY-ASSISTANT]

... or swim pants (please forgive the graininess of the underwater photos - my friend kindly lent me both her child and underwater camera for this review, but it turns out photographing two wriggly boys is really hard!).

The sizing is a little off, in my opinion. I opted for the large size in both versions, which is meant to cover a weight range of 9 to 12 kg (21 to 27 lbs). As you can see from the picture below, however, the version without snaps comes up slightly larger.

This wasn't an issue for us - we put the Blackbeary with the snaps on our skinny Bean, and gave the Ahoy without snaps to my friend's slightly chunkier boy! So in the end everyone was happy. If you're looking to buy a pair, however, my advice would be to size up for the version with snaps and to size down for the version without snaps if you're in doubt (you can of course also check the Charlie Banana website for a size chart).

PERFORMANCE

The waterproof outer lining means that the wee stays in the pants, whether you're underwater or not (nice to know if you're sharing pool water!). On the day we went swimming the Bean remembered to go to the toilet, but if he had done a wee it would have been a small matter to take them off and rinse them under a cold tap (you can then wash them at 40° C).

Although neither child obliged by doing a pooh-nami in the pool, given the snug fit I have no doubt that these swim/training pants would have contained them! I was, in any case, quite grateful for the snaps on the Bean's pants - when we were done swimming he was tired, grumpy and cold and I needed to whip them off fast.

LOOKS

We all really liked both the prints. And if you don't, Charlie Banana have 3 more to choose from in the version with snaps, and 36 more in the version without snaps!

On the bum they look puffier than underpants but slimmer than an ordinary nappy, which is what you'd expect from a swim nappy or training pants.

PRICE

Last but not least, what do these lovelies cost? The 2-in-1 Swim Diaper & Training Pants (no snaps) is currently available in the UK for around £8.50. The version with snaps will be available later in the summer for more or less the same price (it's currently only available in the USA). I think this is fair for the quality and longevity of the garment.

Charlie Banana recommend you have at least 4 per day while potty-training, meaning an up-front cost of at least £34 if you were to wash daily (they do dry very fast). That's quite a lot, especially compared to the price of disposable pull-ups. However, do bear in mind these can be used for more than one child. If you don't have any more children of your own, they also have an excellent re-sell value. If you're in the UK I can't recommend this pre-loved cloth nappy group on facebook enough.

SO... WOULD I RECOMMEND THEM?

Yes, definitely. They are versatile, comfortable and look great. They are also a much more ecological option that disposable training pants, as they wash at 40° C, can be handed down and obviously don't create enormous amounts of landfill! By opting for Charlie Banana training pants you would also be helping to support two charities, Operation Smile and Project Child Save.

Would you like to win a pair of Charlie Banana2-in-1 Swim Diaper & Training Pants, as well as a waterproof tote bag to carry it in? Just enter using the Rafflecopter thingummy-jig below! The giveaway is open worldwide. A winner will be drawn at random once the giveaway has closed and notified via email. The prize will be sent directly by Charlie Banana.

Disclosure: I was sent two pairs of 2-in-1 Swim Diaper & Training Pants for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are genuine and my own.

Should you find yourself in Milan, for the Expo 2015, a trade fair or a good old shopping trip, remember to look up. Tear yourself away from the covetable handbags, the gelato, your negroni and look way, way up: to the roof of the city. For you could stand on top of it.

The Duomo of Milan was first commissioned in 1386 and is dedicated to the St Mary of the Nativity. It took no less than 6 centuries to complete. When the local Milanese speak of the "Fabrica del Dom", they are referring to a seemingly never-ending litany... Indeed, when we first arrived here four years ago large parts of it were shrouded in scaffolding for refurbishment, but it was all for a good cause: now that the Expo is here the works are finished and so, if you do find yourself in Milan, you simply have to go up there. I'll let the photos convince you of this.

(Scroll all the way down for practical info on admission times, etc.)

Price
For 13€ you can zip up to the top of the Duomo of Milan in a lovely, comfortable lift. For €8 you could drag yourself up all 165 steps (can you tell which I would recommend?).

Opening Times
9:00 to 23:00 daily (this may change once the Expo is over).

Top Tips

• Pick a crystal-clear day, preferably with at least some wind, to make the most of the views.
  
• Make your way up 30 minutes before sunset to witness some spectacular changes in the scenery.
• Arm yourself with plenty of patience and a thick skin - the walkways are narrow and everyone is up there to get the best shots, so elbows are sharp and tempers short. 
• Taking small children up to the roof is totally fine - our toddler loved all the arches - but you do of course have to keep a very close eye on them.
  

Come say hello: