candj

Plenty of great advice from everyone. Just wanted to say - as an Angeleno myself - watch your speed on all the highways because our CHP are everywhere in unmarked cars. 70mph tops and sometimes only 65mph on the highways. Also, if you can fly to Vegas, hire a car (convertible) then drive to LA then up HWY 1 to SF and drop off the car in SF and fly out from there it would save you on backtracking a bit. The vineyards above SF (Sonoma and Napa) are also lovely but some extra time. Have such a great time. -C Edited to add - agree with ???? that West Hollywood is fab - Robertson Boulevard has great shops and is where the Ivy is where you're guaranteed to see movie stars (real ones).

Sounds definitely like he's hungry and going through a growth spurt. You're doing the right thing by trying to settle him into a routine, but during growth spurts everything usually goes out the window for a bit. The drooling sounds as though he anticipating dinner and brekkie! Good luck, you'll get through it.

Sorry Pugwash for suggesting alcoholic drinks because stupid me misread and thought that was what you were after!! Again, hope you have a swift recovery.

Can you try getting him to sleep right after lunch at around 1pm? I remember my kids outgrowing the two naps in the day at around that age (used to sleep from 9-10 and then again about 1-3). Keep him awake in the morning and partake in physical activities like running around in the park, playdates or softplay, etc., so that after he is fed lunch he'll be tired and ready for sleep. I hope it works out soonest. -C

Well, I must confess that I haven't been in a wetsuit since I was in my (early) twenties which was a looong time ago.

Wow, beautiful. Tucker obviously travelled around that entire area painting watercolours along the way. I was thinking it didn't look like Ceuta unless much of the Moorish architecture was destroyed.

Oh come on Sillywoman, we girls look fab in wetsuits (the full body ones) - a mostly black catsuit that sucks you in in all the right places - what more could you ask for!? Bring on the Camembert!

And they're new Fuschia!

Can definitely say that a wetsuit makes a difference in terms of not feeling freezing cold waters. They are expensive for kit used only on holidays - perhaps try ebay? Good luck and have fun!

But the tripp trapp doesn't come with a harness or does it? It has the baby kit with the padded cushions for younger children. I would think at 6 months your little one should still be in one of these? Both my children only used the tripp trapp from 20 or so months when they were both well able to get up and down themselves. Also both mine were not sitting up that well at 6 months and occasionally would fall over when sitting on the floor. And agreed on buggies, the straps are there for a reason.

Hi Skip, not sure how old your son is, but my youngest uses a tripp trapp without harness and has been doing so since she was 22 months. The seat of the tripp trapp is quite wide and we scoot ours close to the table (so that if she needed to get out it would need to be pushed back) so I think she's safely in there. I would think that if your son had a few near misses that you would consider having a harness. I used the Ikea one when we lived abroad and also used the harness because the chair bit around the child is quite low and with a younger baby felt that they'd be able to tip out of it (being top heavy). Hope that helps.

Not banal at all ryedalema! Had both a summer baby and a December baby and agree with Molly that winter was great for everyone sleeping and being snuggly, but very difficult to get a newborn into a snowsuit and brave the blustery streets - she just screamed when she was outside no matter how wrapped up she was. Summer is lovely no matter what is happening and especially so if you have a new baby!

I had 2 c-sections and actually enjoyed every moment of them and still recount the moments with my husband who had the courage to watch the first time. Not to be flippant but it was fast, easy, calm and an amazing experience overall with both children. My consultant was fantastic and the whole theatre was full of convivial chatter about everything from wines (both anaesthetists were S. African) to baby names to who got to take the best photos as the camera was passed around. Most importantly, I wasn't distressed at any point and recovered very quickly (even faster from the second), and have two healthy children (and one teeny 4 inch scar which is covered by even the smallest of knickers). I never had any pain and only had the epidural so was awake for both of them and was able to sit up immediately after and hold my babies and breastfeed. I certainly don't feel as though I've missed out on anything and agree with others that a birth of a baby is just that no matter how it happens. And on topic, my husband too avoided the last episode ... something about Ireland vs Brazil playing some sport somewhere...

Here you go. Christie's

Hi Marmora Man, Here's a link to Bonham's with a few sale results for Edward Tucker. Unfortunately, he's not going to retire on it, but it's decorative and pretty. You can also do the same searches on Christie's and Sotheby's websites. Hope that helps. Edited to say link didn't work, but you basically search sale results with the name Edward Tucker.

Hi Pugwash, Assuming you are asking for an alcoholic drink suggestion, how about Bailey's and brandy with ice? or Vodka with any juice (greyhound, seabreeze, etc). Wishing you a speedy recovery. Best, -C

It was a lovely episode indeed. I loved how Joy was eating the petit filous herself and Fabio was so patient with everything and just stood by her the entire time. Also loved how the husband of the woman having her 5th didn't say a word throughout, but was very emotional when his daughter was born. I too had tears when both babies were born.

I can't believe that there are places (hospital, doctor's waiting room) where a woman would be asked not to breastfeed and to be made to go into the toilet to do so is disgusting and unhygienic, would they (the culprit asking) like to eat his/her lunch in a public toilet? And it is a shame to make a woman feel horrible about breastfeeding in public. I mean really! I remember breastfeeding in some chic restaurants in Paris on one holiday and no one (waiters or patrons) looked at me or made me feel uncomfortable and one of the waiters even brought a serviette for my baby and gently placed it on the table without saying a word! To localmama, hope your not too traumatised by this experience and great that you have so much support here! Best, -C

Where's Jamma when you need him? ;-)

I don't think you're mad at all, such a great idea and a great way to see the country. Plus it's handy that you can stop for a few days and let the kids run around. My parents took me when I was 2 on a camper tour across the US and (apparently) I loved it.

Our 5 year old went through this period after starting school last September. It was a nightmare because she would wake at 5am to go to the loo and then not be able to get herself back to sleep so would either be in our bed (and thus no sleep for us) or be sitting on our bedroom floor playing with my husband's iphone and watching mummy and daddy trying to sleep. I also had the fear that she would wake her two year old sister and that would be it for our sanity although this never happened. We basically didn't allow her to have a huge amount of liquid (water) before bedtime. She has a little thermos of water next to her bed for when she's thirsty but usually drinks all of it before bedtime which would indicate to me that she didn't drink enough during the day at school or wherever. I just made sure she drank loads at breakfast and when she came home from school and with dinner, but no drinks after dinner from 5.45pm onwards (I still keep the thermos of water next to her bed). Also, made sure that she went to the loo before bedtime and on those occasions that she did drank a load of water before bedtime I would wake her up before we went to bed (10.30-11pm) to take her to the loo. This pretty much worked for us and was the culprit although we do have minor setbacks. Moving back to London last summer, she wasn't used to the airplanes at that point and the sound of foxes this winter scared her, so I think it was also getting used to the noises around us - so perhaps for your household it's the new baby making noises/nightfeeds, etc that wake her or at least stir her out of a deep sleep. We are fine now (sort of) with our daughter staying in her bed until 6ish, going to the loo and then getting back into bed and sometimes falling back asleep again. I agree with Nunheadmum that if you could get your little one to settle in her bed and play with some stuffed noiseless toys that it would be better and hopefully it's just a phase that she'll outgrow. Good luck. Sorry for rambling post.

I didn't even realise bananas stained either?! I guess they oxidise and go black or something. Have you tried the vanish spray in the hot pink bottle? That usually works for the more serious stains in our household (spag bol, chocolate, etc). Hope that helps.

Sorry Fuschia, we do diddidance at 10 today.

Oh no, Norovirus Pickle? Hopefully everyone recovers soonest - at least you have nice weather to convalesce in and will hopefully be virus free upon your return flight! Just a weather update here in case you miss it - cold, dark, miserable, just starting to rain again as I type this.

We've stayed at The Sani Resort in Greece for last October half term and I can highly recommend it. Lovely for both children and parents. Also can recommend the site Tuscany Now for holidays all over Italy not just Tuscany. They rent villas of all different sizes and can cater for large families or just a family of four. We used them once and ended up staying in the same place every time we go. Have fun!