Skiing with a 13 month old - all in one or two piece kit?

This is my grand-daughter's first encounter with snow. She dived in constantly. As you might be able to see see she had a two piece outfit, which seemed fine, given that she wasn't out for very long at a time (the trousers were dungaree style). What you DO need is several pairs of gloves as they get wet very quickly. And good warm boots with thick soles

Another advantage of a two-piece suit. When it's not cold, some kids get very hot.

and sometimes pyjamas and snowboots will do quite well!

Having somewhere they can just potter with a beach spade is good - keeps them happy for ages, albeit they would generally need more than pyjamas!

Obviously you can't ski with kids that age - this is Lily a few years later. In a one-piece, purely because that's what we got handed down; she loved it because it was pink!

I have no experience of having kids in child-care in ski resorts, but if you're on your own, that's going to be pretty indispensable unless you decide just to have a "snowy holiday" and do toboganning, plodging in the snow, building snowmen, going up exciting chairlifts etc etc. That's not to be sniffed at and one to one time with kids/parents is very precious. but I'd be inclined to try to get a group of friends together, with kids, so that you had somebody to socialise with in the evenings and maybe share child care.

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We are going with Esprit again and would highly recommend them especially as you say it will just be you and him

that sounds ideal if you can afford it. I've several times been in catered chalets with people travelling on their own, who have enjoyed joining in, in the evenings but also skiing.

Sorry - I am indulging myself in this thread. Another argument for a two-piece suit; much more comfortable for discovering the joys of French patisserie!

These kind of boots are inexpensive and seem to work fine http://www.decathlon.fr/arpenaz-neige-500-baby-id_8156385.html

As for gloves, they can be very difficult to put on (but annoyingly, apparently very easy to pull off!). The kind which open right up are good. http://www.decathlon.fr/C-308402-gants,-moufles

Baby sunglasses are very cute - and quite important, though sometimes they just pull 'em off. French babies seem to tolerate their sunglasses and hats much better than British ones (just like they dash round happily on a beach when the British ones are moaning about it being too hot, too cold, too much sand, too sharp stones, etc etc).

I remember watching a very heavily pregnant French woman, beautifully tanned, in a tiny bikini, on a beach with a skinny brown little toddler. She had everything, for both of them, in an elegant beach bag. I had a fat white toddler, with sand sticking to the sun cream, and a collection of bags with everything but the kitchen sink! I felt very out-gunned.

Don't forget that a ski resort will have plenty of shops desperate to sell you stuff - so you don't have to plan for every contingency before you go. If the streets are snowy you can hire little sledges which you can strap them into - easier than a buggy.

Early January could be pretty cold, but not necessarily. This was Christmas - dull, but not cold. Ed is in a one-piece Degré 7 suit which I bought super cheap in a sale. That worked fine too. He was a great diver into the snow. One time he dove into the snow without his suit on, and was soon soaked and wailing. Be ready to spent quite a lot of time getting them into all the gear, then out of it again not long after!