who takes there baby swimming and from what age ?

[kittenbaby]

morning everyone ! just been thinking about all the fun stuff to do with baby when she finally arrives!!
im 38 weeks
im definatley going to take her swimming
just wondered how many of you take your babies and from what age ?
xx

[Ceebee74]

I took DS swimming from 3 months (he is now 11 months) and we try and take him once a week if possible.

I am fortunate in that the gym that me and DH are members of allow babies in for free at certain times and it is a much nicer pool than most others.

We used a swimseat initially and have recently moved onto armbands.

However, you need to accept that you will not be able to have a shower after swimming - so you go out stinking of nasty chlorine with wet hair and it does seem like a lot of effort for 20 minutes in the pool - tis worth it though.

[bonkerz]

dont forget to check with your local pool about age restrictions. I ttok DS(6) and DD(6 weeks at time) and was refused enry as they had an age restriction of 12 weeks!

[feetheart]

Have taken both of mine since they were tiny - DD was about 4 mths, DS 9 weeks (poor 2nd child just has to fit in!!) They are now 4.4 and 19mths and LOVE the water.
Take something to keep yourself warm (towelling robe etc) to start with as you will have to get the baby dressed first. When they are older sit them in one of those towelling poncho things with a snack. You get dressed in peace and when you come to dress them they are already dry!

Enjoy it

[kittenbaby]

the options where i live is local pool council run, quite nice
or aqualight babies ive seen this on the discovery channel they do other stuff like singing with them in the pool 2
its slightly more expensive at aquababies but i dont mind if its more fun x
ill check out if our local pool has an age restricition and if so what that is x

[mad4girls]

normally rules are you have to wait for 1st jabs i think which are 2/3 months god cant you tell its been a while since i did that

need to get back into the habit me thinks

[bristols]

I first took DS at 10 weeks. He's now 9 months and has been having swimming lessons for the past couple of months. He loves it and is so confident in the water. It is a bit of an effort, but well worth it.

Great tip, feetheart, am going to try that this week!

[morningglory]

I started taking DS when the was 3 months (my pool also had the after 1st jabs rule). I have a swim seat, which he adored. I also got one of those baby wetsuits, as the pool was quite chilly. I was able to take a shower by first wiping down baby, wrapping him up on a towel cocoon, and putting him in the carseat right outside the shower stall. My showers were quick, but was able to at least get the chlorine out of my hair.

With the next one, I'd like to start earlier. I think that Aquatots allows you to start earlier than 3 months.

[QueenofBleach]

Was told that you can take them as long as you have stopped your pregnancy bleeding, Our local swimming pool ran swimming lessons from as early as 5-6 weeks, the sooner the better IMHO

[mckenzie]

Our pool doesn't have the 'first jabs' rule because, apparently, the first jabs wouldn't protect the baby from anything they could catch in the swimming pool (something i think it's best to not think about too much huh?)
Anyway, consequently I took DD when she was about 6 weeks old (she was born in water so figured she was used to it). She loved it. My tip for showering afterwards is to take baby's nan or grandma with you

[foxybrown]

FWIW I'd really recommend doing something like aquababies, simply because it gave me the confidence to handle DS1 in the water. I think I took him after his jabs, but that was recommended then, its changed more recently so I'd say you can go whenever.

[QueenofBleach]

Definitely do aquababes

[Jojay]

We went from 3 mths. Wiould recommend two people per baby the first time if possible, to work out the logistics of things. I never used float seats or armbands or anything, just sort of swooshed him around in the water. I didn't do a class either as getting anywhere for a set time with a young baby can be a challenge.

Lots of fun though - ds now 7 mths and we go once a week - he loves it and kicks and splashes like mad!!!!

[PavlovtheCat]

I would also recommend Aqua babies or similar, esp for young ones, I would consider putting your name on waiting list now tho as I wanted DD to do it youger and all the classes within my area where booked with lists, so she is just starting now and almost a year!! The list was 6 months long. I took her swimming myself only a few months ago due to personal reasons but had I the opp I would have felt comfortable from about 3 months.

However, it does cost so if you cant afford it/dont want to spend money in case its not for you, I think whenever you feel comfortable taking your LO. I go the local pool a lot and there are mums and dads there with newborns. You can buy wetsuit type clothing for newborns so they do not get cold, and dont have to be in very long to start with.

[PinkTulips]

i've been taking my ds and dd since they were 5 months and 2 years respectively. they love it especially ds and there are other moms there with very young babies who really enjoy it

[Chirpygirl]

I went from 8 weeks with DD. I definately recommend a car seat, pram or buggy to lay them on after the swim, there are only 2 changing tables at mine and someone else is normally using the room so I never get to use them.
Also be prepared for a starving hungry baby afterwards, even if you have only been in 5 minutes!

I have taken her every week since, she is now 16 months, and she loves the pool, so much so I have to drive the long way to the supermarket as she freaks out if I go past without stopping for a swim!

[PinkTulips]

ask if you can bring the buggy to poolside, our pool lets us and it makes things so much easier with 2, i get ds dressed poolside and plop him in the buggy and then shower dd, wrap her in her dressing gown and shower myself. go to the cubicle and get myself dressed and by the time i'm done she's bone dry and take 30 seconds to get dressed.

i have it down to such a fine art i can get out of there in a third the time of moms with just one kid, lol

[nappyaddict]

have taken ds swimming from 4 weeks. i went as soon as i stopped bleeding. we go at least once a week sometimes twice. i am lucky in the fact that there was a pool near to us that was warm enough to use from birth (32 degrees) but if your local pool is only 30 degrees you should wait til your baby weighs 12lbs and is 3 months old.

[paulaplumpbottom]

I took my dd at 6 weeks. We used to go into the lazy river at my local pool after and she used to go straight to sleep. Sometimes she still does

[SoupDragon]

I took BabyDragon to lessons from 10 weeks.

[nappyaddict]

the reason you used to have to wait until their jabs was cos the polio vaccine used to be live so if another baby had been vaccinated that day and went swimming and your baby hadn't they could catch it. but it's not live any more so that rule has been scrapped. a wetsuit is recommended for up to 12 months and they shouldn't really stay in the pool for longer than a maximum of 30 mins. my son is 12 months but i still use the wetsuit cos it means we can stay in a bit longer.

i've always showered both me and baby. i've got a waterproof sling that i use in the shower and sometimes pool. before i got that i would just lay him on his change mat and when he could sit up he just sat there with me whilst i showered. never bothered with a swim seat i hold him in the water and "swim" him about.

[LucyJones]

me and dh take our two on a Sunday morning - 3 year old and 10 month old. The pool is fab because it has slides down into the bit for litties and is very warm.