Going to the Swimming Pool with 6 week old DS - Advice Please

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We want to take DS to the swimming pool on Sunday. ( I have checked with the HV and this is fine).

Does anyone have any advice to give us on doing this?

Cheers

Don't stay in too long or he'll get cold. He'll have no idea he's at a pool at this age- keep him close to your body, obviously.Pools on Sundays tend to be loud and splashy. Are you thinking of putting him under the water?

We've been taking His Nibs since he was 12 weeks old - he's now 20 months. All that time his tolerance has been very variable. Some weeks 15 minutes is more than enough and some weeks he'll stay in an hour. He'll still have the mammalian dive reflex, so under water will be fine, though you'll probably be terrified, just as we were.

The main thing is just to get him used to getting wet and doing a bit of splashing. It's great fun!

If you can find a baby swimming session it's well worth while. I persuaded my local pool to start one and there are now regularly 12 - 15 parents there with their babies. If your local pool doesn't have one, suggest it!

Final advice: think now of how you'll remove a nappy filled with poo and pool water. I favour the "do it over the bin and apologize to the lifeguards afterwards" technique.

So you do have a use a nappy then?! sorry, I know that's really, really dense but my mum reckons don't bother! (she used to take me swimming and didn't apparently)

No, you must use a nappy. If he does a poo and it leaks into the pool they will have to close it and do a backwash.

My advice would be to have a hooded towel or dressing gown ready to pop him into the minute you get out of the pool, as that's when he will get really cold.

I found that the learner pools were better as the water in them was warmer, so better for dd but also better for me, as it can be freezing if all you are doing is standing in the water holding a baby!

Manchestermummy, yes I double nappy, use a disposable/reusable swim nappy first then a neoprene swim nappy on top, this reduces the risk of any contamination in the pool, and this does happen, DD and DS2 have been swimming since 10 weeks old and there has been occasion when we have had to leave the pool due to other babies having "nappy leaks".

take a towel for baby to leave at the side of pool to wrap him up straight after you leave the pool. Also, if you can. take yours so you don't get cold when you dress him.

When you put your stuff in your locker, try and put it all in one bag so you aren't faffing around holding baby and making multiple trips to your locker!

They have to wear a swim nappy in our local pools or they aren't allowed in-especially at that age!

Keep him close to you in the pool, you may find 20 minutes to half an hour is enough and if there's a smaller training pool or children's pool that's warmer, use that. Splash a little and bob up and down but don't do anything too adventurous. Don't be despondent if he screams, it might take a few trips for him to enjoy it.

Work out how you're going to get dressed afterwards before you even get in the pool. For example, can you take your pushchair in the changing room? If not, is there somewhere safe to put ds down whilst you get dressed. Get him dressed first and be ready to give him a feed not longer afterwards.

Your reward for all the effort is usually a long and deep sleep - DS, that is.

i must admit, i wouldn't take a baby swimming
untill about 6 months. (after the first round of injections)

As others have said

• don't expect him to last long (probably 15-20 mins MAX)
• go at a quiet time (ie avoid weekends if poss )
• snuggly towel at the ready
• think about the getting dressed afterwards bit - does your pool have family change rooms with playpen/babychange unit for eg) And agree with mumofmonsters re: bagging stuff for easy carrying - also pack stuff in the so that what you want out first (his nappy & clothes) are nearest the top. Sounds anal, but assume he may be tired, hungrey and a bit freaked out afterwards - you want to be able to move quick
• offer fed straight after swim (both of mine often bf before any of us got dressed)
• don't assume he'll LOVE it - toleration is a good place to be on the first dip

And classes are usually fab - both of mine loved theirs

In terms of what to do when IN the pool - bit of very low key wooshing & splashing is probably all you need at this stage - he'll cope fine with underwater, but you probably won't

We took dd at 5 weeks. She was fine...bit nonplussed really! Echo all the points about planning/logistics plus warmth...towel at the poolside/not in the water too long. One of the things I was subsequently taught in a lesson with her was to establish some cues that she would would recognise for going underwater. They recommended '1, 2, 3' then blowing on the face before dunking under and then straight into a big cuddle when they come up.

Ref the jabs thing, I checked numerous resources on this and all the HVs/Pedatricians (sp??) I checked with told me this was outdated advice, and as long as baby was healthy they could go swimming long before any jabs.

Thank you all for the invaluable information - even the basic stuff is great - as you always forget something.

The gym has a babies pool and they supply swim nappies, but I have bought a pair of swim trunks from Mothercare this morning, to wear as well.

Hoping it is not going to be too busy on Sunday (but it is the only day DH can come along too), and if all goes well on Sunday then I plan to go to a babies and mother class at the pool on my own. He does love coming in the bath with DH and is happy for to be held in the water - so fingers crossed he enjoys the swimming pool too...

I will check if they have facilities for putting babies down while I get changed too.... great point.

Any other advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

Any other advice very welcome.

Take baby in in the infant carrier or buggy, take the towel and leave on poolside, wrap immediately as you get out(take off costume and put on nappy. Snug baby in towel and cover with blanket in infant carrier or buggy. Get yourself dry and dressed and by the time you come to dress baby he or she should be dry. Bath at home later as showers tend to be harsh or the wrong temp for baby in the changing rooms.
I agree with the 1,2,3 blow dunkung technique. Most babies look a bit shocked at first but soon get used to it and don't develop a fear of water on their face.

when ds was at this stage i used to take a towelling dressing gown for me. This meant that i could get myself dry while putting ds in a nappy or feeding him. worth a thought x

I started a proper organised swimming class for babies when ds was 8 weeks and dd 12. You don't need to do a class (though it does help with your confidence first time round - and also we got to use a hydrotherapy pool heated to 35 degrees - lush!).
We do 'name, ready, go' then pause one second before taking under water. A good way to do it is to hold the baby under his arms with your arms out in front of you so you're facing each other. Say the baby's name, ready go then gently pull him down under the water and towards you and then up into a cuddle on your chest. Cuddling him and do a bit of gentle bouncing is very calming. Also, before taking him under try saying name, ready, go and then tipping a cupped handfull of water over his head and wiping down his face with your palm.
Feed about an hour before - so there's no sicky. And you can reuse disposable swim nappies that haven't been pooed in!
And expect him to sleep very well afterwards!

I think (others may disagree) that it's a good idea to avoid armbands and other floatation devices. I've seen the toddler swimming class at in action at an Edinburh pool, and all they were doing was propelling themselves slowly across the pool whie half out the water. No swimming - and, I fear, not much confidence at being in the water.

On the facilities sid, most pools have changing tables: my local one also has a stack of mats available. There are often playpens as well, though you may have to check if it is wet when you get out the pool, as that can affect the order in which the two of you get changed.

Swimming with babies is great fun and not enough people do it. Have a ball!

Ubergeekian I completely disagree with you on floatation devices. If you don't use them then the child has constant contact with you and is not free to mobilise around the pool at arms length, this results in them being frightened to let go later on. All three toddlers that I look after who were 15,20 and 21 months when I started taking them swimming are confident in water and now will jump into a pool with armbands on (obviously under close supervision). 1 little girl was terrible in the water at first and when I discussed this with mum she had never been in a ring or had armbands on. Plus they need them to learn to use swimming strokes. Once this is mastered then you try without armbands.

tori i really have to disagree with you there. Armbands are great when they already have some confidence (don't mind being splashed etc.) but for wee ones it is really not helpful to have the unfamilarity of the flotation devices as well.
My ds (2.9) has only got into using armbands in the last 6 months or so and still actually has much more fun with out them (doing things like going underwater for dive sticks etc. )

My experience is that it's better without armbands. Ds has learned to swim without any, ever. He wasn't at all frightened to let go when the time came and has bombed in from the side for ages and has utter confidence in the water.

In the last year he's had some swimming lessons and the instructor has never suggested armbands - she has done a bit of work with flat floats, that's all.

Different horses for different courses!

I don't know about armbands later on but the OP is taking a baby of 6 weeks so flotation devices of any type are surely unsuitable at this age?

Mumemma no, floating seats with legs in are fantastic because baby can practice paddling and kicking legs. To do this holding a baby you would have to hold under the back or front and is not safe. Baby can tip forward or backwards into water, taking in huge amounts of water for its lung capacity. Also, if you have more than 1 child to supervise and you have to hold a baby, how would you help the other child if he or she got into difficulty? If the baby is in a float seat it leaves both hands available to pull a child out of the water.

My advice would be to take another adult with you the first few times. It's quite difficult getting changed and getting them changed with just you as they can get a bit chilly if you change them first or bored if you change them second. Other than that, just have fun, hold your baby and bob about in the water and let him dictate the pace. I think no more than twenty minutes to half an hour in the pool is recommended at first.

If you have friends with babies, go together. It's a lot of fun for the babies to see each other in the pool and you can take it in turns to watch them while you all get changed etc. Also, if it's just the one baby that you're taking, you don't need flotation devices. You are your baby's flotation device.

tori32: "Ubergeekian I completely disagree with you on floatation devices."

No problem!

"If you don't use them then the child has constant contact with you and is not free to mobilise around the pool at arms length, this results in them being frightened to let go later on."

I've been taking His Nibs swimming since he was three months old. We've never used any sort of flotation device. He's been swimming on his own (well, paddling around underwater) almost from the start, and he is now (20 months) happy both to push away from me and go swimming (for about two feet!) or to jump off the side of the pool and swim towards me.

tori32: "To do this holding a baby you would have to hold under the back or front and is not safe."

As long as you know how to do it it's perfectly safe. Our pool's water babies sessions are as much for parents to learn how to do these things as they are for babies.

tori32: "Baby can tip forward or backwards into water, taking in huge amounts of water for its lung capacity."

Not if you start them early enough (sub 6 months-ish) they won't. At that age they have a dive reflex which means they just won't breathe in water. Yes, it was bloody scary the first time I let go a 3 month old at arms length and watched him paddle underwater - but he didn't inhale a drop. Later on this reflex needs to be relearned, which is why starting 'em young is a good idea. They do hate getting water up their noses, though, so it's a good idea to do these "swims" starting from a horizontal position so the head can't go far enough for the nostrils to slope "down", if you see what I mean.

tori32: "Also, if you have more than 1 child to supervise and you have to hold a baby, how would you help the other child if he or she got into difficulty?"

Very few pools will let you supervise a baby and a child at the same time: I'm on the board of my local (charity run) pool and we only allow one under-4 per adult. It's the same at the council pools here as well. There's a good discussion of this at the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management website.

I'm not trying to be rude when I say you sound a bit scared about this. Which is natural, and I found taking The Boy swimming very scary at first. A good parent-a-baby class is really useful, partly because you learn lots of useful stuff (I did) and partly because you see lots of other worried-looking parents and realise that you're not alone (I did that too!).

Sorry tori32 but I don't agree with using flotation devices early on. I've used those floating seats with legs for toddlers on holidays but you couldn't possibly use them at 6 weeks which is the age of the OP's baby. The baby has to be able to sit unaided and apart from that, you need to comfort and hold a small baby close to you. It's about building confidence which you're not going to get by using flotation devices. Also, like ubergeekian said, they have the dive reflex and swallowing water is not the issue. As for holding them in the water and kicking their legs, I learned all of this from baby swimming lessons and there are several ways of holding a small baby in the water perfectly safely and in a way that the baby is reassured.

I didn't put dd in a floatation device until she was about a year old, and it hasn't affected her water confidence at all. Far from it, she's pretty fearless in the pool and in the sea!

And armbands don't help them with stroke technique at all, they hold them in the wrong position for that, they're too upright.

I hope you have a lovely time tomorrow. Swimming with dd has been my favourite activity of all.