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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Taking baby swimming

22 replies

Sheen4272 · 27/06/2008 08:40

Can somebody please give me some advice on taking a currently 9 week old swimming for the first time? She has had her first immunisations. What sort of swimsuit do I need to buy and what do I do about a nappy - any ideas?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

shinyshoes · 27/06/2008 08:48

I took my daughter swimming when she'd had her first immunisations so it was about the same time as your LOL.

I just put her in a little swimsuit and swim nappy (which are available anywhere).

KnitterInTheNW · 27/06/2008 08:50

I've been taking my 14 week old for a few weeks now, he wears one of these swimming nappies and this wetsuit, it keeps his body lovely and warm. They do girl's ones too!

She'll need a swim nappy not an everyday nappy.

poshtottie · 27/06/2008 09:30

Or try this company www.splashabout.net

laundrylover · 27/06/2008 09:48

You don't need to buy disposable swim nappies - they are a waste of money and resources. Many places do reusable ones - Mothercare for example. Mine just swam in them for months.

Seona1973 · 27/06/2008 12:56

we started with disposable swim nappies and after a while started using washable ones which were from mothercare. Boots also do swimwear with built in nappies.

angel1976 · 27/06/2008 13:27

Check with wherever you want to bring her to what their 'rules' are. My local pool in London would only let LOs who have had all the immunisations (so at least 4 months old) to use their pool. I've been on holiday in a very hot country (where my parents live) and my LO has been swimming everyday as they live on a condo with a few swimming pools so I think that is fairly safe as opposed to a public pool (LO is 18 weeks tomorrow and hasn't had his last set of immunisations).

ThinWhiteDuchess · 27/06/2008 14:08

Very good idea to check with your pool. Where I take my DD insists on a 'double nappy system', so a disposable swim nappy (eg Huggies) under a proper swim nappy. Personally I wouldn't worry about a swim suit, but as others have suggested you may well wish to invest in a little wet suit for your DD to help keep her warm in the water.

Btw, gone are the days when you do your hair and make-up post swim!! When we get out of the pool now, all I am concerned about is getting DD dry, warm and clothed and then just shove on my clothes and leave with wet hair!

Good luck -- am sure you will both love it.

dylsmum1998 · 27/06/2008 20:56

thin white duchess yourpost reminds me of when i took my dd swimming when she was tiny, i started after her first injections so about 9 weeks, i rememeber getting her dry as quick as poss and sitting shivering in a towel whilst feeding her on those hard wooden benchs that swim pools have here. those were the days, now i spend our time after getting out the pool getting her dressed and whilst getting myself dried amd dressed trying to keep her on the hard wooden bench and away from the door before she opens it and shows the world my bare bum as i hurry to get dressed

my ds had a washable swim nappy which tied so could adjust around his chunky legs, he also started swimming about 9 weeks old, with dd i had a mothercare one as i couldnt find the ones that tie and her skinny little legs poked out, the nappy really wouldnt have held much in . i have since discovered that boots sell the ones which tie so allow you to adjust them to your childs leg size but they are not with the clothes/swimming things in our store they are in the nappy section with the nature babies and re-usable nappy bits and bobs.
hope you and your lottle one enjoy as much as i did with both mine at that age

Gangle · 28/06/2008 15:33

Just wondered, do you keep the baby's head above the water or allow it to becomne submerged? I've read really conflicting things about whether or not their heads can take the pressure. Also, has anyone tried Zuggs swimming aid?

MsDemeanor · 28/06/2008 16:33

Immunisations have nothing to do with swimming!

evenhope · 28/06/2008 16:34

We tried one of those swimming costumes with built in nappy from mothercare. DH was holding DD in the changing-room before the swim and she had a huge wee- it went everywhere! We switched to disposable swim nappies after that

If you are swimming in a normal pool don't stay in very long. Babies get cold very quickly.

dylsmum1998 · 28/06/2008 17:20

disposables dont hold a biug wee either- i used these instead of pullups (which to me seem just like nappies) for potty trainig my dd when out and about and at bedtime.

i never put my babies heads under cos the thought frightened me. it must be ok because some people let their babies go under water when they are new born, but just not something i wanted to do.

Ambi · 28/06/2008 17:29

nope swim nappies don't hold wee, because most kids pee in the baby pool anyway. The reusable ones are good, I don't think the disps will be small enough for your lo.

halogen · 28/06/2008 17:39

Mothercare's swim nappies are great - they're about £5 or £6 quid and definitely keep everything in (and my baby had pretty skinny legs!). Mine wore her 0-3 month one until she was at least 7 months old. And it was purple, spotty and frilly which always amused me.

They say half an hour tops to begin with because of getting cold. Also, if your child hates it to begin with, don't worry. Give it a break of a few weeks and try again. Mine loathed swimming but she loves it now.

dylsmum1998 · 28/06/2008 19:26

lucicle thats the one my dd has was so sweet, she only stopped wearing it a few months back.was too loose when she was tiny on her legs and had to pull the tie very tight on her tummy when we first started swimming although i think it may have been 3-6 onths, the smallest our mothercare stocked labels worn out now, and have passed it on to my sis for her lo due to be born next month. its so sweet and worth every penny it cost

halogen · 28/06/2008 20:54

I wish they did them for older babies. I'd love one for her now at 21 months but every time I go in there they only seem to have teeny ones in similar styles.

LolaLadybird · 28/06/2008 22:51

I always put mine in a re-usable swim nappy (Mothercare/John Lewis) and we've never had any incidents.

I put both DD and DS under at a v early age to get them used to water on their face. I sung Ring a Ring a Roses to them and on the 'all fall down' bit just dunked them under for a second and straight back up, kept singing the whole time as if nothing wrong (this is how they did it at local baby swimming session). Both of them were fine, never any tears, they were both more stunned if anything.

As for immunisations, I was told by our GP that they had no bearing on when you could start swimming. Enjoy!

Original poster

Sheen4272 · 29/06/2008 17:01

Thank you all for your advice, I'm going to give it a go in the next couple of weeks.

OP posts:

MsDemeanor · 30/06/2008 19:32

Actualy I have no idea why babies wear swim nappies, even though I felt duty bound to put my children in them when tiny. Surely it's not actually physically possible for a wet substance in water to stay separate, so any wee in a nappy goes into the water. All you need is something sufficiently robust and elasticated to contain a poo, should one unexpectedly occur, though I've never had a child poo in a swimming pool either.

tab1 · 30/06/2008 19:43

As a lifeguard I have seen babies poo in the pool and it's not pleasant.
My dd has disposable nappy under swim costume.

laundrylover · 01/07/2008 09:33

As a person who has ever used disposable nappies I have always ignored those ridiculous 'babies must wear a Huggies' signs. One of our pools states this is up to 4 years old!!! How degrading for a potty trained child.

When I was little disposables had not even been invented but swimming pools had and we got along fine. Reusable nappies keep poos in just as well.

nappyaddict · 23/07/2008 09:58

you can get neoprene swimming socks from mothercare to help keep them warm. they also sell baby wetsuits but i prefer the ones that look like little surf suits cos they keep them warmer. you can get them on ebay for about a tenner. also get a neoprene swim nappy. the one ds has is called a happy nappy. you might be able to get one of those on ebay too. our swimming pool insists on a double nappy system so he has a normal resuable nappy with the neoprene one on top.

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