Bfeeding in a pool?

[rice33]

I'm pretty new to this Bfeeding lark so that's my excuse for this possibly strange question.

Dd is now 12 weeks and I'm thinking about taking her for a dip in the local swimming pool which has a lovely warm baby /toddler pool.

Anyway I would be planning to take her after a feed but she is fed on demand and is a little milk monster and snacks as well as having long leisurely sessions . Plus any little upset is very quickly sorted with a little suck (point blank refuses dummy, has a face like its coated in acid) . So finally getting round to the question, has anyone ever had to do a quick feed in a pool ? How did you get on , was it hard to be discreet? I really don't want to have to do it but it would drive me mental to waste €7 plus all the faff of getting there etc to have to get out after five minutes because I was too embarrassed . Although you never see a baby getting a bottle in the pool so maybe it is a step too far ?
Any thoughts?

Why can't you use a changing cubicle for privacy and then go back into the water afterwards?

Even though I am very pro breastfeeding I don't think its reasonable to feed a baby in a swimming pool.

More than likely your lo won't want to spend more than ten minutes in the pool the first time she goes. If she is enjoying it she won't be asking for a feed as she will be too distracted.

Hi Rice,

I took DD1 swimming when she was quite young and I think she was too distracted to think about BF. You probably won't be there for too long anyway, babies get cold more quickly than adults.

Is there a space by the side of the pool where you can sit down? Could you take your towel and put it by the side of the pool?

Take a dressing gown! If she's anything like DS she will be totally distracted whilst in the water, but once out of the water will want feeding within about five seconds.

I bottle-fed and it was a right palaver, DS screamed non-stop until milk hit mouth and it was one of the many occasions I really wished I could BF! If you take a dressing gown you can wrap both of you up and feed her before the hellish shower / getting dressed madness.

I would feed at the pool but not in it. So I'd happily get out and sit on the side and feed DS now or when he was tiny with both of us really wrapped up with towels.
I would have found it difficult to feed in the pool just because your sort of crouched down to keep in the water and then getting nice hold would be a bit of a hassle. I do feed in the bath.
that being said DS never asked for a feed at the pool. he is demand feed and quite a hungry boy. he was always too busy during the swim but loved a long feed (and a sleep) afterwards.

Thanks girls

I'm sure ye are right and she won't look to feed in the pool , it was just a random thought in my head as I've ended up feeding her pretty much everywhere we've ended up , including yesterday whilst queueing for her birth cert in a very busy births, deaths and marriages office

That was a really good point though that she might be really hungry straight after the swim , so I'll bring extra cuddly towels and set myself up in one of the family changing cubicles afterwards just in case

She is sure to want a feed when she's warm and dry and your not!
It's the law of taking small children swimming. They look cold so you get them dressed first. Then babies want feeding and toddlers want the toilet and you are turning blue!

I think it's very strange to breastfeed in a swimming pool.

Take a towel and leave it by the side of the pool, then get out and sit and fed your baby by the pool with a towel wrapped around them.
You don't have to hide in a cubicle.

I took my 5mo DS swimming just this morning. It's recommended that babies don't feed for an hour before swimming, but whoever made that recommendation has clearly never had a BF-on-demand baby!! I gave him a quick toot before we went in, then faffed about in the pool for 20-30 mins then as you say, commandeered the family changing room to feed straight after. He was cold, tired and hungry, so I dressed him ASAP (through the crying) to make sure he'd be warm and comfortable feeding. And yes, sat and shivered in my cozzie while he had a lovely warm boob!

hi there,

i've been taking DD to swimming lessons since she was 3 months old. The swimming instructor advised us to feed them before the session, and as its so tiring and energetic for them, to feed them straight after too. So I regularly bfeed my DD in the swimming pool, and I've seen people do it with bottles too. Its a bit easier in the baby pool I go to as there are steps to sit on at the end of the pool, and its actually very relaxing for baby I think to be fed whilst they are half in the warn water.

I can understand you feeling a bit funny about it, but I really never got a second glance. Most parents have seen it all before! But you could always take a towel to cover up with just in case. If its a council pool surely they have to be breastfeeding friendly?