swimming - how long for a 7mth old

[cocococo]

We're taking DS for a nice weekend break (lucky boy) and want to take advantage of the swimming pool. How long can he stay in the water for at 7 months? We took him swimming at 3 months but he was only in the water for about 10mins. As long as he is happy would half an hour be ok?

I would have thought that half an hour would be ok - depends on the temperature of the water and how much he enjoys the water. You could take him in for a swim in the morning and again in the afternoon. I used to find that mine would get tired fairly quickly. Enjoy your weekend!!

cocococo, at seven months we let our baby dictate how long he stayed in the water. I think you will simply know what is best for your ds once you are in the water. Like Jaybee we found that at that age our baby tired out quite quickly too.
Have a nice weekend...

Cocococo - I take dd to a ducklings swimming class for ages 6 mths plus, and the class lasts half an hr - the water is quite warm, so this is fine, and she always wants to stay in longer! Have a good break, you lucky thing!

A little off the topic - but at what age can you take them swimming? One HV I spoke to said after the first lot of jabs at 8 weeks, another one said when they can hold their head up on their own, and someone else said not until they have had all three DTP jags at 4+ months. Does anyone know?
My dd stayed in the water for about 3/4 hour at 8 months when we first took her and she loved it!

Hi susanmt - my HV told me to wait until after first jab just to be on safe side ie 8 wks. DD has loved swimming ever since then. Really no need to wait for head control - why do they need that in the water?! Some little ones go swimming even prior to their first jabs, and they seem to have no ill effects.....

This months mother & baby mag has a feature on swimming. Also, if you call 01252 316626 you can get a free booklet from Floaties - help your child to swim (see page 20 for the advert.) I took dh after his first jabs, he loves the pool. I started by taking him early when the pool was quiet, but he likes watching the older kids play. I recommend aquanappies rather than the swimming nappies, you can wash them so it's worth the investment (about &7.95) they look cute too!!

My baby sometimes stayed 45 mins in the water - however I used to take him out of his float seat for the last 10 mins. I found because he was sitting in the water his upper half would get cold.

you can buy super little baby and toddler wet suits from www.warmbelly.com in lots of different colours. Including shipping ours ended up being approx. £25 and took 1.5 weeks to get here. I got one for dd as most pools seem a bit chilly for babies who don't move around particularly vigorously. How long you can stay in really depends on the water temperature - we go to baby swimming at the hospital and the pool is a toasty 38 Celsius. She'll happily stay in there for an hour. At the leisure centre it's only 33 degrees and we get out after 20 minutes. Have fun!