Swimming with a 4 month old

[Littlecherublegs]

I'm a novice - first baby and first time swimming with one!
What do I need to know?
ie. what should he wear? what about nappies (waterproof ones???) what other kit do we need? what do I do with him in the water?

Told you I was a novice!!

Thank you in advance!!

Huggies little swimmers

These nappies.

A baby swim vest/wetsuit. And a big towel to wrap him in when he gets out.

Im not sure you "do" anything really. I just moved DD1 through the water. They dont stay in too long at that age.

Handy tip, dry yourself and get dressed first. You will drip on him otherwise!

Swim nappies - either disposable, or buy a reusable if you really get into it.

We didn't bother with a swim suit (DS, not sure if it changes anything).

Swish them around, let them splash their hands in the water.

Sing "fishes in the water, fishes in the sea (while swishing them about) all jump up (lift out of water) with a 1-2-3.

Don't expect to stay in too long, and expect them to be hungry and tired afterwards.

I do the opposite of wanna - wipe face and squeeze hair dry and wrap towel around you, then get baby dressed before they get too cold! Practically dry by the time it gets round to getting dressed!

Enjoy it!

So much fun! I take my 3mo DD every week and have since she was 6 weeks.

You'll need:
Swim nappy
Nappi cover (depending on the pool)
Possibly a little wetsuit type thing, my DD does't use hers anymore as she can maintain her body temp a bit better and our pool is 33 degrees.
Big towel, I have one with a hood that poppers around her so she can't kick it off.

nextphase is right, get them dry first otherwise they get very chilly. My DD screams from getting out till shes dressed, then I put my undies on and wrap up in a towel while I feed her, she promptly falls asleep, I pop her in the car seat and get dressed myself. She is pretty much wacked out most of the day.

She lasts about 30mins. We do lots of singing, swim after toys, swim them on their front and back, splash our hands in the water so she can see. We also do submergence but I go to a lesson with an instructor who has shown up how to do it properly. If you do want to dunk LO note you shouldn't do it more than 3 times in a session as not sure the effect on their lungs.

Just use a reusable nappy and wetsuit if the pool is cold (a private one or hotel might be warm enough without).

Blow bubbles and have a beach ball to pop up out of the water.

When you get them out, quickly strip them and dry off and leave on your changing mat with a toy while you get dressed

I take DS to baby swimming classes. The babies have to wear a swim nappy with a neoprene nappy over the top - I use a 'splash about happy nappy'. Some pools follow this rule, some say just a swim nappy.

He has a poncho towel to wrap him in and I quickly dress myself then him. We are in a hotel pool though so it is really warm.

He always wants a feed straight after, then a good sleep. Have fun, it's lovely!!

Don't make the mistake I did and buy Boots swimming nappies, they are very stiff and papery and hard to get on and off - stick to Huggies! Dd2 goes in a wetsuit (from jojomamanbebe), it's 0/6 months and I think once she grows out of it she'll be fine in a normal costume but we first went when she was 2 months old and it kept her nice and warm.

At Aquatots we sing songs - Humpty Dumpty whilst she sits on the side and then lower her in, this is the way we wash our hands/face/hair whilst gently splashing, the grand old duke whilst going up and down in the right bits, wheels on the bus with actions, twinkle twinkle whilst swishing her gently from side to side on her back. Her favourite part is when a ball comes out and gets pushed around. I get myself dressed after her, and I take her hooded towel to the poolside - I remove the wetsuit before wrapping her in it though as otherwise the towel gets soaked. Have fun!