Holidaying with 10 week old - can I take him in the sea?

[Raffelicious]

We will be on holiday in Greece while my LO is 10-14 weeks old. We have already been taking swimming lessons and he is perfectly happy in the nice warm pool. I'd love to take him swimming in the sea in Greece but I'm worried about the cold water. I know I have to be careful that he doesnt swallow sea water due to the salt content, and of course need to be wary of sun exposure, but can't find any reliable information about water temperature. Everything I read says babies should be taken swimming in warm water but i don't know whether cold water actually carries health risks, or whether its just because they tend to prefer the warmth. Clearly i dont want to upset LO but i'm thinking that as long as its safe, we may be able to gradually introduce him in a way that he gets used to it and enjoys it. It's pretty hot there in August so a cooling dip is certainly beneficial to us adults. Anyone have experience of taking small babies into the sea? I recall last year watching a couple swim happily with their baby. At the time it looked very tiny to me but that was before i had one of my own and in hindsight it could have been a few months older.
Thanks!

Personally I think you'd be absolutely barking mad to do this. Babies cannot regulate their own body temperature very well and what feels like a nice cool dip to us could well see his core temperature plummet and not recover for hours which is incredibly dangerous.

Over-heating runs exactly the same risk which I'd be concerned about too on a Greek beach in August.

I agree with titchy no way would I take a little 10 week old baby into the sea or on to a hot beach.

We took our 4 and 1/2 month old to the canaries. We kept him in the shade most of the time, covered in suncream etc. On the beach he was in a little tent. We took him swimming in the sea, it was good for cooling him down and he loved it. He wore one of those cover up sun suits complete with hat. It was a really special time. Not sure I would have done it at 10 weeks but the sea in Greece is warmer and Greek babies cope with the heat so as long as you're sensible I'm sure it'll be ok. Have a great time!

I wouldn't take him properly swimming in the sea I think you will find he will scream his head off it will be freezing for him, what I used to do was take a cheap paddling pool with me fill it with a few buckets of water and leave it in the sun to warm up then they could have a little splash in it under the shade of an umbrella but even then at 10 weeks I would limit it to a few mins as he will get cold :) I used to find that late afternoon early evening were the best time to go to the beach when they were that small. 11-3 was a big no no they were just too hot but I suppose it just depends on the baby

I thought it was recommended not to take them in swimming pools at all until all their baby jabs are done; isn't this at 2,3 and 4 months? You mention he's already doing swimming classes?

I assume you've already got his passport sorted? If not swimming in the sea could be something you only dream of.

I'm not sure how warm the sea is in Greece, but he'll be very little and unable to regulate his own temperature so you'd need to be very careful. Also those sun tents get amazing hot, so be careful where you out him in the shade.

When will you be going OP?

How old is he now? Just wondering how young he was when you first took him swimming? You must be some kind of wonder woman - swimming was out of the question for a good few weeks after I'd had our 2.

Interesting first post btw.

My sister lives in Greece. Greek doctors recommend babies don't swim in the sea until 12 months. I wouldnt take my baby to the beach in Greece until after 8pm, temperatures there in August are dangerously high.

I live in the Caribbean and the sea temp is real warm but DS2 bellowed when I dipped his toes in on Saturday, but by late summer the currents will bring much warmer water (not that its cold now, just not warm enough for small ones). We used to go to Greece on family hols when I was a kid and I remember the water being very cold at this time of year.

We had DS2 in our pool from 7-8 weeks as the water is like a bath and have been taking both kids to the beach since they were tiny. UV tents are ace and as long as there is plenty of shade baby will be fine. Strip him down to his nappy and let him doze and definitely take a little paddling pool to splash in.

loveisagirlnameddaisy- the old advice that you should wait until they've had jabs before taken them swimming has now been officially changed.
The vaccinations are not relevant to swimming. It is now considered beneficial to get them swimming as early as poss. After all they've lived in water for 9 months, so it's like home to them! We started at 3 weeks and were by no means the youngest that has attended the course. LO seems totally relaxed, as do all the other babies.

I will certainly only be taking him to beach early morning or late evening. We have a UV tent, and a paddling pool is a very good idea - that way we can give him a little dip in warmed-up water.

We have applied for the passport, but not received yet so fingers crossed it arrives in time!

Please be careful he doesn't swallow sea water - rather than the salt content I'd be more worried about the raw sewage etc. Sea water can have all sorts of nasties in it and tummy bugs can be pretty serious in tiny babies.
Hope you enjoy your holiday - I think you're a bit mad or very brave, not sure which!