Taking a newborn swimming

[GraceH24]

I'm hoping to start taking my 5 week old swimming soon. Any tips to make it a enjoyable time? Also any recommendations for a good swimming nappy?

I can't fathom why you would, unless need to take an older one in the pool & baby is tagging along.

Too young IMO.

Even baby pools are cool and babies chill quickly.
Also full of chlorine.

I don't think babies this young can cet much benefit from a swimming pool.
A bath is suffient for water fun.

@speakout if you take the baby to a duckling session they have largely reduced the chlorine, if any and the temp is raised so the water is warm, I would complain about where you have taken your baby if they are not doing this.
I know lots who have taken their babies from birth, mine was a bit older, but there are plenty of newborns in our duckling sessions.

Of course they can’t cut the chlorine in the baby pools - all that wee and poo and vomit!

buy two towels one very big one not so for the little one but still oversized.fold in half and cut into the middle for head whole.
we made ourself our own towel poncho this way and for the dc.absolute saviours for slipping over your head and feeling more safe than just slinging a towel round urself and then trying to hold onto this and the baby.
plus if you have time and money buy a smaller towel fold in half to make a hoodie for the dcs poncho.

They have largely reduced the chlorine, if any

That would worry me even more.

Non chlorinated warm shared water is a breeding ground for microbes and risk of contamination.
One baby with fungal nappy rash would quickly spread bugs in such a gruesome soup.

Not worth the risk before their vaccinations imo.

Again, what vaccinated against diseases do you think they will catch from a pool? No one ever elaborates on this opinion.

bourbonbiccy

How is it more of a "bonding experienceer "than having a nice warm bath at home?
Where you will have the water at exactly the temperature thet is right for your baby, no nasties- chlorine, bugs or other people's body fluids in the water and can have warm towels on hand.

Genuine question.

Nothisispatrick

Whooping cough?
Chicken pox?
And all the unvaccinated ones.

A warm unchlorinated pool will be reeming with staph, fungal nail infection,s thrush, norovirus.

A nice thick broth.

speakout then best not take them outside at all until they are vaccinated as those diseases are not spread through pool water generally

Plus all those diseases that we aren’t vaccinated against, so best not to ever take anyone swimming.

Nothisispatrick

No need for the 3 year old mentality.

We can live with risks- but taking a tiny baby into an waem unchlorinated pool full of other people's excretions and pathogens is stupid.

Same reason I wouldn't get into a jacuzzi with neighbours.

Gross.
I wouldn't expose my baby to that either.

With my DD the health visitor and GP told me it was fine from 6 weeks.

Yea, pools and jacuzzis are ‘gross’, but I have the 3 year old mentality. Doctors and HV seem to disagree with your stance so I think we’ll go ahead!

I waited until 6 months. Newborns don't NEED to go swimming and get very cold and covered in chlorinated water! Stick to the bath.

MsTSwift Totally agree!

It's definitely easier if you're going with someone else especially the first time.. I took my dd at about 5/6 weeks I think, she got cold quickly and we were only in around 10 mins.. when she was small I would get myself changed first and then her, getting out I would wrap her up snug and get myself dried and dressed in quick comfy clothes, then get her changed into something warm... now she's 1 and a half and doesn't sit still I get her changed first strap her into the pram and then get myself sorted... hope you enjoy you're first swim! X

I really don't see the point.

What's in it for a 5 week old baby?

Been taking my now 9 month old every week since he was six weeks old! We used Huggies swimming nappies with a happy nappy over the top. We have absolutely loved it and he gets so excited when going in the pool and never stops smiling! It's made him more confident in water and bathing has been easy as he's always desperate to get into the water 😀 Enjoy your swimming, it'll be the best! X

I really enjoyed taking my baby swimming. We went to specific classes and it was a good social thing to do.

I bought a zip thru baby gro specifically for swimming to make it speedy and i used to just wear a maxi dress and a jacket. I'm sure i looked like a bag lady but I always went straight home afterwards!

I didn't realise at first that swimming nappies don't hold wee so you may find that you get wet on the way to the poolside

Mine both learnt to swim about 4 ish thinking about it. We did some toddler classes too. As a first time mother of a tiny baby remember much talk (boasting ) of mother’s taking pfbs swimming at these crazily young ages. It was rather intended to make others feel abit crap I now think. What marvellous parents they were! When I took my tiny baby to the local pool in midwinter it was bloody awful so I didn’t bother unless I wanted to go myself in the summer etc. Just don’t want others to feel this weird go swimming with a new baby pressure...fine if you want to if you don’t it’s fine too as is a largely pointless endeavour.

I am happy to be corrected if they do infact use the same amount of chlorine, sorry if I give incorrect information, but that's what my centre told me.

The NHS website says chlorine is completely safe for babies anyway. My DS loves swimming now and it was great for him to have loads of room to be floating around and experiencing the water. It's personal choice, I was quite comfortable with "risk" of exposing my child to a swimming pool and l do believe if you get them while they are babies, swimming will come more naturally to them.
if you don't agree,don't take them. I have never had or any of my friends had experiences where it has caused any illness that would make me not take him.

We still go twice a week and it is an absolute joy to see him so happy and learning some swimming skills so young.

We have been taking our twins - we did wait until jabs but just because the boys were premature and I wanted to be on the safe side. We have been doing Puddleducks. The boys have absolutely loved it - pool is a hydro one with a mirror above so very and lots of songs and splashing games with toys at the end. It has also really helped them develop physically as early babies - I am sure that it has helped them build up strength as some exercises the teacher gets us to do are very like tummy time. We were warned by the hospital after birth that they would be late meeting milestones but they have not been too far out at all and the exercise must have helped. It has also been great for my DW to be involved as it is lovely 1:1 time. We have since been in a public pool and it was so much better for having done lessons as we were well practiced with moving them on their backs and tummies, using woggles etc. It's been expensive but for us, totally worth it x

I wouldn't take a newborn in this cold weather, in the disgusting mire that is the local swimming pool, wait until the Spring/Summer.