at what age? swimming.

[jen93]

how old do babies have to be befor you can take them swimming and is it a good idea this time of year

I think it is after their second set of vaccinations

I took my DD1 as soon as she'd had all her jabs - around 16 weeks I think, which means we started April time.

Lots of pools have baby classes, and sometimes the water is specially warm - wasn't where I took DD1 tho - I remember the instructor telling us that it wasn't a serious problem if our babies lips looked a bit blue . She loved it - and still does.

is it best to use a seat or armbands or something?

We used armbands - the class provided them, you can get them in Mothercare tho' I think.

The best thing was, it always guranteed a really long sleep afterwards, when I could go shopping in peace!

You don't have to wait for vaccinations - says so in my NHS vaccination leaflet! So whenever you like really - but I'd only take a baby to a special hydrotherapy type pool which is kept much warmer than the normal pool.

could you start them in a big hot tub then without the bubbles on obviously? or is that not big enough?

DD is now 2 but we took her at 5 weeks old and told that it was fine as long as it was in a proper pool. Obviously she was oblivious to what she was doing but she was fine and loves swimming. We bought a seat from from Boots that was £10 but lasted til she was about 18 months.

i held out til after jess's 2nd jabs

i am thinking of taking dd swimming, is it not a nightmare going on your own i.e getting dry and dressed?

No, the hot tub is too hot!

I took DD (6) and DS (2.10) swimming for the first time in over a year. I couldn't believe how brave they were! They both wore arm bands and enjoyed throwing themselves about in the water while I chased behind them incase they fell!

My top tip for getting changed after swimming is to take a dressing gown for yourself raher than a towel. I put mine on when I've taken my swimsuit off and by the time I've sorted DS2 out, I'm dry. How old is your DD, lilsmum?

My hv told me I didn't have to wait until the jabs were done. DD's first dip was in an open air pool in Newquay at 3m. I didn't put her in armbands or a seat until she was about 9/10 months. I just used to hold her. A swimming teacher friend told me to get 2+ armbands and not to bother with the younger age ones as those aren't big enough to support them unaided in the water.

We go this time of year. I take a towelling dressing gown with a hood to wrap her in as soon as she gets out to keep her warm, then make sure she has an extra layer and a hat when she gets dressed.

I go on my own Lilsmum. I put everything in one bag (the first time I had swimming bag, changing bag and a handbag - not advised!) and go in a family cubicle with a playpen. I leave her in there while I put stuff in/out of the locker and while I'm changing. I love taking her and find it really relaxing just bobbing about in a very warm pool. DD loves it - and the bonus is that she'll always have a sleep when we get home.

I took dd when she was about 16 weeks/4 months. It was babyswimming and they don't use buoyancy aids at all. I think she had had all her jabs. It's definitley easier in warmer weather, fewer clothes to put on, less worry about catching a cold and all that.

The birth - 5 books says you can take them after the first set of jabs which is what I did with both mine.

I get dressed while mine are wrapped in towels as they are quiet, then I get them dressed, otherwise they would start crying while I dressed them and while I got dressed.

I think armbands are best, my DDs legs won't fit through the holes in those chairs anyway.

soupdragon, she is 12 mth, would love to take her but the drying/dressing thing is the only thing i was worried about (dressing gown is a brill idea!!)oh and bit worried she will freak out and hate it lol

Soupdragon - I bought a cheap towelling dressinggown (£5 in Asda) after I read this tip of yours a few months back - it's a great idea, thanks!

No need to wait for jabs. Been taking 15mo DD to weekly baby swimming classes since she was 12wks and she's a complete lunatic in the water now, she loves it so much.

yeah im thinking of taking baba to swimming asap (she is 4.5 months old) as she loves having baths so ill find out if she likes swimming

took dd when she was 5 months to baby pool at sports centre and she loved it. Was some rather splashy boys in there but i was more worried that she was and she just grinned at everyone. I always get her changed then me so she doesn't get too cold and always take a hooded towel on to pool side to wrap her in straight out of pool. x

It was definitely advised to wait until second jabs at the time when my ds was a baby (he's now six). In the early days it's best to concentrate on getting them used to being in the water and not scared of it, so it's a good idea to do that asap before they develop fears naturally. A swimming pool attendant advised me not to even begin trying to teach a child to swim until age seven - before that they (generally) cannot get to grips with synchronising strokes/breathing etc and tend to resort to a sort of doggy paddle. Keeps them afloat but technically it's not swimming. Around age 4-5, if your child is comfortable in the water, you can enrol for proper swimming classes, and most schools start swimming lessons around 7 (I believe). Some pools do 'crash courses' where you get two weeks of lessons every day, which is a great way of speeding up the learning process.

Most pools have baby changing facilities which make it easier to get yourself and baby changed before and after. Good idea about the bathrobe - wish I'd thought of that instead of shivering for all those years!

Armbands - make sure they aren't blown up too tightly because they can cut of circulation. It's not always apparent when you're right beside your child, but a pool attendant once drew my attention to it and my ds's arms were bright red and swollen.

Karen
x

I took them as soon as I felt up to it myself! Don?t have to wait for the vaccinations. As aloha says, worth going to a special session or pool where the water is warmer. They often crank up the baby pool temp. for the mums and babies sessions, been to a few pools and all do this.
Sooner the better in my opinion on actual age. My DD1 loved swimming as we started her at only a few weeks old. After about 6 months we stopped going for a number of reasons and left it a while, took months to get her confidence back. Once you start, try to keep it a regular thing as it is hard work when they lose confidence and start screaming "no mummy, no, there are crocodiles in there..."

I don?t understand why there is this link made with vaccinations - the most common things they catch in the water are coughs and colds from fellow snivvly children and vaccinations are no good there. Can?t think of a single vaccination of the early ones that protect against any commonly found waterborn infection. The NHS would specifically tell us to avoid swimming if there were any chance of it being a real risk as they have to be so overly cautious on all things to do with chidlren.