How old do babies have to be before going swimming - and what nappy??

[lollipopmother]

My DD really loves going in the bath, so I'm thinking of taking her swimming soon. Is there any guidlines for how old they have to be before it is safe to take them?

Also, has anyone got a swimming nappy that they could recommend, there seems to be various types out there but none of them mean anything to me.

Thanks.

hi lollipop

I'm pretty sure most pools recommend from four months after they've had their jabs, but some might say from 3 months. Check with your local pool.

Re nappies, I've always just used Mothercare swim nappies....like a costume but with some padding in and good elasticated legs. I've also used dispo ones.

the little swimmers jobs are fine. or a reusable with velcro but prob not until poos are firmish. it will be cold and it will take a long time to get changed. about 10 mins in pool. there are lots of threads on this, you can search if require more info.

you have not said how old your baby is so i am assuming about 12w.

My local pools do not have a lower age limit. I've seen babies in there who were 5wo.

I'm waiting until DS has had his last set of Vaccinations before I take him as that seems to be when most people start. However I should admit to holding off mainly because I am still trying to work out how to cope with three littlies in the pool at once.

I think it is a fab idea to start when they are very young though - especially since you are almost guaranteed that they will sleep afterwards . Be warned they get really hungry as soon as they are out of the pool.

I think it can be hard to find a swim nappy that works well for babies younger than 3mo. I used one of these for each of my DDs - they really do fit from very young to 3 or 4yrs. I liked themn because you can pull the up and down for older children and take them off like a conventional nappy for younger ones. Must get a blue one for DS......

Thanks ladies, Elizabeth will be 4 weeks old on Monday night, so she's got quite a long time to wait by the looks of it. I thought it was probably best to wait until she has all her jabs too but wondered whether that was me just being extra cautious. I'd love to be able to take her in the next couple of weeks to be honest as I'm sure she'd love it in the baby pool but I think i'd better hold off.

Thanks for the links to the swimmers by the way.

I've heard of a class having a baby as young as 7 days in it, but the problem is finding nappies. I couldn't take Tink till she was over 1 because she didn't fit into any swim nappies I could find.

My research when she was younger showed there is no reason to wait for jabs. Nappies is the only problem!

i took my ds swimming from 8 weeks - if you look on the Dept of Health website it actually says that you don't need to wait for them to have their jabs if you are taking them to a public pool (which will have been treated to the right standard). I think i must have googled to find that out, can't remember sorry!
i used the smallest sized swimming nappies which were waaay too big to start with but with some swim shorts on over the top they were fine (and he was/is skinny!).
And yes, they are REALLY hungry afterwards but also v tired..
my ds hated the first 2 sessions but i persevered and now (2 years on) he LOVES swimming - so don't be put off if its not an instant hit. Have fun!

dd was 11 weeks we went to waterbabies.. if you sre going to a local pool buying a baby wetsuit may be in order, all the ones round our way are blardy cold for littlies.sonething to do witht he chemicals they use - i think its just money saving tbh tho.

worth checking with your local pool, ours is after first set of jabs, but SIL can't take her ds until after all jabs.
got a motherease swim nappy from www.bumfluffnappies.com, and use a baby wetsuit over the top. took ds for the first time @ 10 weeks and he has loved it ever since

I too struggled to get a good fit under 4 months so used dispos ones - after that i have used a pocket nappy without the insert eg fuzzi bunz or greenkid. They are only poo catchers afterall.

Oh right, so the nappies don't actually catch the wee as well? [grim emoticon]. I wonder if putting a disposable on with an airflow on top would be ok?

I'm sure that with all the wee that goes into a pool they're not worried about catching baby wee. I have a friend who's a life guard and he said whenever someone complains about their eyes stinging he tells them to ask their mates what they've just done He said that if the chlorine was high enough to sting your eyes it would burn your skin off.

Dolphin Birthlight baby swimming school (dbbss.co.uk) does good neoprene nappy covers (as well as classes). It will help if there are 2 of you (adults) to start with, so one can hold babe while the other gets changed.

I think I've read in a few places that normal disposables should be avoided, but you can get swimming disposables.

I've just ordered the Konfidence swim nappy that bigbadmousey linked to as a few people recommended it to me.

I'd speak to the pool that you're planning on going to and find out if they have any restrictions etc. Our public baths has no particular requirements on nappies (but private pools might insist on a double layer system). You can take babies to our local pools at any age but they must have had their 4 month jabs before going to actual swimming lessons.

huggies little swimmers swim nappies (disposables) now come in an XS size which does from around 7lbs - I have seen them in Asda and Tesco. Mothercare do a 0-3 month size (reusable swim nappy) which starts from around 11lbs which is what I used for ds when we first went swimming at around 12 weeks.

agree with XS huggies,

tesco, and a tesco extra at that had them,

dd was about 8 weeks,

they used to say they had to have jabs before going in and then wait a few weeks after them as the polio jab used to be given as a live vaccine (by drops i think but not sure) and if babes poohed in the pool you had a problem of infection/illness (for others i guess)

now that polio is given as part of the jab and not seperate my mw said there is no reason they can not go in at a eary age if you are happy about it,

i may be wrong if misinformed do check with your mw/hv,

i am sure they are no more likely to get ill/catch infections in a pool than anywhere else,

just make sure they stay warm, i got dd one of those with wet suits and it really helps to keep her snug

wetsuit here, it is big but the velco can be made tighter if needed

Yes didposable swim nappies not normal disp swim nappies though i have made that mistake onece before in error