how soon can you take babies swimming?

[Yak]

Seeing how much the yaklet enjoys flobbing around in water at bathtime, I'm eager to send him & Mr Yak off to the local swimming pool ( at Camberwell) l at weekends while I catch up on some sleep. The yaklet's 4 wks today - am I hopelessly optimistic thinking they could start going after the 6 wk check? Are there any jabs he should have - the yaklet, that is? And when they do take the plunge are there any top tips you have to make it an enjoyable experience all round? Obviously they would only for going for a very quick dip at the start.

Thank you oh wise family roomers!

[Helen GV]

I think you can safely go after the three month vaccinations

[Fuschia]

No you can go before any vaccs

Have taken mine at about 8 weeks

But you need a very warm pool

Peckham fits the bill

[Fuschia]

Doubt camberwell is warm enough

Swim huggies can be reused by the way

Swim nappy over the top

20 mins tops

Keep body under water to maintain heat

Be very orgNised do can get dressed quickly

Expect baby to cry after and demand milk then fall asleep

[Ruth_Baldock]

Camberwell training pool has always been warm enough for my baby; granted he's a little older, but I've seen 2/3/4mo old babies there, quite happily. Perhaps get him one of those baby wetsuits if in doubt?

"20 mins tops

Keep body under water to maintain heat

Be very orgNised do can get dressed quickly

Expect baby to cry after and demand milk then fall asleep"

All excellent points, too.

[carrieon23]

HI, I swam with my son from 10 weeks, you dont need to have imms as mentioned above. The advice I was given that babies under 12lbs or 12weeks should only go in a hydrotherapy pool (heated to 34 degrees or something bathlike!) We swam with waterbabies (their nearest hydro- pool is bayswater though) but littlr dippers do lessons in hydrotherapy pool at guys hosp london bridge. It is great though- I thoroughly recomend it, my son is 27 months and absolutely loves the water, and can very nearly swim. x

[kristymac1]

Hi,

I've taken my daughter, pretty much every week, from 6 weeks old (she's 4yrs now), the hydrotherapy pools at Peckham Pulse and beckenham Spa are perfect. It was, and still is, her favourite thing to do. Good Luck and have fun x

[Yak]

Splendid - thank you all so much. I shall go and quiz Camberwell on the temp of the baby pool and plump for there or Peckham for the inaugural dip.

Can I be very thick and ask about swim nappies? Do I just put a normal nappy on him and then a swim nappy over the top? Or does a swim nappy go on in place of a normal nappy? How does it all work?

[Fuschia]

Huggies disposable nappy and over the top a wrap or swimsuit

Don't chuck the nappy - can be dried and reused

[The Nappy Lady]

Splashabout Happy Nappies are excellent - Google them. It is a wet suit material with ribbed cuffs on legs and waist. Can be used over a normal nappy, or on it's own - nothing gets out of it, which saves any potential nasty accidents, and more and more pools are starting to insist on them anyway.

They come in about 4 different sizes, and are pretty snug, so if in doubt go for the next size up. Various colours - boys/girls/unisex and well worth the investment in my opinion. If baby does soil it you can just tip/shake what you need to down the loo, swill nappy off and then wash in the machine when you get home. If using over a disposable then this isn't necessary of course. Your call either way.

I also think baby wet suits are a very good idea for keeping the core temperature up if you are swimming in a cooler pool. We used ours all the time even in Spain where it was hot, but the unheated pool was brassic, and our little one at 10 months, and then 1 year on wore the wetsuit both times, and could stay in the pool for 30 mins plus instead of the 5 minutes without the suit on.

Happy swimming!

[srisky]

Fuschia Wrote:

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> Huggies disposable nappy and over the top a wrap

> or swimsuit

>

> Don't chuck the nappy - can be dried and reused

Sorry but have to disagree with the above - babies pass urine frequently, esp young ones who can pass small amounts every 10mins, so personally I dislike the idea of drying and reusing the disposable swim nappies. You can use the splashabout swim nappies with nothing underneath or, as already mentioned previously, with normal disposable nappies underneath.

[Fuschia]

srisky Wrote:

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>

> Sorry but have to disagree with the above - babies

> pass urine frequently, esp young ones who can pass

> small amounts every 10mins, so personally I

> dislike the idea of drying and reusing the

> disposable swim nappies.

Once you have rinsed it under a tap it's fine, really

Tip given me by the twins swim teacher and after a fortnight in Egypt with two babies swimming twice a day (how many nappies would that be? 13 x 2 x 2 - 52!!) one I was grateful for! Even with a good plastic cover or wrap over the top, their baby swimming class insisted on the disposable underneath

[srisky]

Fair enough and any tips that make life easier or cheaper are always helpful - I'm in awe of anyone who has twins (or more)!

[Fuschia]

lol