When is it okay to take LO swimming?

jaysgirljulie

Not in the blazing hot sun of couse. How old & what kind of diapers are best for that? When can we start swimming lessons? Any other tips?

inamra

Glad you asked--I was wondering this too! I can't wait to take him as soon as safely possible. I have some Huggies Lil Swimmers that SIL gave us (smallest size is 16lbs), but I don't know what else is out there...

4forluck

The earliest I took DD in the water was around 3 or 4 months.  This was at the indoor pool in the YMCA.  I put her in the smallest size Huggies Lil Swimmers and they worked fine.  You definitely need a swimming diaper.  Regular diapers fill up with water right away and the material starts to fall apart.  She was around 7 months the first time I put her in an outdoor pool.  Definitely use lots of sunscreen and get a hat to keep the sun out of LO's eyes.  

Married2MrWright

Since you already CD, they do have cloth swim diapers.  And some bathing suits with them built in...that's what we have for Libby.  American Baby magazine this month says that babies under 6 months shouldn't go swimming since they might get too cold/hyperthermic, but eh, I dunno.  Libby's quite a chunk and she doesn't get cold in the bath so I don't think a few minutes in the pool will be a problem.  Just something to consider, I guess and know what your baby can handle.

The local swim lesson place here starts them at 6 months...we have a little wadding pool and will take her in it (it's only 3 feet deep) for 15-20 minutes/day (it's shaded and we have sunscreen and a sunhat for her too).  We also got a little floating ring for her to sit in...

Here's a site with cloth swim diapers and great tips for bathing beauties!

https://www.myswimbaby.com/

HulaLove

I took Elyse swimming when she was about three months old.  The pool is heated and warm so I wasn't too worried about it.  She could only tolerate about 10 minutes the first time because it was so stimulating. 

I take her weekly now.  I go with two other moms and their sons who are around the same age as Elyse.  Elyse likes running her hands through the mini spouts of water on the side of the pool, grabbing the balls and kicking her legs like crazy. 

Like Lori said, our local pool has swimming lessons for babies starting at 6 months.  The class is called starfish.  So cute   We use a brand of re-usable swim diapers called "Swimmis". 

myday1708

I believe the age you can take them swimming is 6 months. But lots of people take them earlier. Just don't stay in long and keep they warm!?

We took swim classes at the county pool when Alexa was 7 months. She wore a little swimmers swim diaper, but the smallest size is 16 lbs and she was only 14 lbs at the time! So she swam in it. We put a plastic cover over it and the whole shebang under her swimsuit.

One tip I would offer if you go to a pool is to bring TWO towels for the baby. One to wrap them up in right when ?you get out of the pool to keep them warm. And the other to use after you go in the warm shower to rinse the chlorene off their body.

HTH!?

MauiWedding08

as long as it is warm enough there really isn't a restriction - also I have heard to make sure the indoor pool is well ventilated (and maybe skip if your child is showing signs of asthma or other respiratory issues/family history).

our ped said she would feel comfortable at about 3mo. Our athletic club has a "teaching" pool that they keep really warm and said we could go whenever, but official parent and baby classes don't start until 6mo