Q from March 2013 Mom

CougFan · January 2013

Hello! Popping in from March 2013 with a question:

I am thinking about this summer & swimwear (for baby, not me...don't want to think about that until I have to!). The temptation is there to buy all these cute swim suits for baby girl but I have resisted so far. This isn't my first rodeo and I get that they really aren't practical:
-baby can't swim
-baby needs to stay out of sun
-baby wears a diaper

But they are so cute!! This is baby #3 and our first girl. She will be going to swim meets, pool, beach and camping. So she will be around water...and there are a few places where the water is warm and there is shade so maybe some quick dips in the pool will happen.

So I'm wondering what last summer looked like for you (especially active families) and was a bathing suit worth it? Any brands or styles you liked (or disliked), any tips?

nunzchucks · January 2013

I took DD swimming when she was 4 months old and then all summer so it was worth it for us. I'm sure people say you shouldn't, but I was a swimmer and want her in the water as soon as possible. We just had a suit from Target (Circo, I think) and Huggies swim diapers. The diapers were way to big...smallest is for 16 lbs and she was only 10, but they worked.

MrsLynn31912 · January 2013

We spend a lot of time by/in the water (SO's family has a lake house and mine camps all the time) and didn't want him exposed to the sun so the rash guard, swim trunks, sun hat, umbrella worked great for us! Oh and when he was the water we had a floaty with a sun shade type of thing. I liked the swimming suit stuff just to keep sun off. Like you said they don't *need* it. No one is going to freak out if you just have LO in a swim diaper. For us the swim stuff was worth it!

I have a friend who has a girl and said she bought her daughter bottoms and a rash guard instead of a one piece suit because those are hard to pull down for a diaper change. But like I said...I have a boy so I don't have a personal experience for those!

krispy83 · January 2013

We have a pool and took DS in it quite a bit over the summer. We had Huggies swim diapers and little baby board shorts.. OMG the cuteness was irresistible (Circo from Target). It wasn't very expensive, so it was totally worth it for us.

starswinger · January 2013

We had my DS in a kiddie pool most of the summer without a diaper. We had him in swim trunks and sometimes a full wetsuit type thing. Since it was just his personal kiddie pool, we did not bother with a diaper.

CougFan · January 2013

Thanks, this was really helpful! My other kids are August and May babies so we weren't in the pool with them until they were about 1 year old (and, being boys, board shorts don't differ much from regular shorts). Looks like this summer might be easier than I expected (I was imagining the whole summer being spent hiding out in our shade tent with her).

Looks like I have some shopping to do!!

Sparks in training! · January 2013

My DD had the most adorable two piece when she was 5 months old. I used any excuse to play dress up with her and would say go for it! Put her in those cute suits! Take tons of pictures and enjoy those memories.

ds1247 · January 2013

We used a reusable swim diaper (disposables were too small) and a swimsuit from the Children's Place. She wore a hat and I was her shade while in the water. Some will say that's too young. We were just very careful (as all mom's probably are), we never let her go under and we were sure the water was very warm (at that age they can't regulate body heat).

countrygrl5533 · January 2013

Have not tried but I have heard that the rubber pants that Gerber makes (you can still get them at Walmart as some still use them to cloth diaper) can put put over a regular disposable to make it sort of like a swim diaper. We aren't really swimmers so have never tried it.

526SadieSadie · January 2013

Olivia was 3-4 months old the first time we had her in the pool (it was an unusually hot, early summer here). I bought a 3 month size bathing suit from Kohls and it fit pretty much the whole summer.

Find swim diapers, they don't absorb liquid so they won't get crazy heavy and uncomfortable (it also means baby will be peeing in the pool because they don't hold urine in)

We have a float just for her that has a built in umbrella that kept her sun exposure down and she was always wearing a hat - she LOVED the pool.

Obviously, rinse the chlorine water off before you get her dressed again, but other than that you'll be fine using your own judgement on how long is too long in the sun/water.

lindslalala · January 2013

Honestly, I think we probably could have done without it since he was only in the pool for a few minutes at a time. But it's so cute to take pics of them in their first swimsuits! I would recommend a long sleeve rash guard to help with sun exposure. I got DS's at Target.

Irisheyes1247 · January 2013

I like 2-piece suits. It is just easier to get LO changed. I had a rash guard that was a little bit bit but fit, so that is what we used. And a hat. Instead of a swim diaper, we just used the shell to our bumGenius pocket diaper. The hat was the most important thing tho, I spent a lot of time holding DD2 (while chasing after DD1) and it really shaded her a lot.

MrsJetSet · January 2013

We had a regular one piece suit from target that fit great. Dd wore a disposable swim diap with a cloth swim diaper over it because the disposables tear easily but the reusable ones have to be cleaned if they are pooped in. Dd had a big hat and sunglasses. I got the matching terry hooded robe and that was a great purchase for getting her warm when we got out.

tardiswho10 · January 2013

My mom lives on the lake so she bought him all of these goodies so we would come visit. We had one of those one-piece long sleeve suits that is SPF 30 (i have no clue how they do that) plus one of those silly mullet-type hats that also had the SPF 30.

She also bought him an infant life vest. He actually used this towards the end of summer and loved floating around on his own without me having to hold him (still hovering right over him, though!).

Lanatir · January 2013

countrygrl5533:
Have not tried but I have heard that the rubber pants that Gerber makes (you can still get them at Walmart as some still use them to cloth diaper) can put put over a regular disposable to make it sort of like a swim diaper. We aren't really swimmers so have never tried it.

We actually did something similar to this and put a onesie on her instead of getting a swimsuit. She went to a pool (owned by a friend) and to the river twice.

gibbonlove · January 2013

I bought a used one (Carter's) and a new one (Target) for little man last year. We used them enough to make it worth it - and we live in Colorado (not too hot). We visited Texas and Iowa, and he was poolside then, and then he had swim lessons at six months (indoor). So yep, I'd say it was worth it to buy two suits.

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