STM swimming

netsirk2013 · March 2014

Feel free to laugh but honestly I don't know. And this could be more of a personal preference thing too.

How soon can you bring the baby swimming? Or is there no real set time frame?

katnipeverclean · March 2014

Well you can't put sunscreen on them until they are 6 mos old so you have to be super careful about too much sun. We took DD to Florida when she was about 12 weeks old and we only took her to the beach before 11 am or after 3 pm and then she was always in the shade unless it was after 5pm (ish).

We will probably take this LO to the lake around 4 weeks but someone will have to be under the awning of the boat with him/her the whole time.

AKbadwolf · March 2014

We will go Mid August (no matter how old this kid is anywhere form 6 weeks to 2 months). The recommendation is more for you to wait since you will be healing still than for LO to wait. Just make sure they stay warm enough (some pools are really cold and hypothermia can be a concern since they cant regulate temperatures well yet) and that baby doesn't breath the pool water. I also wouldn't want LO sucking on their fists or anything till it they had been washed after swimming.

AKB090609 · March 2014

DH took DD after her umbilical stump fell off around 10 days old, I was not ready because of my c-section scar. They were only in the water for a few minutes. This baby will be going probably around the same time, but that will depend on how I'm feeling as well. We will all be in the lake by mid August.

zellatrix · March 2014

I put sunscreen on my first pretty early at like 8 weeks because we went to the beach and didn't have enough shelter. He basically laid on a towel in my shadow because my mom took us to her beach and didn't bring an umbrella. It was a stressful trip to say the least. Anyway, I used the baby version... I figured it was better than a sunburn. Otherwise, if you can keep them in some kind of shade, you could take them pretty early. Hard to find shade, though, and hold them. Some floats have shades, but I doubt a young baby would like to be in the water and not be held.

There are some waterproof baby carriers... that would be something to look into.

zellatrix · March 2014

Here is an option for a waterproof baby carrier. I wouldn't use it outside of the water because it is a hip dangler and it looks like it is for older babies. https://www.amazon.com/Roo-Water-Carrier-Shower-Beach/dp/B007RIYPO0

I did find this thread with a good looking wrap: https://community.babycenter.com/post/a4411315/waterproof_baby_carrier_for_beach

ETA: Another wrap: https://www.amazon.com/Beachfront-Baby-Water-Wrap-Carrier/dp/B007SR3B9U/ref=pd_cp_ba_0

AKbadwolf · March 2014

zarkarella said:

I put sunscreen on my first pretty early at like 8 weeks because we went to the beach and didn't have enough shelter. He basically laid on a towel in my shadow because my mom took us to her beach and didn't bring an umbrella. It was a stressful trip to say the least. Anyway, I used the baby version... I figured it was better than a sunburn. Otherwise, if you can keep them in some kind of shade, you could take them pretty early. Hard to find shade, though, and hold them. Some floats have shades, but I doubt a young baby would like to be in the water and not be held.

There are some waterproof baby carriers... that would be something to look into.

Lol. Unless we are out of state all the places we would go are indoors. Sun isn't a worry for me.

unaveragejane · March 2014

I waited until DS was 3 months old before he went in the pool. I was worried about the chlorine drying out his skin (it did) and sun exposure. It was also super hot, and my pediatrician's nurse fussed at me later for risking overheating DS, even though most of the time on a screened, shaded porch with ceiling fan. She said that letting him spend more than a few minutes anywhere that it's over 80 degrees F is a risk. After that we did like PP said and tried to avoid being out in the hottest parts of the day.

reils500 · March 2014

I tried to bring DS into an outdoor pool when he was 4 months. He hated it & I didn't do more than dipping his toes in. He did better at the reservoir at 5 months which has warm water, but still it was just dipping his feet.

flmomof4 · March 2014

unaveragejane said:

I waited until DS was 3 months old before he went in the pool. I was worried about the chlorine drying out his skin (it did) and sun exposure. It was also super hot, and my pediatrician's nurse fussed at me later for risking overheating DS, even though most of the time on a screened, shaded porch with ceiling fan. She said that letting him spend more than a few minutes anywhere that it's over 80 degrees F is a risk. After that we did like PP said and tried to avoid being out in the hottest parts of the day.

My dad and his 3 siblings grew up in Florida in an un-air conditioned house. Pretty sure it was routinely above 80 degrees and they all turned out fine. I know DD will likely want to swim this summer, but we'll probably be keeping the baby out of the pool and in the shade since she'll be so tiny. We took DD swimming for the first time when she was about 6 months.

lindslalala · March 2014

DS was 3 or 4 months his first time in the pool. It was just for a few minutes since he hated it and screamed like crazy and we also didn't want him exposed to the sun too much since he couldn't have sunscreen.

Kohler2009 · March 2014

We started swim lessons (indoors) with DS when he was 6 months. He was outdoors in a pool/ocean at 7 months.

netsirk2013 · March 2014

Thank you ladies. A lot of good points brought up!

allardr · March 2014

I asked doctor this last time he said there really was no time frame after stump falls off, just when you're comfortable. We did 5 months.

Unknown · March 2014

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July15Mama · March 2014

I was wonder the same thing!

zellatrix · March 2014

Mine will be here around the end of July and DS6 starts school a week later. Since I am having a Csection and need at least a few weeks to heal before getting in a pool, I doubt this LO will go swimming until next summer.

kmawb · March 2014

My DD had her first introduction to swimming at around 4 months old (at an indoor pool since it was the middle of February in Canada - no polar bear swims for us). She had her first swimming "lesson" at 6 months, also at an indoor pool, and her first swim in a lake/river setting at 8 months old. Since this baby will be born in July (as opposed to October for DD) and we take my DD swimming just about every week (indoor in the winter, outdoor once the weather is nice enough) he'll probably be in the water once his umbilical stump falls off.

Huahine · March 2014

DS1 was 11 weeks old when we took him on a trip to Florida to see his grandmother. He stood (as we held him) on the top step of her pool, but the cool water wasn't really attractive to him.

At 5 months once it warmed up here in RI/MA, he was more interested in the water, but all of our swimming that summer was in the ocean and the wave action was a little overwhelming.

Fast forward a year, and at 18 months he was much more adventurous at the beach this summer.

pfeilele · March 2014

It depends on the amount of chlorine used. In high school, all of us on swim team had asthma or some sort of breathing difficulty because of the ridiculous amounts they used in our pool. I still have a hard time being around it because of that. That being said, I'll definitely be taking this July baby to an outdoor salt water pool as soon as I can

mrsbrehmerbb2 · March 2014

I think a lot is personal preference and what you're comfortable with. the sunscreen thing was an issue for me, we went to Hawaii when ds was 6weeks old so I kept him out of the sun the whole time and didn't take him swimming. This time since dd is due in July I think i'll wait until the following summer to take her swimming

emeraldJ17 · March 2014

I didn't read all the comments so sorry if this is repetitive. Our pediatrician said they used to have the 6 month guidline for sunscreen but the positives of the screen way outweighs the potential of sunburn. The concern to swim too early is that babies don't regulate their temperatures very well so if they are in a cold pool for too long it could be bad.

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