any tips for babies first swimming trip?

TRISHKA

Hi
Will be bringing my LO for her first swim this Friday, have signed us up for an 8 week swimbaby class. She will be 5 and a half months old. So I am looking forward to it but i'm kinda dreading the whole getting her changed both before and after the swim and was looking for any tips that would make the whole experienece better for both of us, what extra stuff should I bring? how do you manage to shower both yourself and a slippery baby:)any tips would be brill, thanks a million.

Cereal Number

Good stuff bring armbands at the very least!

TRISHKA

wow would you bring armbands? I would have thought I would have a hold of her 100% of the time?

Suucee

Bring clothes easy to change in and out of. For shower i bring 1 of the bath seats and put baby in it while i wash my hair and keep pouring water over her to keep her warm then wash hers. (Lucky enough the staff put the seat in store room so i dont have to keep bringing it. ) i then dry myself off wrap myself in towel the wrap baby and head to changing area. Where i go there is a baby changing area which is a huge help but the pool i used to go just had cubicles so was a bit more difficult. I give her something to play with (to distract her ) while i dress her . I use baby powder to dry her quicker. Then i pop her into play pen (or pram) with toy while i get dressed. I then dry her hair (with hair drier, she has alot of hair and dont wantto bring her out with a wet head).And pop her into her pram with her beaker and a liga while i dry mine. Make sure u bring something for baby to eat or a bottle as they really do work up an appetite. My lo is 10 months and ive been bringinh her since 3 months so shes well used to it. But at 5 months i wouldnt be to concerned about havin a proper shower or anything you can do that when i get home. Baby will probably be tired and hungry . See how things go. You will see what is best for you after a few sessions. The first few times we went baby roared when we got out. She was cold, tired and hungry so being fast is the key. Good luck. Im sure you'l have a ball.

Ps . I dont bother with arm bands or a ring. I brought a baby ring a few times but found she was cold as half of her body was out of the water.
I also use a neoprene wetsuit. Bought on ebay (based in ireland so delivered in about 2 days) has velcro fastening on shoulders, side and between the legs so u can just open nd take it straight off. Keeps baby warmer and so much easier to remove

Neyite

Have a read of this thread.

mary1978

TRISHKA wrote: »

Hi
Will be bringing my LO for her first swim this Friday, have signed us up for an 8 week swimbaby class. She will be 5 and a half months old. So I am looking forward to it but i'm kinda dreading the whole getting her changed both before and after the swim and was looking for any tips that would make the whole experienece better for both of us, what extra stuff should I bring? how do you manage to shower both yourself and a slippery baby:)any tips would be brill, thanks a million.

Hi

Have been swimming with our LO since he was 6 weeks old. He LOVES it.

Armbands aren't needed!

Here's my system which works for us:
- Feed about an hour before hand (not any closer if possible)
- I carry all our stuff in one of those Tesco shopping bags (the plastic ones which can get wet inside).
- We bring him into the changing room in his carseat. I have my togs on under my clothes already as it just makes it all easier. I take my clothes off, flip flops on and ready to go. You prob need a swimhat for yourself depending on pool rules.
- I then get my LO changed:
Lie on chnaging mat and towel.
Put on his little swimmers nappy then his neoprene swim nappy and his little body warma wrap (baby wetsuit).
Leave most of the stuff in changing room. Just bring his towel out to poolside.

- enjoy the swim! our classes are 30 min .

- on getting out, back to changing room. i skip the shower as by this stage we are often a bit chilly (at least i am), and he is getting tired so just want to be quick.
dress him first and into the carseat, then me as quick as i can and we head off home. chck all the weststuff into the supermarket bag and sort it out later. nowadays he can wait till we get home for a feed but when we first started i would need to feed him before we left...

If you do want to shower, just hold your LO like a rugby ball hold or hugging with him facing you. Our LO doesn't mind the water / spray in his face but I know some babies will give out. No soap cos they do get really slippery with it.

Best of luck. i hope you enjoy it.

TRISHKA

These are exactly the tips I was looking for, thanks a million, yes I think it is going to have to be a military operation but so want her to enjoy swimming so NEED to ensure the first few classes go as smoothly as possible that she enjoys them. I got one of those baby wetsuits off amazon a few weeks ago so hoping this will keep her a bit warmer and the pool assure me that the baby pool is minimum 30deg, the baby powder a good idea and the tesco bag, thanks again.

Neyite

The baby wetsuits from amazon are brilliant.

Nicky987

I can't wait to bring, my LO swimming. She's five weeks at monsoon was gonna wait till 8 weeks, anyone know where there are classes in Dublin Meath or Louth?

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Nicky987 wrote: »

I can't wait to bring, my LO swimming. She's five weeks at monsoon was gonna wait till 8 weeks, anyone know where there are classes in Dublin Meath or Louth?

5 weeks is very young.
we were recommended to not go swimming before 3 months.
the baby will need to have had her vaccinations.
you should look places with 31C water temperature and stay in no more than 15 minutes.

pwurple

Ivory Numerous Skeleton wrote: »

5 weeks is very young.
we were recommended to not go swimming before 3 months.
the baby will need to have had her vaccinations.
you should look places with 31C water temperature and stay in no more than 15 minutes.

We stayed about 30 mins in the water. She loved it, but was very hungry and very sleepy afterwards. Finding a warm pool is a good idea.

Getting changed is the trickiest part. Get them dressed first, then yourself is what I do, so they don't get cold.

We brought ours after 8 weeks. They get vaccinations on a schedule up to 13 months, and then again at school age. Which vaccines are you waiting for?
http://www.immunisation.ie/en/EXTRADOWNLOADS/Text_15414_en.html

xzanti

Rub a little bit of Vaseline on your baby's cheeks before getting in, the chlorine can irritate their skin a bit..

TRISHKA

Nicky987 I am bringing my LO to Aura in Dundalk, not sure if that close enough for you, its a swimbaby class, 30 minutes and they start this week either wednesday or friday mornings.

mary1978

waterbabies.ie are great. highly recommend them.

Oral Slang

I've been bringing my little one from 2 months onwards - as soon as she got her first 6 in 1 and have been bringing her ever since (she's nearly 17 months now). When she was very young my other half used to come with us & watch from the viewing window & as soon as we were getting out, used to come through and change her for me, while I got changed. As she got a bit older, I was able to start going alone. There's 1 changing room with a baby changer in it, which was handy when I managed to nab it. Otherwise I used to go into the womens group changing room, quickly dry off while she's wrapped in a towel, so I wasn't dripping on her. Then I'd change her & lie her in the corner while I changed myself. My pool allows you to bring in the buggy too, so that's an option - an odd time I used to leave the carseat on it & put her in there while I was getting changed. There's a toddler seat in the group changing room which was handy when she was a bit bigger. I never went to a heated pool - just the baby swimming lessons in my local pool - €64 for 8 lessons. Always had her in a wetsuit from Amazon or Ebay, definitely a must. All the babies that aren't in them are frozen. Bring food / bottle for baby, usually starving afterwards.

dub_skav

We have an 11 month old and I've been bringing her swimming weekly for about 2 months now.

My routine is to change her at home into her swimming nappy and swimsuit and cover with a furry (warm) babygro / sleepsuit.
I wear a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie with crocs on my feet. I bring 3 towels; 1 for her, 1 for me and 1 for the floor.
I bring her towel to the poolside, so when we're done I wrap her in that and put her on floor of cubicle (on one of the towels) while I quickly dry and dress.
Then I change her nappy and put on a vest / babygro again.

I don't bother with a shower there, you can't control temp or flow and I just think it's too much hassle, so bath her at home.
I don't bring a flotation aid or wetsuit. Tried the wetsuit first time and I don't think she liked it.

I haven't done any classes either, just getting her used to the pool and happy with the surroundings on my own. She is now kicking her legs and arms. She is also happy to have her face and head in the water briefly.
So, I suppose I am taking it slow and just getting her happy in the water.

She really enjoys it and it's nice to have some daddy daughter time with her.

Basically keep stress to a minimum so that you both enjoy it

Oral Slang

dub_skav wrote: »

My routine is to change her at home into her swimming nappy and swimsuit and cover with a furry (warm) babygro / sleepsuit.

Wow, you're braver than me putting her in a swim nappy on before you leave the house. I've had times when walking from the changing room to the pool when my little one has wee'd on me.

pwurple

Oral Slang wrote: »

Wow, you're braver than me putting her in a swim nappy on before you leave the house. I've had times when walking from the changing room to the pool when my little one has wee'd on me.

Ditto! The swim nappies aren't water absorbant at all.

Gee_G

Suucee wrote: »

Bring clothes easy to change in and out of. For shower i bring 1 of the bath seats and put baby in it while i wash my hair and keep pouring water over her to keep her warm then wash hers. (Lucky enough the staff put the seat in store room so i dont have to keep bringing it. ) i then dry myself off wrap myself in towel the wrap baby and head to changing area. Where i go there is a baby changing area which is a huge help but the pool i used to go just had cubicles so was a bit more difficult. I give her something to play with (to distract her ) while i dress her . I use baby powder to dry her quicker. Then i pop her into play pen (or pram) with toy while i get dressed. I then dry her hair (with hair drier, she has alot of hair and dont wantto bring her out with a wet head).And pop her into her pram with her beaker and a liga while i dry mine. Make sure u bring something for baby to eat or a bottle as they really do work up an appetite. My lo is 10 months and ive been bringinh her since 3 months so shes well used to it. But at 5 months i wouldnt be to concerned about havin a proper shower or anything you can do that when i get home. Baby will probably be tired and hungry . See how things go. You will see what is best for you after a few sessions. The first few times we went baby roared when we got out. She was cold, tired and hungry so being fast is the key. Good luck. Im sure you'l have a ball.

Ps . I dont bother with arm bands or a ring. I brought a baby ring a few times but found she was cold as half of her body was out of the water.
I also use a neoprene wetsuit. Bought on ebay (based in ireland so delivered in about 2 days) has velcro fastening on shoulders, side and between the legs so u can just open nd take it straight off. Keeps baby warmer and so much easier to remove

Hi, just a qUestion re the wetsuit you got on ebay. Is there any particular brand or supplier you'd recommend? Its just some of them are like €7 and some 25.obviously I don't care about price but would like the best.
Also, is it just swimming nappy you put under it? No swimsuit?

Neyite

Gee_G wrote: »

Hi, just a qUestion re the wetsuit you got on ebay. Is there any particular brand or supplier you'd recommend? Its just some of them are like €7 and some 25.obviously I don't care about price but would like the best.
Also, is it just swimming nappy you put under it? No swimsuit?

There seem to be 2 types, the nylon ones that are more for sun protection, and the neoprene ones which are thicker and would be warmer as they are the same stuff scuba suits are made from.

I got the Splash About Mini-Wetsuit and was very pleased with it. Its getting too small now so I'll be getting the next size up. I put the disposable swim nappy on underneath and do all that in the house, covered by a fleecy babygro just before we leave for the pool.

Afterwards the babygro is much easier than wrestling a wriggling hungry tired child into proper clothes.

Oooh! just saw this. Very tempted to get it!

Dont bother with the suits with built in floats - I got one and never used it. The neoprene suit makes them a tad more buoyant along with the water, and you wont be letting go of them anyway.

Gee_G

Neyite wrote: »

There seem to be 2 types, the nylon ones that are more for sun protection, and the neoprene ones which are thicker and would be warmer as they are the same stuff scuba suits are made from.

I got the Splash About Mini-Wetsuit and was very pleased with it. Its getting too small now so I'll be getting the next size up. I put the disposable swim nappy on underneath and do all that in the house, covered by a fleecy babygro just before we leave for the pool.

Afterwards the babygro is much easier than wrestling a wriggling hungry tired child into proper clothes.

Oooh! just saw this. Very tempted to get it!

Dont bother with the suits with built in floats - I got one and never used it. The neoprene suit makes them a tad more buoyant along with the water, and you wont be letting go of them anyway.

Thanks for that! Want to get one soon!
I shouldn't have looked at that link, its so bloody cute and now I want one!

Suucee

Gee_G wrote: »

Hi, just a qUestion re the wetsuit you got on ebay. Is there any particular brand or supplier you'd recommend? Its just some of them are like €7 and some 25.obviously I don't care about price but would like the best.
Also, is it just swimming nappy you put under it? No swimsuit?

I got this one http://www.ebay.ie/itm/TWF-Tots-Baby-Wrap-Wetsuit-/230879376778?pt=UK_SportingGoods_Wetsuits_WatersportsClothing_CA&var=&hash=item35c17bb58a
it has velcro fastening on both shoulders, down 1 side and between the legs so its so easy to get off. And like neyite i just have the swim nappy under.
Neyite that little suit is so cute. Has me tempted now too.

Neyite

Suucee wrote: »

I got this one http://www.ebay.ie/itm/TWF-Tots-Baby-Wrap-Wetsuit-/230879376778?pt=UK_SportingGoods_Wetsuits_WatersportsClothing_CA&var=&hash=item35c17bb58a
it has velcro fastening on both shoulders, down 1 side and between the legs so its so easy to get off. And like neyite i just have the swim nappy under.
Neyite that little suit is so cute. Has me tempted now too.

I had the little navy one for him but I'm ordering the one with the little fishies on it now. squeee!!!

dub_skav

Oral Slang wrote: »

Wow, you're braver than me putting her in a swim nappy on before you leave the house. I've had times when walking from the changing room to the pool when my little one has wee'd on me.

I suppose I figure what's the worst that could happen - a slightly damp babygro before I put her into a pool full of water anyway.

I must just like living on the edge :cool:

mary1978

i think the wrap type neoprene baby wetsuits are a bit wamer... i have tried both types, and prefer the wrap ones as my baby seemed so much warmer in it (when you take it off his tummy is lovely and warm), and it is also really easy to get in and out of as there are no sleeves etc. (when compared to the typee that Neyite has got...)
Although it might just depend on how water tight you can get it. the westuit should be really snug as the idea is it holds water inside the suit against the babies skin and shouldn't allow water to wash in and out, so allowing the water inside to warm up...

this is the one i have:
http://www.waterbabies.ie/products.php#Anchor_Baby_Wetsuit
or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Konfidence-Babywarma-Wetsuit-Blue-months/dp/B000NTEQD0/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1362652326&sr=1-1


think the towelling outfit looks great. i want one too!

Neyite

My arms get quite cold that's why I get the one with the sleeves for the baby. It actually isn't hard to put it on at all.

Nicky987

I'm guessing you don't put a swimsuit on underneath as well or do u?

Neyite

Nicky987 wrote: »

I'm guessing you don't put a swimsuit on underneath as well or do u?

No, just the paper swim nappy.

wolfpawnat

If they cry at first, don't abandon it. My little fella cried at first, now he gets excited when he see's me moving the swimming bag!