LO in Pool question

[triony]

Hey guys,

I saw that some of you had already taken your little ones to the pool. How do you do that?!? I'd LOVE to go, but I'm thinking about the nasty chemicals in the water, in sunscreen and of course, water safety.

Do you do full clothing on the LO and a hat? Do you have sunscreen you trust? Do they wear a life vest or something? I don't have a water friendly baby carrier, though I did just get a linen ring sling from sleeping baby.

DH is not a huge fan of me taking the little guy to the public pool, but he's not the one home alone with him all day in an area where it's gotten impossible to go outside due to the mosquitoes and the HEAT/HUMIDITY. Ugh.

Help!

[rhiOrion]

I've only taken her in an indoor pool so far, so no sun worries. The chemicals bother me a little, but I just rinse her off really well once we get home. I use a solarveil ring sling to keep her snuggled up to me.

[ann_of_loxley]

Our pool is indoor - so all I had to think about was making sure I brought him an extra towel and swim nappy! lol We have a really cute reusable swim nappy - it looked so cute on him! hehe

A bit more organisation as well - cause I took my 4 year old with me. He just likes to play in the shallow end though where he can stand up so I only have to stay near him. Just had to make sure I had everything in our swim bag! We tend to go with our swim suit under our clothes so all the fiddling is after the swim instead!

I also have a solarveil ring sling that I use - which is more handy for getting in and out (our pool doesn't have steps in and out...it has just a ladder thing!). I wouldn't even bother with it if I didn't have my son because then I could do it with no water sling tbh! But its handy with him around as well!

I also worry about the chemicals - but I wash him really well with clean plain water - oh and I covered him in olive oil before we went (and after). Maybe that blocks some nasties on his skin? lol It keeps his skin lovely and soft anyhow! hehe

My actualy only real conern was him getting tired before swim time was up (cause when he is tired - thats it...life on hold until he is snuggled asleep on me! lol) - and he did...about 10 minutes before. DS1 was real great about that though and Hamish didn't cry at all in the change room area! (cause those areas always sound like baby torture zones! lol). We all got dried, dressed, found a bench - all had our lunch (DS1 handing me sandwiches whilst Hamish fed! hehe) and then Hamish went back into the wrap for a nice long sleep! He was only 7 weeks old!

Will deff do it again - DS1 and I used to go every week to the pool!

[Knitting Mama]

I just ordered an Imse Vimse swim diaper for Cecilia, and I can't wait to use it! Most days are over 102 now, so it's well worth it. As far as sunscreen goes, we're planning on going when the sun is down but it's not dark yet, around 6:30-7:00 here. My parents' townhouse complex has a pool and that's what we use. I will also oil her up beforehand and wash her well with clear water after!

[sew_crafty_girl]

I'm not going to feel comfortable taking anna until she has better head control. I'm looking to it as we love to do cheap swim sundays at our indoor pool.

For outdoors, I bought her one of those full body sun suits which is a new concept for me. Never had those with my first kids.

[GreenTeaGinger61]

I've had all my kids in the pool fairly early and so far (knock on wood) no problems.

We do use sunscreen not just at the pool but when we go out. The sun here is brutal. I use Burt's Bees natural for her. She has a swim shirt and a hat which we wear in the pool but I like to be extra safe with her. We also make sure we're in the shade when not in the pool. Once done, we always take a shower, and I do wash her with natural soap.

[Knitting Mama]

The only reason I haven't put sunscreen on her-- and I do have all natural stuff-- is because everything seems to say not to do it under 6 months. Does anyone know why, and if the sunscreen being something pure and gentle makes the difference? The sun is brutal here too, so I basically just keep Cecilia out of it, except around 5 minutes a day so she gets some vitamin D; we don't do vitamin drops, I think they're silly unless there's a real reason for it. I was an EBF kid and didn't end up with any deficiencies!

[GreenTeaGinger61]

I had a pedi. tell me that the sunscreen was fine...that mostly the idea was to discourage people from bringing babies out into the sun. Don't know if it's true but I really have no choice about it. I can't have the three older kids in the house all the time! I avoid it as much as possible though.

[rhiOrion]

A friend had a ped basically say sunscreen was fine, but to avoid it on places where it wasn't needed (ie, don't use it on the face if you can cover the face with a hat)

[snoopy5386]

We haven't done it yet, but DD2 will be in the water soon - with a 4 yo the pool will be impossible to avoid this summer. We have a full body UV suit and a floppy hat. I'm not against using sunscreen (California Baby) if neccessary - a bit of sunscreen is better than a sunburn IMO. We'll try to stick to the shade as much as possible bit I know it is not realistic. I'm also going to order a Solarweave connecta carrier.
The chlorine doesn't concern me - we'll bathe afterwards.

[rhiOrion]

took L in the outdoor pool today. i put her in an actual bathing siut (plus swim dipe, of course) and a hat, and then tucked her into the solarveil ring sling. nothin was exposed to the sun. she sat there awake and looking around for a bit, then conked out. gave her a bath when we got home.

[GreenTeaGinger61]

We're going to the Y today. I'm going to put sunscreen on her legs and that's it. She'll have her swimsuit and her hat. I'm curious to see how she does. It's so hot here that it's utterly unpleasant even in the pool.

Last night we did an evening swim and she LOVED that. I might just stick to the evening swims until it cools off a bit here.

[rhiOrion]

Yeah, GTG, we went swimming at 9 am and it was still hot! But the water was cool and the pool has cabana things up and our group claimed one, so we had some shade.

Heat index is currently 101 and dew point is 70 (as the Arizona contingent laughs at us).

[ivymae]

Infants are born with very little melanin (even black babies are sometimes born "white", and then get darker over the course of a year) so avoiding the sun as much as possible is really ideal. If you do use sunscreen (and we do) read the ingredients and choose a zinc or titanium based cream. Try not to rub it on their hands (which end up in their mouths). The chemical sunscreens can be really hard on baby skin, and since they are so tiny, any toxin should be avoided when possible. The EWG's sunscreen list is pretty amazing: http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by rhiOrion

Yeah, GTG, we went swimming at 9 am and it was still hot! But the water was cool and the pool has cabana things up and our group claimed one, so we had some shade.

Heat index is currently 101 and dew point is 70 (as the Arizona contingent laughs at us).

Oh, no, I'll take a dry 107 (which is what it is here right now) over a humid anything over 90, thank you very much! The dryness makes a huge difference!

[ann_of_loxley]

It gets hot here - but nothing as hot as there! lol
I don't think we ever get a dry heat though. Its pretty green and wet here most of the year so there is plenty of moisture always in the air.

My perfect summer weather would be anything from 15-25 degrees ...with a cool breeze towards the higher end. Sometimes it gets up to 35 here - and thats a terribly hot day...no one can function! lol

Ds1 can not handle the heat either. If it gets around 25 or above - he ends up vomiting. He gets thats from Daddy's side of the family!

[triony]

Ok, we took the plunge! (Pun intended!) Borrowed swim trunks, swim diapers and baby sunscreen from a friend and went to the pool with said friend!
It was great. I took my Sleeping baby linen ring sling in the pool (not sure if that is ok, but I did it) and he fell asleep! Woo hoo!

Now - anyone tell me if it is COMPLETELY idiotic to think about taking an infant river tubing? We go every summer and I've been bummed that I can't go this year. But now I'm thinking... maybe we can?

What do you guys think?

[rhiOrion]

Hmm. It depends on the river. But I've sort of fallen out of tubes before, or gotten my butt stuck on rocks and had to work hard to get unstuck. I'm not sure how I'd do that with an infant. At the very least I think i'd wait until head control was really really good, so that you could put your kid in odd positions and not worry about it. I also don't know how I'd steer the tube with a baby.

It's hard enough with a case of beer in a cooler.

[ivymae]

No way would i take baby in water i am not standing still in, without a life jacket. I've been told before that I'm a bit overcautious about this, so I really don't know what the general consensus is, but it seems really dangerous to me. if you tip out of the tube (which I've stupidly done), your chest (and baby) is the first and last thing in the water as you try to right yourself. Then if you are not in a space you can get out of the river and take baby out of the sling to calm them/make sure they didn't aspirate water, then you could be in a really difficult position. Noooo way.

[MaterPrimaePuellae]

Originally Posted by ivymae

No way would i take baby in water i am not standing still in, without a life jacket. I've been told before that I'm a bit overcautious about this, so I really don't know what the general consensus is, but it seems really dangerous to me. if you tip out of the tube (which I've stupidly done), your chest (and baby) is the first and last thing in the water as you try to right yourself. Then if you are not in a space you can get out of the river and take baby out of the sling to calm them/make sure they didn't aspirate water, then you could be in a really difficult position. Noooo way.

Yeah, I totally agree.