Swimming for the first time

[clairebear3]

DD will be one at the end of April and we're thinking of taking her swimming for the first time in March/April.  Here they changed the rules again and recommend swimming from +1yr because of the chlorine.

She loves going in the bath and being out and about so I hope she is going to like it.  There are a couple of pools close by with baby pools and we are thinking of going mid week so it won't be too busy, swimming pools get so noisy and echoing when they're busy.

Does anyone have any tips for the first time?  What's kind of the maximum time we should be in the pool for?  Would it be handy to get one of those rings with a seat or is it better just to hold her?

Thx x

[frioct3]

I took my 8 month old for the first time last week. We took it pretty slow and sat on the deck for 5 or 10 minutes before going in the water so he could look around and get use to the sounds and smells. Once we were in the water he lasted about 15 minutes before giving me some signals that he had enough. Overall I think it went well, most people I talked to said they went a few times before their baby really seemed to like it. We also went midday, there was max 6 kids in the pool, I definitely recommend going when it isn't too busy.

[Peony]

My kids always hated the little ring floats for baby. They vastly preferred to be held close to mom. I use them often so I know some babies like them, just not mine apparently!

[element2012]

I would think most kiddos, especially their first time, would probably rather be held than put in a floating ring. I second giving your DD a bit of time to warm up to it.  My DD LOVES swimming, she will stay in the pool an hour if I let her.  I think your DD will let you know when she's had enough.  I usually take my DD to the stairs where she can submerge slowly, although with mine I think I could just throw her in there and she would have a blast! Have fun!

[pennywhistle]

I've been taking my son swimming at the local Y for 2 months - he's now 5 months old.  We're in the pool 20-30 minutes - I always take him out the second he starts acting fussy or tired.  I hold him under the armpits, so he's facing me, belly-down, and pull him around (I move backwards) for awhile.  Then I'll have him float on his back, with one hand under his head and the other under his lower back.  We don't use any flotation devices, although sometimes I'll put him on a kickboard (lying on his stomach on it) and hold that under my arm and walk around.

I basically just bounce around in the water with him until he looks bored!  He loves it - it's especially fun to use the showers in the locker room!  Pay attention to the pool temperature - they can get chilly.  I have this swimsuit/outfit: http://www.diapers.com/p/i-play-onepiece-striped-sunsuit-87565 (with this swim diaper underneath: http://www.diapers.com/p/i-play-ultimate-swim-diaper-with-snaps-87493), which keeps him a little warmer.

[clairebear3]

Thanks for the replies.

Ooh I hadn't actually thought of putting her in anything but a swim diaper... We have found a pool that has a baby pool, everything is inside, it's kind of sub-tropic like a centre parcs pool.

I'm curious to see how one of those diapers holds up.  It's a good idea about just hanging around first and letting her get a feel for the place though.  She loves to be out but I really want this to go as smoothly as possible.  So we will def hang around a bit before we take the big dip!
 

[eloise24]

Have fun with her!  And I second (and third) the idea to just hold baby at first.  Both my kids are huge swimmers now (who isn't in FL, right?) but wanted to just be held for a while. Which is tiring after a while, but so worth it. 

[Zirconia]

We started parent-child swim classes when DD was six months, she she loved it!  I second some of the advice above, especially the quiet/empty pool if she seems scared.  I think my DD was more startled by the echoing noise and people than the water.  Some of the activities they led us through included:

- Hold baby on your hip and bob up and down, getting wetter and wetter until you're down to your chins in the water.

- Hold baby facing you, at arm's length, on her belly, with your hands under her chest and her chin resting on the heels of your hands.  Pull her around, and practice blowing bubbles and kicking.

- Hold baby on your shoulder in "burping position" with her legs floating out behind her and move around.  This is a good one if baby is timid.

- Back floating, with your hand under her neck, supporting her body as much as she needs but helping her experience floating.  (My DD wanted to put her legs straight in the air so this never worked for us.)  :)

- Getting in and out:  Helping baby go through the motions of sitting on the side of the pool, twisting around, putting her hands down, and lowering herself into the water.  Then approach the side, put her hands on the side, and practice pulling up and twisting around to sit down.

Mostly, just have fun!  Splash, kick, float, and cuddle.  Build trust, rather than trying to get her to swim or DO anything in particular.  There were babies in the class who were terrified, and the more the parents/teacher tried to distract them with an activity or involve them in the class, the worse it got.  Don't worry if she wants to cling to you, just enjoy the water together.  They also make water-safe mesh baby slings!

[clairebear3]

We went this afternoon and Astrid luuuurved it!

The pool we went to is at a small holiday park and being Friday afternoon during school time we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  The kids pools have giant gnomes in it and things that squirt out water etc.  The baby pool was only about a foot deep and although they said the water was 32c it felt colder because we were never totally submerged so me moved up a pool where it was about 3ft deep.  Then she could really float and kick.  It turns out with her it's the wilder the better.  >She loved it when DH 'whooshed' her round in circles and up and down the pool and when he came down the slide and surprised her.  I think she enjoyed the showering and changing and seeing other people just as much as the swimming really.

She had a swim suit and swimming diaper on but the diaper was soaked through when I took it off so I'm not sure what really makes them different to any other sposie.

One thing that was difficult was planning when to go, between two naps and 6 meals a day it was tricky, it's a 20min drive and by the time you get ready before and after I felt like we were always rushing.  Next time I am going to take her milk and sandwich with us so that we can relax in the cafe and watch the big kids after-wards.

We had so much fun and it won't be long before we go again!

Thanks for all your tips!

[Zirconia]

Yay! So glad you all had fun! She sounds like a regular little water bug!