what age can I take my baby swimming?

[Oscar22]

hi,
i have a 9 wk old daughter and would like to take her swimming - she has had her 1st injecctions a couple of days ago - is it ok to take them swimming at this young age???
x

[EllieKwithaHUGEbump]

check with the pool, most have no age restrictions but recommend you wait til 3 months. you'll find most health visitors will also say they advise waiting until after injections are finished but that the decision is yours.

i went before the last of the injections with my ds and had no problems, personally i don't see it's necessary to wait but it's a very personal decision.

[Pennies]

I waited until she'd had all of her first injections. GP said that most nasties are killed by the chemicals in the water anyway so there was no need to wait but what I foudn that despite this the other kids in the same swimming thing (splashbabies / little fishes / aquababes type thing) were a bit older i.e. 3 months + so I was glad I waited.

[cornflakegirl]

all the advice i read said yes. iirc, i took ds at a similar age.

[hana]

you can take them that young, but they get v v v cold and can't stay in the water more than 10 min. lots of faff for just a bit of fun in the water
I think I'd wait a bit

[cheritongirl]

you can take them as soon as you are happy - i took my ds at 8 weeks but to a hydrotherapy pool coz its much warmer. Also the government's health advice is now that it is safe to take babies even pre-immunisations - sorry i can't remember the website but it does explain why on there!

[NannyL]

little dippers youngest canditate has been just a few days old

dont know why they advise to wait until after jabs? given none of the illnesses you are vacciniateed are commonly found in the pool anyway!

also even babies that dont get jabs can go swimming!

I would take my ababy as soon as i felt like I was up to it tbh!

[paulaplumpbottom]

They can swim at any age. Maybe they have water baby classes in your area.

[Harra]

Hi Oscar,
You can take them at any age. The water should be 30 degrees until they are 6 months. I took my ds at 3 and 1/2 months (not as organised as you) weekly - did the little dippers course and through that really hot July last year every day which was so refreshing for him. Don't swim for more that 1/2 hour before they are 6 months. It is a bit of a faff - but my ds now 1 is so confident in the water and seems to really enjoy it. Don't think that it will make them a better swimmer but imho it gets them used to the enviroment etc.
Good luck.

[MissGolightly]

I took mine at about 10 weeks and he loved it - our pool is quite warm though.

I was told by the doctor that there was no need to wait until after immunisations; he said the old advice about waiting was do with a risk from the kind of polio vaccine used at that time, but the modern version is different and safe.

[LittleB]

I took dd at 7 weeks, I was told no need to wait but waited until she'd had her 6 week check and checked the pool was warm enough. I went to pre and post aqua natal, so was able to take her in after my swim, she watched me from her car seat while I swam first. I only took her in for a few minutes at first. We started baby classes at 7 months, she's now 20 months and loves swimming, doesn't mind being dunked underwater, will swim a length (10metres) on her own in her float suit. I don't really enjoy swimming but love doing this with her, we have so much fun together and go at least once a week. It also makes her really easy to bath as she doesn't mind getting her face wet! Have fun!

[TLV]

look up water babies, you can take young babies as they have some of the classes in special pools (ie quite warm), don't do what i did tho and waited till dd was 1yr old, we did 3 or 4 classes and she screamed to the point of being sick and has never been in the pool since! I prefered doing this to going to a local swimming pool alone and it does cost abit but its really worth it as you are with a qualified instructor and its nice to get to know the other mums/dads.

[malaleche]

Don't want to pour cold water on things but after reading what chlorine does to children under 2 I decided to wait. I was worried that when she finally went in the water she'd be scared. In the end she went swimming in a big pool with her cousin, (who had had lessons and so was happy in the water and a positive influence), for the first time when she was 22 mths. She loved it...

[LieselVentouse]

I took her right after her injections, I did ask the Doc and she said it was okay.

[LittleB]

You can check chlorine levels with your pool. Our local pool is a community pool, not run for profit - and they keep the chlorine levels at a minimum and keep the little pool nice and warm. My HV said take dd to this one, but not the other nearby one which was cooler and had higher chlorine levels so it might be worth looking around.