Swimming with Baby?

Lots of "waterbabies" and you will be OK. I wouldn't stay out to long if it's really HOT. You can take the baby in the pool, it's OK.

I just took my 3 month old to a swimming pool this last weekend and he loved it! We took him to a lake the week before and he liked that, too. My dermatologist says the benefits of sunscreen outweigh the risks, of which they don't know what risks there may be due to lack of research. To avoid the sunscreen issue, we put a swim top on him and tucked it into the swim trunks we put over the swim diaper. It was perfect. Since the water is cooler than bath water, they don't mind having the shirt on in the water. We also put a cloth hat on his head to protect it. It worked out perfect. You can make this work if you think about it like we did. He is such a little water bug, we plan to continue taking him! Oh, we also bought him the little sun cabana from Babies R us for waterside and it was perfect. It has a zipper front to keep bugs out, too! I hope you get to experience the smiles from your little one like we did.

I asked my peditrician and he said it was okay. We have been to the pool a few times with our twins (3 months). We also put sunscreen on (the one for babies). Our pedi said it was okay as long as it doesn't contain DEET. One of our girls loves it and one doesn't like it very much. They really only go in for 10 minutes to cool off.

It is ok for the baby to be in the water, but remember water that feels cool to you will feel cold to the baby. A wet baby on a windy day will feel cold. Water reflects the suns rays so sun screen must be use, but a baby puts their hands in their mouth. Yuck, the taste of sun screen and if their hands touch their eyes, Ouch! The baby must have a swimming diaper on. Also, remember a hat that has the panel that covers the back and sides of the neck. Also other children there at the pool can accidently splash water in the face of the baby scaring it. When my daughter was small I just kepted her in the stroller and my husband and I took turns keeping an eye on her. With our son, sometimes we left him at home with a babysitter, so my husband and I could spend the time with our 4 yr. old daughter and our friends. Remember the heat and the sun brightness can make a baby uncomfortable and cranky which can ruin a fun afternoon. You decide. You want to go and enjoy yourself.

Go for it. We took our baby in at 2 months. He just layed there and looked around, and it was only for about 10 minutes max in the shade, but he is an absolute fish now and I think taking him swimming early played a part. My ped. said it was ok too.

Talk to your ped about what kind of sunscreen is safe and GO FOR IT! Babies love the water and it is a great way to get them used to swimming so they are not scared as they get older. We have a chlorinated pool in our backyard, and have taken our kids (21mos, and 3 mos) swimming in the lake by my father-in-law's farm. I use neurogena oil free spf 45 on both my kids. Hypoalergenic and really soft and sensitive. does not leave that sunscreen film, but works really well.

I don't know what the experts say but my boy was born in early May (ten years ago) and my M. who lived across the ally from us had a pool. On hot days, we definately took him in the pool. Try to go when there isn't alot of direct sunlight. Also, it's not safe to put sunscreen on a baby younger than six months old so dress your baby in a shirt and always put a had on, wide brim is best. Good luck and happy swimming.

All of my children have swam literally since birth. We spend as much time as possible at the pool every Summer

Indoor pools generally have a higher concentration of chlorine since the sun is not able to "burn it off", so they have found some links between indoor swimming and allergic reactions and asthma in small children.

With a 3-month old, you're probably going to be spending more time with her sleeping than actually swimming. When my kids were that young and we'd go to the pool they would stay in their stroller, covered up taking naps most of the time. I'd keep the stroller right next to me while the older one would swim. When I took the infant in the water, they would be covered with a hat and SPF protective suit or in a float with a shade over it (Target and WalMart usually have these). I always make sure to rinse them off after swimming as well as applying lotion.

That all being said, you definitely don't want to take an infant into a pool if you don't feel comfortable with it. If they can feel you're nervous, they won't have a good experience and you definitely don't want that. You may want to find out a little bit more about the pool to feel comfortable. The pool we belong to actually has a shaded area over the pool, so that people who don't want to be in the sun can still swim.

We've been taking our son in a chlorinated pool with us since he was just 4 months old. I think the issue is the sun exposure. We don't use sunblock yet so we keep him in a long sleeve onesie with a swim diaper underneath and a sun hat for his head. We also don't have him in there for too long. And, now that he's a few months older, we have one of those covered baby floats. He just loves it!

I think it is OK to take the baby in a pool but I don't think you can put sunscreen on the baby at that young of an age so I would only consider am indoor pool for a child that age.
Maybe you or your husband can sit out with the baby while the other goes in the water with your son and then switch so you all get time in the pool.

Good Luck

I think it's ok once the baby is 6 months old. You aren't supposed to put sunscreen on a baby until then . I would not take her in the pool but keep her out of the sun at the party.Also, is someone going to help you? How are you going to go in the pool with your son and watch the baby too?Good luck!

Hi Marisa,

Honestly, I think I would hold off. Or sit in the shade and enjoy the day outside but I personally don't think taking an infant into a public pool sounds like a good idea, although I have no specific info on the topic. You can't even apply sunscreen to an infant until they're 6 months old let alone the high levels of chlorine and germs that she would be exposed to. Maybe it's just the M. in me because when I was a kid I would swim in anything but now I feel public pools fall into the same ranks as public restrooms, gross.

Last year when my son was 3 months old, my parents convinced me to take him into their pool. I did but only for a few minutes and because I was sick of hearing "quit being such a first time M.." And also because I know how they care of their water. He didn't really enjoy it and I personally don't enjoy chlorinated water anyway. Needless to say, the chlorine dried out his baby skin and left little scaly patches all over his body. He was just too little and I wish I would have listened to my inner voice on the matter.

I think it's really up to you but because of the sunscreen issue, you can't be out for very long as babies burn in a flash anyway. So I'd probably just wait until she's a little older.

S.