Taking a baby swimming for the first time can feel quite daunting. What should you bring for baby to wear in the water? Here are a few tips.

Disposable single use swim nappies
1. Swim Nappy
A baby can just wear a swim nappy in a public pool, or you could put a little swimsuit over the top of the swim nappy. You'll need a special nappy for swimming as a regular one will just absorb a lot of water, expand and become very heavy. Swim nappies retain solids but won't absorb much liquid, so put it on baby when you get to the pool and not at home if you don't want a wet car seat or stroller! You can buy disposable single use swim pants but these are not very environmentally friendly and quite expensive, especially when you consider you might not spend long in the water. If you are going to swim every week it makes sense to invest in a reusable swim nappy. These come in all sorts of styles - pull on, with poppers, with various levels of padding. You just wash these out after the swim and they are ready to use again.

A re-usable swim nappy can be a good investment if you're planning to swim often
2. UV suit
If you're swimming outside, a UV suit is a good investment. It doesn't keep baby warmer but will protect from the sun, so you won't have to cover head to toe in sunscreen. If you're using a rashie suit indoors, when you're ready to get out of the pool, try taking the suit off the baby while you are still in the water (leaving the swim nappy on) as they can get cold (and upset) in the damp suit quite quickly when out of the water.

A UV rashie suit is great for outdoor swimming
3. Wetsuit Wrap
If the water is chilly, you might want to try a neoprene wrap which fastens with Velcro and helps to keep the body warm

Try a neoprene wrap if you're in chilly water
4. Wetsuit
If you're planning to spend time on the beach or at outdoor water parks, a baby wetsuit might be worth looking into. I bought one for my son from 9 months old when he started to enjoy playing at the beach and have found it to be a great investment to enable longer time happy in the water.

A proper wetsuit might be a good investment if you're planning to spend lots of time on the beach or in water parks with cooler water
#Baby
#Swim
#Clothes
#Swim pants
#Wetsuit