Swimsuit for 6 mo? Swim class starting soon - PLEASE help

[MarisaSF]

What would you do? Do I need/want a swimsuit for DD for our "Mommy & Me" intro to water fun class?

I've never done this before and could use the advice.
I suppose I should put DD in a swim diaper. I planned to just take her in the water in the diaper. Today, though I saw some cute swimsuits at Old Navy. That got me thinking:

1 - Should I just take her in the swim diaper with no suit?
2 - How do baby swimsuits work? Are they engineered big enough to cover a diaper?
3 - If I get a suit, does anyone rec the Old Navy suits? Best suits? Our class is only once/week for 10 weeks. The ON suits are $12-14.

I know this sort of an out-of-season question so TIA!

[lctippins]

We did this last year when DD was ~8 months. I did buy her a swimsuit. I got it on sale from Gymbo (it had been marked down twice, so it was a good deal). We used the Huggies swim diapers and the swimsuit fit just fine over top. Personally, I just felt funny taking her in the pool with other people in just a swim diaper. Plus, I thought that the swimsuit added an extra layer of "protection."

Hope you enjoy the class!

Lisa - Mom to Kendall 6/6/03

[AbbieF]

I married into a family of swimming fanatics. DD was in the water at 7 weeks- although we didn't put her face in. I always had a swimsuit on over the swim diaper, especially when we were outside for extra protection. But I found the swimsuit helped me feel like I had a better grasp on her. As a friend of mine says, "bathing a baby is like trying to wash a hard boiled egg" so the suit made her less slippery (does that make sense?). Although I don't know that its absolutely necessary. I haven't checked lately, but a few weeks ago there were lots on sale at www.kidsurplus.com

Abbie
Mom to Maddie 4/17/04

[heidi_timms]

The swim diaper is a must. Most public pools require it. I would definitely get a suit for your DD or you might feel out of place. I have never seen a baby only in a diaper at our neighborhood pools.

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey
4/03

[wreckgirl1]

My YMCA required a disposable swim diaper (like Huggies Little Swimmers) with either a special kind of plastic-lined reusable swim diaper (not the regular ones) or plastic pants (the pull-up diaper covers that our moms - or our grandmothers - put on over cloth diapers). I never did buy the reusable swim diaper, because I already had a pair of plastic pants for DD. This is in addition to whatever decorative swimsuit you put on over. The decorative swimsuits were not necessary, but all of us had them, even for the boys. The double-layer diapering was strictly enforced after the first class. You should call your facility to see what they require.

I had 3 different swimsuits (all were given to us, 2 were hand-me-downs), and since they were only used twice a week for a short while I don't think quality matters as much. They should fit over a swim diaper just fine.

HTH

Cynthia

[jec2]

Our swim school requires the "I Play" brand--you can find them at kidsurplus. All of the babies in our class wear just the swim bottom but then the swim school has neoprine wetsuits for them to put on just to keep them warm. One of the babies actually brings her own that differs but the idea is the same. Our swim school actually sells these...you might be able to buy one online elsewhere or I can connect you to the school.

ETA: this one is similar to the one we use

http://www.joediveramerica.com/page/JDA/PROD/Wetkid/1175I

[MarisaSF]

Thanks so much everyone!
I just left a message for the swim teacher asking what the requirements are.
I appreciate the suggestion that I wouldn't want to have the only nudey baby in the class!! :P

[MMEand1]

I was at Target last night and noticed that they had swimsuits out already, so you might want to check there as well.
Mariah P.

[ainwonderland]

Agree with others on the need for a bathing suit. And as cute and tempting as they are I would stay away from the two piece ones. I was forever tugging at my daughters last year (the top was always riding up). A one piece is much more practical.

Oh and the majority of swimming classes/public pools we been to only require a swim diaper (like Huggies, etc) but we did take one class where there needed to be a swim diaper and a plastic pant. So it would inquire before your first class on required garments.

Have fun!

[vpalmer]

You have received great advice so far. We took swim lessons last year and also put Eva in a Huggies Little Swimmer and a swimsuit. I just wanted to add that Gymboree has two swimsuits out right now and is releasing 2 more next week.

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born 6-03

[Joshuasmommy]

We did swim lessons with Joshua last summer and there was one little girl who just wore a swim diaper and no swimsuit. I don't think anyone thought anything of it. If you don't want to buy a bathing suit I would think it would be fine in just a diaper. But with all the cute girl swimsuits I don't know how you can resist! :)

[Piglet]

I don't know if it is a boy/girl issue, but we took swim classes when DS was a little over 1 and never bothered with swim "trunks". Very few of the boys in the class had them, but most girls had bathing suits. It is weird that way, I guess! I never even gave it much thought - we just assumed the diaper was no different than men's Speedos (actually it covered a lot more, LOL). I just thought the moms of the girls were using the bathing suit because there are such cute ones out there - I never thought it was necessary at this age. I could see the point about getting a better grip though.

[miki]

I put the Huggies swim diaper on DD and then just put a short-sleeved onesie on over that. This was during the summer. I just thought the onesie was good sun protection and easy to get off when wet.