Babies and pools

[mom42860]

My DD will be just a year when we go in Sept. She loves the water so I think she will love the pool. Can anyone tell me about the new swimming diapers. I bought 1 pack but was wondering if 1 brand was better than another. Are these good for the pools at WDW? How about the water parks? How often do you change them?
Do they allow any flotation devices for younger children? Of course I will be holding her but wondered about floaties.

 

[rhiannonwales]

Just to let you know, WDW and most offsite hotels have policies about babies in pools. Specifically, Disposable swim diapers are not considered acceptable for swimming. They do not keep fecal contaminants in th diaper and away from the water. Your child might not be allowed into the water with out a special swim diaper. They are not disposable, they look like a regular swimsuit but with a special lining so that if your little one poops, it is held in the diaper and does not contaminate the water.

Most resorts sell these Special diapers, but they can be had for cheaper if you buy them ahead. Kmart, Target, and Wal-Mart sell them inexpensivley, as do many websites like onestepahead.com.

I had to buy them for my 2 year old son. Better to buy them now than to be told your child cannot swim.


PS most resorts will only allow flotation devices that do not restrict the view of the lifeguard. No funnoodles, floating horses, or rafts, but i think they will allow one of those tubes for infants with the seaat built into it.
Hope this helps,
Sherrie

 

[LMHB]

Are you talking about the diapers that look like a miniature speedo for babies? They are not disposable, they are meant to be laundered. If so, that is a crazy policy! I have two little ones, my oldest is potty trained, now, but we have always used the Huggies swim diapers. Until recently, they were the only disposable ones available. They work great, but have always been EXPENSIVE. Thie year Luvs came out with their own version which I imagine is cheaper, although I noticed recently that Food Lion was selling the packages of Huggies for 4.99 per pak - that is a great deal!!! Those washable ones (we have one) actually work worse than the disposable. Either way, I expect that if your child has a swimsuit on OVER the swim diaper, whatever it may be, no one is going to come and "inspect" them. Of course in any situation, if a child has pooped everyone needs to get out immediately and notify the staff pronto. That can be a serious health issue, I know around here they have to close the pools for 24 hours. Luckily none of my kids have ever done that...the huggies have always worked very well.

 

[mom42860]

Ok, I agree that it would be bizarre if someone were to check what my DD has under her suit, but to be on the safe side I will pick up 1 of these swim diapers. Is there a label that specifies the use for these diapers and are they sold in the diaper section of Walmart & Target?

 

[rhiannonwales]

I am referring to the kind that you launder.
This is Disney policy, and they have been know to ask to see if the baby is wearing swim diapers.
Some brands work better than others, the ones i have look like a regular boys bathing suit except the liner is reall a nylon waterproof,swim diaper.

My experiance with disposable swim diapers has been terrible.In my small bay pool at home if my son poops, you can immediately tell, as the poop seeps out and turns the water cloudy.I have tried both huggies and luvs, neither has been successful.

More and more public pools around the country are requiring these swim diapers because then they no longer have to close the pools for 24 hrs and load them up with chlorine to purify them.


If you want a second opinion, go check out the orlando hotels board it is always being discussed there.

 

[rhiannonwales]

they are in the clothing department with the swimsuits.
At this late in the season, youmight be better off buying online.
Onestepahead.com sells them for only aroung 4.00 or so.
Sherrie

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

We had a terrible time with the swim diaper that you launder. I don't think they work well at all. I've never heard about this policy before on the boards and there was just a good debate going on over at the DB and I don't think anyone mentioned this. I'll have to go back and double check.
What's to stop someone with a toddler from saying that their child is potty trained when their not and not wearing any diaper at all to avoid this problem. Sounds like a silly rule that must be difficult to enforce.

 

[skeezixspud]

That's what we always did until we were sure he was past that. We used the Huggies lil'Swimmers INSIDE the cloth swim diaper. The Huggies don't have tight leg bands, but the outer suit does, and then if you need to change the baby, the outer suit is usually still clean.

I always found that Target tended to put the cloth swim diapers in the clearance bin this time of year, I remember buying them there in August for $2/each. BTW; don't buy a white one, and they do tend to run a little large, at least the ones from Target do.

Of course, any swim diaper is meant to only hold for a brief period; parents should always check the baby frequently and get him/her out of the water and changed immediately if there is something there.

 

[rhiannonwales]

As far as knowing whether kids are potty trained or not, the rule is that ALL kids under 4 must wear them , regardless of whether they are potty trained or not.

And skeezixspud i too do the liner in the swim diaper thing, but i find little sweimmers too bulky, so i use those diaper doublers that are meant to be placed inside regular diapers.

The swim diapers i use are from onestepahead.com and they are so good at keeping body waste in that if my son pees, it stays inside the swim diaper in a little puddle.... they are completly 100% waterproof. That is why i use the diaper doublers, so they absorb the pee and don't leave a puddle in his suit.



And to all that balk on this issue, how would you like to not be able to swim in the pool because someone else didn't follow the rules and now the pool is fouled. Furthermore, how would you like to be in the pool when the announcement is made that everyone must get out as you are all swimming in poop!

Sherrie

 

[robinb]

I've been to WDW 5 times with my DD who will turn 2 on Friday (yippie!). We have been swimming in on and off-site resort pools since she was 4 months old. The policy, as I remember it, are that babies must wear specific swim diapers. It doesn't matter if you have washable swim diapers or disposable ones like Little Swimmers. I've used both kinds, but no together. My daughter currently has a swimsuit made by Flap Happy which has a swim diaper built into it.

No kind of swim diaper does a great job of keeping the feces in it. They rely on tight leg holes and plastic coatings for containment. You need to keep an eye on your child. I have only had to remove my daughter once from the water ... thank goodness we were close to the bathroom!

My sister brought one of the infant floaties with the seat in it for her 1 year old son and he loved it! The older kids also played with swim noodles, so they are OK in WDW pools.

 

[mom42860]

This is really interesting. I did a search and read the info. on the DB. There is alot of information there, just do a search on "swim diapers". The reason I ask about them is because they are new to me, when DD12 & DS9 were young we used the disposable diapers and plastic pants. I'll be checking the sales at Target or online. I won't let her spend a great amount of time in the water anyway, and would certainly be alert for any signs of a bm, and after reading the info. on the DB looking at the other swimmers too!
Thanks everyone

 

[sydally9367]

Hi all, Our family went to WDW last year when DD was 3-we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and had no problems with her in the pool. She was not completely potty trained but was more or less in Pull Ups and she wore the Huggies Swimmers in the pool. No-one at WL ever asked what she was wearing under her suit-not sure if anyone could tell she was wearing them anyway, and she had a great time. I have always preferred the Huggies, although they are an expensive item (6.99 at WalMart), they seem to work perfectly and we had no "accidents" with them when we used them. Also, FYI, off the subject, but last year DD went to the Adventures in Cooking at GF---at the time she was wearing a pullup as I said before, which is no longer allowed if anyone has plans to bring a child to that activity. They now require all children who participate to be fully potty trained and specifically state on the website NO PULL UPS!

 

[lindaso]

I've been to Disney twice with diaper-age kids and we always use the Huggies disposable swim diapers. We swam every day and no one said a word about it. Not to get too gross but if it's solid, it's not going anywhere. I've never heard of a policy that all kids under 4 need to wear a swim diaper. Is this posted somewhere? My DD will refuse to wear one...although she could pass for a 7 year old so I guess I won't worry about it too much. Plus, she's the only kid I know who gets out of the pool to pee.

We've used the bathing suit that has the inner tube sewed into the suit. Nobody said anything to us about using it so I assume it's allowed.

Linda

 

[B3LM]

I always use the Huggies disposable swimming pull-ups and have never had a problem. I've never heard of any kind of policy at WDW, either. Is it posted on-line anywhere?

 

[disneymom28]

My parents are there now and IM going on saturday they said ther is a sign saying you must use swim diapers but there is no set age .PLus they do sell disposable swim diapers its $3 for one and its just like the huggies swimmies. My nephew is potty trained and hes three and he was not made to wear one.

 

[wdwnutze]

Just returned from the Poly. Although my 2 1/2 yo dd is potty trained I saw other babies wearing the disposable swim pants. That is what they sell in the resort for the pool. Also was told that the kids need to be completely potty trained(if there is any doubt, put a swim diaper on to protect everyone)There is no age that they have to wear them until.

 

[Tink]

Last November there was a sign saying that little ones had to wear swim diapers. Ofcourse, I purchased swim daipers at home, and left them there. The gift shop at PO (both FQ and Riverside) sild them at the gift shop. It was one per bag and cost about a $1.00. It was the Huggies Little Swimmers brand. I have used them at home and at Disney and have never had a problem.

 

[Mamatipo]

My DS, who turns 2 tomorrow (Yay!), was wearing swim diapers (huggies) at his swim class a few weeks ago. Literally 2 minutes after we entered the pool, he had a BM. I was holding him and I didn't even notice him doing it! Well, the poops came right out the back of the diaper, and they were pretty solid. I was horrified that this happened. (My kid hadn't pooped in the bathtub since he was about 8 months old and hasn't since.) Obviously, the pool had to be emptied, refilled, etc. We caused the pool a lot of trouble and I was beside myself!

In any case, we'll be at WDW in two weeks. I'm glad I read this thread.

Question: I didn't know about the laundered swim diapers -- are they different from bathing suits with a plastic lining? I was planning to put him in the pool with a swim diaper and the bathing suit with the plastic lining.

 

[rhiannonwales]

The swim suits with the plastic lining are almost identical to swim diapers, it's all the same principal.
I had the exact same problem with those huggies disposable swim pants.