Baby's First Vacation

Our first family vacation was quite a long one! The longest trip I'd ever taken - 2 weeks long. We wanted to visit family (both sides) so they could meet baby G, since we didn't know when our next opportunity to see all of them would be. (Hey that rhymes!)

We traveled from California to Virginia where my parents and all of my husband's family live. That's where the majority of our time was spent - about a full week. Then we flew to New Orleans and drove to Picayune, then Hattiesburg, Mississippi to visit some of my family. Our final stop on the trip was Pensacola Beach, Florida, to join my mother's family in their annual group vacation.

It was a lot of fun though a bit stressful at times - but also a great learning experience. Here's the rundown of our trip:

Getting Baby to Love the Water Part 5: At the Beach

 

We recently took our first family vacation, and on this two-week trip, our boy had his first experience at the beach. This is the fifth part of a series on getting your baby to love water! The first 4 parts? Baby baths, big baths, breastfeeding in the tub, and then swimming pools. 

Daddy and Nonnie introducing baby G to the ocean!

We were lucky to be able to have his first experience with the ocean be in Florida, where the water is much warmer. (We live on the West coast, and the sea is super cold year round!) That would be my first suggestion: if possible, introduce baby to the beach and ocean when the weather is warm (and try to introduce them to warmer water first).

Getting Baby to Love the Water Part 4: At the Pool

Many people love water, but many babies may not. It can be jarring and startling to an infant - especially if they haven't been around it much and suddenly they're in the ocean where it's loud, salty, and splashes in their face and stings their eyes a bit. It can be helpful to introduce them to water slowly before taking the plunge (pun intended).

Getting a baby used to water is imperative. Knowing how to swim is a life-saving skill that everyone should know how to do, and it' easier to learn to swim if you aren't petrified of water because you've been in it hundreds of times and had positive experiences.

Plus, for most people, being around water is very calming (hence why beaches are so popular). Being in water is possibly even more soothing. Wallace Nichols, a marine biologist and research associate at California Academy of Sciences, calls it the "blue mind effect." The term is used to describe the "calm, peacefulness, unity, and sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment that people feel in and around water." According to Psychology Today, the effect may be because of catecholamine neurotransmitters, which relay stress signals in the brain. The transmitters recalibrate in water, and reduce to lower levels similar to the levels delivered by meditation. This reduces stress and anxiety (and makes you happy).

Swimming in a pool was our fourth step of introducing our baby to the water. The first three were regular baby baths, then putting him in bigger baths, and then I even did some breastfeeding in the bath to help strengthen that positive association with water. 

Getting Baby to Love the Water Part 3: Breasfeeding in the Tub

If you missed parts 1 and 2 of this series, click to read about bathing baby and taking a bath with baby!

Breastfeeding in the Bath

 

Another way to help your baby enjoy the water, is to breastfeed them in the tub (if you're breastfeeding). Baby already loves breastfeeding - it's warm and cozy and mom smells nice (usually. haha). Both mom and baby get a rush of oxytocin (the "love" hormone) when breastfeeding, which means that baby (and mom!) will feel good and be happy during this time. So use this to it's advantage!

Follow the same steps as before, filling the bath partway with warm water. Once you're in, have your partner hand you the baby - please don't try to get in with him! You could slip and the baby or both of you could get hurt. Let baby be partially under the water so that he stays warm.

Then, breastfeed while baby is partially submerged. You can even let their lower half float while they nurse. Then, when they're done, you can let them float and kick around the tub for a few minutes. 

It was a little awkward when I tried it. I wasn't super comfortable - the water level was a bit low, so I had to turn on my side so that Baby G would be in the water. (Just on my back, with him on my stomach/chest, he wasn't in the water at all!) But, he enjoyed it and it was a fairly pleasant experience overall. Besides, it's not about my comfort, but his. I already like baths and swimming! :P

As always, you want to keep their water exposure short and sweet. Try to stretch it out and you could be in for a surprise meltdown!

Next up, Part 4: At the Pool

Getting Baby to Love Water Part 2: BIG Baths

If you missed the first post of this series, look here before continuing.

Once you've given your baby lots of baths that have been successful (my definition of this word in this context merely means: "no screaming or fussing." I'm not saying he has to be smiling, laughing, and kicking every time!), you can move on to this next step!

Taking Baths with Your Baby

To help your little fish like the water, get in it with them! They already love and trust you, so just extend that to water situations. But don't immediately go hop in the pool with them. Take it slow.

This is a great way for dad and baby to bond too! Fill up the big tub (not the baby tub!) to about halfway - use your thermometer! (Baby can tolerate different temperatures than you can, so even if it feels warm to you, it could be too hot for him). It doesn't need to be completely full. Climb into the tub and have your partner hand you the baby. He can rest on your chest a little bit, but try to have him partially submerged in the water.

Taking baths this way also allows your baby to experience floating - it's a new and weird and wonderful sensation. Babies are pretty buoyant (all that adorable baby fat!), so cradle their head and neck and just let their bum and legs float in the water. Try to tell if your little one enjoys the sensation. Baby G looked so confused and shocked the first time, but then started to like floating. His dad would line his feet up against the side so he could push off a bit.

 

Again, keep baby's exposure to water short and sweet. Don't overdo it or try to stretch it too long - a 5-10 minute bath is sufficient.

Stay tuned for Part 3: Breastfeeding in the tub!

Getting Baby to Love Water Part 1: Baths

I'm sure no one wants their little one to hate the water. Baths would be frustrating and just forget about going to the beach or pool. But how do you get your kids to like the water? Of course, some of it is ingrained personality, but you can do some things to help them enjoy baths (and eventually swimming). But you have to start at an early age.

Baths
You can start giving your baby real baths once their umbilical cord stump falls off (7-14 days after birth, though my little boy's fell off on Day 4. We were quite shocked!) Prior to that, you can only give them sponge baths. But I never even got the chance to - it's not like a baby will really get that dirty in 4 days! Once you are able to give baby a real bath, you want it to be a positive experience.

• Firstly, you want to make baby's exposure to the water short and sweet. Prolong the experience and he may start to get fussy. 
• Make sure the water temperature is ideal. Do you like cold baths? Although I love hot baths, they are not good for babies. It does seem that our little man enjoys baths that are borderline hot. We have a handy little bath thermometer that tells us if it's "cold," "ideal," or "hot" and he seems to like it when it's reading both "ideal" and "hot" at the same time. 

• Take note of how much they are submerged in the water.  Baby G's first bath, he was hardly in the water at all. We were trying not to shock him, but that may be one reason that first bath wasn't wonderful. He didn't get too fussy during the bath, really, just toward the end and immediately once we took him out. (See the bullet on drying baby off fast, below). Just like when you are in a bath, any body part that is not under the water can get cold. So make sure you're constantly pouring a little warm water over his body so he doesn't get chilly. 

• Be gentle. Especially at first. Their skin is soft and sensitive - there's no need for any vigorous scrubbing with a loofah. You don't really even need a washcloth, you can just use your hands. 
• Make it fun! Your little one may be too young to appreciate bath toys yet, but you can still have fun. Sing songs, rub them gently, talk to them and smile at them... Figure out what they like! Baby G loves the little squirt bottle that came with our tub. (It's basically just a plastic bottle with a bunch of holes in the lid, so when you squeeze it, it's like a shower). We squirt his belly and head gently as well as hold it up high so he can watch the water fall down into the tub. 
• Acclimate them to the "bad" parts of water. After you've had a couple short, successful baths, you can start to gently dribble water on their face and let it run into their eyes. (Make sure you're using a tear-free baby soap/shampoo!) Don't overdo it, just get them used to water being on their face, eyelashes, etc. They will get splashed in the face when at the pool - you can't avoid it. You can build up to more and more; actually splashing in the tub and letting it splash onto his face - just take it slow!
• When it's time to get out, dry baby off fast! We have a few different towels: thin terry ones and a thick fuzzy one. The thin ones get wet very fast (not as absorbent) and then baby gets cold faster cause he's just wrapped in a wet towel! We like the thicker towel better because it's cozier and warmer. After a few baths, we found out that he liked the rub-down. He loves having the towel rubbed on his head, face, and body - we can even get a little vigorous!

•  Repeat frequently! We give our boy a bath every night. Bonus: it's also part of a successful bedtime routine. The more you do it, the more used to it your baby will get. Babies and young children also thrive on routine - they like knowing what to expect.

Of course, these steps may not always work (and I'm no expert).  Even though it seems like G is turning into a fish, we still have some bad bath experiences from time to time. Like if we're bathing him when he's over-tired, or hungry, or just cranky. Or if we try to push it too long, he will get fed up.

This is just the first part of creating a positive relationship between your baby and water. Stay tuned for the next parts!