As you'll know if you've been following my blog (but you may not have even noticed, due to some snazzy post-scheduling that kept things ticking over nicely even without me being here !), we've just got back from a fortnight in Turkey. We had a fab time but it was stupidly hot - about 45° in the shade, the water in the pool was between 29° and 34° (like getting into a warm bath !) and at one point, we walked past a thermometer that said 51° and it was only 11am so goodness knows what the temperature was in the sun by mid-afternoon !
So it goes without saying that we spent a large percentage of our holiday time in the various pools at the hotel. Now, swimming with a baby or toddler who isn't yet toilet-trained is always a bit of a worry and it's hard to know what the best option is to avoid a messy (and very embarrassing) accident in the water.
The options as far as we've worked out are :
(1) use a pair of reuseable swim pants, which look like a snazzy pair of swimming trunks. They let the wee through but keep any poo safely within, which is great until you need to pull off a pair of pooey swim pants. Unlike disposable ones that you just rip apart at the seams, you have to pull them down like pants, invariably smearing poo all down baby's legs and, if he's a wriggler, his feet too ! Lovely !
(2) use a disposable swimming nappy. They are just like regular pull-up pants with an absorbent core but don't swell up when you put them in water. If you think they're a waste of time, put baby in a normal nappy and dunk him in the bath - it's incredible just how much a nappy can swell up and absorb water !
(3) use a pair of reuseable swim pants/swimming trunks with a disposable swim nappy underneath. This is what we did, because we'd been sent some of both to try out, but it is a bit of a waste of money as you don't really need both. You do get the peace of mind and a funkily-clad little swimmer into the bargain so it worked well for us though.
In the past, we've tried Huggies Little Swimmers disposable swim pants, but this time we received a pack of the Boots equivalent, which are much cheaper, so I was keen to see how they'd fare. Well, to be honest, I couldn't see any difference, apart from the fact that they have "generic" pictures on them instead of official Nemo pictures.
They're easy to pull on and easy to rip off at the side and roll up if there's poo in them (although a little bit of sticky tape to keep it rolled up would be handy - not sure that would cope with going in water though). They're a snug fit without being too tight and leaving red marks around baby's chubby thighs. I did spend the first few days not being able to work out which was the front and which was the back because they don't have the usual "heads and tails" imagery to help you out, then I suddenly realised that the word "back" is printed across the top of the nappy but it's hidden in the pleats of the elasticated waistband. Stretch out the waistband and you can instantly see which side is which - although it would be easier for the word to be lower on the nappy.
There are about 11 or 12 nappies in a pack (depending on the size) which was a bit tight for a two week holiday so - being cheapskates ! - we discovered that you can successfully dry out a used swim nappy on a warm balcony overnight and reuse it the next day (as long as it hasn't been pooed in and ripped apart at the seams obviously !). By doing this, the pack lasted all the way through the holiday which was great.
Whether or not you need to use disposable swim pants is a matter of personal choice, but if you do opt to use them, I have to say that the Boots swim pants compare very favourably with the big brand ones at a much lower price.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £3.95 for 12 (size 3) - contents vary slightly depending on size
for more information : http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Swim-Pants-Size-3-12-Pants_947169/
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Thanks for this! Useful advice as I usually use disposable swim nappies and pay top whack for the leading brand! Think I'll give these a whirl instead now and save some pennies :)
ReplyDelete@hannahmdy