Swimsuits with flotation

One month from now we will be renting a lake house for a weekend and it has a large dock at this house. I don't want to take our boys anywhere near the dock though (even if they were being held the whole time) unless they were in some kind of swimsuit or swim vest with flotation. I've looked at some options at Amazon but I'm really not sure what kind to get. Anybody here have any recommendations on what type of flotation swimwear is best for 14 - 15 month olds? I bought a one piece suit at a second hand store and it has two styrofoam panels on the chest and back. Or do you prefer to just put a swim vest over their swimsuit? Our boys are currently 13 months old and around 21 lbs and may be a bit bigger by July (when we go to the lake house) and August (when we go to the beach for a week). They are not yet walking but I think they are close, and the thoughts of two 15 month olds walking in different directions on the beach scares me :lol:

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

 

We just got back from vacation and we swam in my mom's pool every day. She bought the girls the swim suits from Wal Mart that have the floatation panels built in. We used them once and found the girls tipped forwards immediately and their faces went in the water, and they weren't coordinated enough to get themselves upright. To me, they were useless at this stage for my girls. We didn't go near her pool or her dock unless we had one adult per child.

 

I've had similar experiences with those kinds of things with my older girls. I don't think they are safe at all. I think it would be safer to use a coast guard approved life vest. I think there's different kinds available out there that I"ve seen online. I would be having the same fear as you are, especially where it's a dock situation. The life vest may be bulkier but worth it for the peace of mind. I would put it on them any time they are outside near the water at all. You want something that will keep them afloat face up if they were to wander in or fall off the dock accidently. That's my opinion. I'm very paranoid about water situations!!

Shannon

 

Also, I forgot to mention that we are going to the beach this summer too. My twins will be 18 months old in July and I know what you are talking about in terms of them running in different directions.(plus I have 2 older kids to watch) This is what I plan to do: I have one of those corral type gates so I'm going to put them in there with some sand toys and also a little blow up kiddie pool that I can just fill with water from the ocean. I'm going to keep them in there as much as humanly possible, cause I think once they know they can get out, they will be less likely to stay in there happily. They do play in the corral in our yard here at home quite a bit so they are used to it. I don't know how it will go but I'm hoping for the best!!!

Shannon

 

I totally agree! And even though there will be one adult with each of our boys at the dock, I worry about a baby getting squirmy in our arms or one of us tripping and falling and going into the water with a baby. The water at the dock is 12 feet deep according to the owner so the latter scares me the most! It is a large dock though and I and should be plenty of room for 6 adults to maneuver around while holding 2 small toddlers. But I'll feel even better if the boys are wearing something that would help them float should the worst case scenario happen. I checked out the Speedo toddler vests online and they looked great, but I think their smallest size only fit a toddler 26 lbs or more and our guys will probably only be 22 or 23 lbs then at most.

I feel like we will be carting so much gear to the beach that I doubt we have the energy to take a super playard too. We'll have to walk 1/2 a block or so before getting to the beach, which isn't bad at all. But when I factor in a cooler, backpacks of baby gear, a PeaPod for naps,etc not to mention 2 babies, I get exhausted thinking about it, LOL. If y'all are on a beach front house though, or have enough extra help to carry that corral, that sounds like the ideal setup!

 

I know what you are talking about with all the gear. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I was thinking of borrowing my sister's wagon to pull all the gear in. The corral folds up and will fit in there. We have a walk to get to the beach too. I have resigned myself to the fact that this is not going to be an easy summer!! But I refuse to sit at home all summer and not do anything so, like you, I'm going to get out there and do the best we can! Maybe you could ask your pedi about the weight limit on those life vests,....maybe it will be close enough. I think one of the main differences is that the little infant ones have the thing that goes behind their head/neck... Good luck finding something!
shannon

 

I came across this Stearns Infant Hydroprene Life Vest in Target this morning. It has the neck collar thing that keeps the infant's head from going face down in water. But I hate to spend $50 on two vests that will only be used twice this year. Stearns makes another basic infant life vest that is only $14, so I may end up buying two of those. I'm also checking out some ebay actions to maybe find them used.

 

Thanks for posting - I have been wanting to get something with floats in the suit but now am rethinking that.