Newborn Boating

[gotpwr]

My parents had me out on the water in their 16ft Glastron at 2 weeks old back in 1971. My second daughter was born in July of 1996 and we took her out at two weeks old. We used an infant life jacket from Bart's. Looks like Bart's has a much better selection of infant life jackets than they did 10 years ago.
http://www.bartswatersports.com/cata...kets/index.asp

[patoloco]

I was on the water at less than a year...my daughter was on the water a 6.5 months...as she was born in the fall.....and you can't keep either of us off the water. Just plan ahead and be flexible to the kids schedule. Never let them take the life jacket off or they'll never put it back on, good selection of food, hidden toy, let them drive etc.

[ScarletArrow]

We have a 5 week old son and he's been out on the water multiple times already. I think he finds the hum of the motor and outdoor sounds soothing - he usually sleeps the whole time.

Here's how we do it...

- We're careful about water conditions, I didn't let my wife bring him on board over the weekend b/c I felt there was too much wind /chop
- We're careful about the activity and driving we're doing...the most we do is a pull a tube - and mildly at that...if we're going to ski, drive fast, or pull a tube aggresively wife and baby hit the beach.
- We put him in a car seat, but we don't strap him in - our thought is that if the car seat falls out somehow, it's going to sink and we don't want him attached
- We always have some type of cover...either a bimini or the "canopy" that folds over the car seat (we usually use the car seat)
- We use a life vest on occasion...newborns are generally are still a little small in the vest, but something is better than nothing. When he is not wearing a vest, my wife is holding him.

[ag4ever]

I would be more concerned over the rough conditions than whether they have a life jacket on at that tender age.

I personally think ScarletArrow has some good pointers.

[jefe]

My boy was born on May 27th, and he put close to 50 hours on the boat that summer. Bimini Top, Life jacket, and lots of Aunts and Uncles (Relatives and Friends) to hold and play with them make it a extremely enjoyable adventure for all.

He is now 12 months and has put on another 30+ hours on the boat.

I would say used the carseat in the boat one time, the first time,, after that, we left it in the car. We weren't worried about it flying out, we just had plenty of hands that wanted to hold the baby.

I would say that Good Skiing/Driving etiquette, and knowing the water conditions is essential to having a baby on board. If you go somewhere blind with lots of traffic, I say, leave the child at home.

[goodfoot00]

My 2nd is 6 weeks old and has been out over a dozen times. Usually we have her in a car seat, not strapped in or my Wife holds her. She has a really chubby neck so the vests don't fit on her. We also have our 2 yr old in the boat. We avoid rough water (my wife's a water snob anyway ) and we've never had a problem. We found an infant vest without the pillow and that the older girl likes much better. We put it on her before they leave the house and take it off when she gets back in the house, (we live on the water). If you take the vest off, it's a battle to get it back on! We also bought a clip-on fan to help keep air moving under the bimini if we're tied up in a cove.

[patoloco]

Oh yeah, and for use in restless toddler emergencies only....Cliffod cartoons on the IPOD video running throught the boat stereo.....used that one this past weekend when she got tired of sitting while the adults were finishing lunch.

[scottrob]

I thought I posted my 10 cents before, but must have not submitted or something.

Anyhow - taking an infant in a boat is not a good idea. That is, the continued bouncing, etc. is hard on their brain and neck (e.g. kind of like shaking them - this could have negative long lasting effects).

I strongly advise against doing that until they're like a year old and honestly I would not do it until 2 years old.

[Onthewater]

I thought I posted my 10 cents before, but must have not submitted or something.

Anyhow - taking an infant in a boat is not a good idea. That is, the continued bouncing, etc. is hard on their brain and neck (e.g. kind of like shaking them - this could have negative long lasting effects).

I strongly advise against doing that until they're like a year old and honestly I would not do it until 2 years old.

a bunch of people if not all here said they are very cautious with water conditions and the like. I don't think they are letting thier infants bounce around while driving double ups.

[Nautitwins]

We had our twin boys out on the water at 4months. At our local ski shop they had infant vests that were a little to big but worked. We used thier car carriers in the boat. Now that they are crawling around, they have thier vest on full time, they are 11 months old now. They love being on the boat.