Any Advice Just found out my wife is Pregnant

[Mark14]

Just found out my Wife is Pregnant and due in June. Looking for advise for taking a Baby on the boat. How soon ? What kind of life jackets are available for new baby ?How old do people teach there kids to ski ? This is also our first baby so any advise would be great. Thanks in advance for any help and tips.

[swatguy]

First off congrats.

Tell you what's worked for a lot of new boating families.
Invest in a nice bouncy chair and a Bimini. We kept both of ours in a bouncy seat in the walkway. While we were riding the baby would be out cold. You can brace the bouncer so it doesn't bounce if it's rough. But the bouncy is nice because the cloth the baby sits in breaths and the wind keeps em pretty cool.

All life vests fit different. I would recommend a nylon vest for the first couple vests. This is because the baby's chin and neck will be constantly rubbing and the nylon is much easier on the skin. Floppy hats and sunglasses are a must. Just listen to the baby. They'll let you know when to cut your day short or keep going. Take pics and enjoy because time flies.

Last bit ..... Ease them into the water slowly. Don't force them. They'll let you know when the water ready.

[Willandbill]

Congradulations on your new arrival. I went through the same thing back in 2000. Had a new 196 CB without a Bimini. We used to lift up the observers seat to keep our son in the shade in his "baby bucket". Don't even know if those are still being used. Broke down after the first 2 years and bought a cheap pontoon boat with tons of shade. We were lucky enough to use a slip next to my 196 so had the best of both worlds. Never had a life jacket until he was a little older, we relied on the inflatable "swimmies" on his arms and a lot of safety around the docks. Just have to pay attention, they will fall in now and again, just lift them out and learn. Got my son started on trainers right before he turned 5, and he was on a single 63" ski at 7. Just be patient, you don't want to discourage them at an early age. I would use the handle and bridle on dry land with my son sitting and pull him up to simulate the pull when getting out of the water. Good luck! Got rid of the pontoon boat when my boy got a little older, and have since graduated to a 2012 Ski OB. My boy still prefers slalom skiing to surfing and boarding, although we spend a lot of time doing all three. Best of luck again, main thing is the sun, the rest of the care will come naturally when you start dealing with fatherhood.

[Mark14]

Thank you so much this is some great advise I really appreciate you taking the time.

[OxDoc]

Congrats for sure. Based on my experience I would kiss that first summer goodbye as far as boating goes. Being that your baby is due in June, I would say your wife isn't going to feel too great for a month on either side of that equation. Also, the first few months are kind of a blur with no one getting any sleep. Wish you all the best, and I would't trade my 3 kids for anything.

[Kenv]

First off....congrats!!! Second....get a G25. (This is the perfect time to justify "the family is growing we need more space"....lol) Just kidding. All the suggestions above are great

[Live to surf]

Congrats. We have three kids with number four on the way. We have taken the 2 younger ones out when they were only a week old. The little ones sleep great in the boat and my wife was feeling well enough to want to get out of the house and drive the boat. We just left them in the car seat. Didn't idle the boat at all and kept newborn at front of boat to try and minimize CO2.

We have a Jet Pilot neoprene kid life jacket that we found works well. The problem is when they are little most life jackets will push up in their chins and then they can't turn their heads. We have an old school orange nylon one from when I was a kid that we use as well, but didn't work well till the youngest was 9 months old. I have seen infant life jackets on line but never bought one. Probably should have but didn't.

My daughter is now 5 and when she was 4 I bought her a wet suit. That was the best investment to get her in the water. Our lake is quite chilly. This year she started out in between my legs surfing and loves tubing and swimming off platform. I have found she does not respond to pushing her comfort level at all so I have just let her go at her own pace. Definitely was not ready to try skiing this year. Hopefully the boys will be more into it next year.


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[Laptom]

Just listen to the boss and the little one. Our first one was 4 months or so when for the first time on the boat. The second was after 5 weeks.
We keep them under the bimini (a must), in car seat with rescue vest and no seat belts. Second year they are crawling across the whole boat.
Keep the boat, it's a complete different experience with the kids. My last real wakeboard evening was 2 hours before the 2nd was born, but I would not want to go back anymore.


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[pokesgrad02]

Congrats!

We had both of our boys out in the boat early on. Oldest was born in December so he was a few months old. Youngest we had out within a few weeks of birth for our fall foliage run every October. We also just used the baby car seat. Enjoy the ride, they will be swimming in no time and asking for all kinds of crumb making snacks to help make boat clean up take much longer!

[Skidave]

Congrats!

We have 3 kids. All born in May (don't ask, it was not planned this way). 4th of July was always our first boat outing any year our kids were born. They were several weeks old, healthy and we are active people enjoying what we enjoy with our kids.

Like mentioned above, when they are newborns, it is much easier in a way. They are in the carseat that clicks into the base in the car or the stroller. Put the life jacket on them and in the carseat and they are ready to go. The boat, air and warmth makes them sleep great.

A few suggestions in no particular order:
-Shop your favorite online watersports retailer for infant life jackets.
-Bimini is a must if you don't already have one (for your baby and your wife).
-If your wife breast feeds and she gets a breast pump, purchase the battery pack or 12 car adapter. (yes, you can purchase a used breast pump and use new tubing and accessories. Don't be fooled by the hype with having to get a new pump-which is actually a vacuum.) When you are done with your kids, you can use the breast pump to suck the oil or tranny fluid out of your boat as well.
-As the kids get older, go to the dollar store and buy the sand bucket / shovel / rake combo to keep on the boat. It will provide hours of entertainment.
-As they get even older, throw a bunch of cheap water toys (floating little boats, etc.) in your glove box and just leave them there. You never have to worry about packing them.
-We are members of BJ's Wholesale Club (like Sam's, Costco, etc). Every Spring they have brand name neoprene kids life vests on sale. I have no clue why, but they do and the price is great. Watch for deals like these
-Swimming lessons at the earliest age. We started with Mommy and Me swimming when they were 6 months or so old. We have 3 fish. Ours reached an age where they became a bit timid of the swimming in our river, but they are growing out of that.
-Get them involved and have fun.
-Try to get an adult day of boating at least once a season. Sounds dumb, but the kids always want to go. Our boating shifted from all day with friends and adult beverages to family time. We try to go once a season with only adults so we can ride hard and party a bit before we go back to reality.

Best of luck.

PS -- Your wife may want to do the whole matching baby furniture idea. We did that and now my wife is not happy with any of it because of the way it 1) looks and 2) fits bigger clothing. So I am now Craigslisting furniture and buying new stuff. Yeah!

[swankster]

I can tell you what not to do. Sell your boat when your first is 2 and buy back in when your 3rd child is 8. 10 years without a boat is not good.

[scott resick]

My wife and I had our little girl out at 5 months. We didnt do any skiing with her on the boat. Just cruising and floating. But, we found out that the boat at about 20-23 mph put her right to sleep. And the early start to being on the water cant hurt. she is 2 now and loves the boat and the water.

[justhavinfun]

[Mark14]

Thanks again everyone this is great stuff just what I was needing Thanks.

[jhersey29]

Congrats! ALL I can offer is neck support and more neck support. When you hit a wake from another boat and see the kids head look like a bobble head you might freak out. I highly recommend any time moving to have babies in the seat at least until they can control their own heads with extra strength to spare.
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