Any Advice Just found out my wife is Pregnant

[swc5150]

Congrats! Our daughter turned 1 this summer, and one of the best pieces of gear you can own is a bimini top. With that said, be prepared for a massive decrease in your boating time. Your life is about to get turned upside down, but it's the best thing that'll ever happen to you

[cedarcreek216]

We have had both our kids in the boat from about 5 months on and now at 4 and 6 years old they would rather be no where else. As infants I highly suggest the yellow and blue foam infant jacket from REI. The front zipper is low so it doesn't ride up and it's cool so they don't get fussy. I have recommended it to three friends who have used it as well with great success. We put ours in this jacket and sat them in their car seat or carrier on the floor of the boat, not strapped in to the carrier. The wind and engine noise put them right to sleep.


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[s_kelley2000]

First of all congratulations! Our daughter just turned 2 a couple weeks ago and she loves the lake and the boat. Your boating adventures will certainly change but it's just a different type of fun. Since she was an October baby we never got a chance to take her out on the boat until the following spring but if the weather had been warmer we wouldn't have hesitated to take her out at a younger age.

We had gotten a neoprene vest at BJs but as others have said I think nylon is better at a younger as it it is less irritating to the chin and it doesn't get as hot on them. I too have heard the above REI one is great and will last them a while. Generally during her first summer of boating(7-12 months old) somebody would hold her while the boat was in motion. We never tried the car seat bucket but seems like lots of people do and it is a great idea if the child is too young to have head control. If you do use the car seat they should have a vest on and they should NOT be buckled into the seat. God forbid they ever got ejected from the boat the lifevest may not be able to get the child facing up if they are strapped into the seat.

As others have said a bimini is a MUST. We also found that thin receiving blankets work well for shade and/or wind protection when napping. It's also a good idea to have wipes, diapers, books and a few toys in a bag ready to bring on board each time. We found that Mega Blocks worked great when she was sitting on the floor of the boat so those are always on board. Like most, our child always took the best naps on the boat. We call it going for a "snooze cruise"....it never fails and still worked this past summer when she was almost 2. Just say no to orange gold fish haha.....or get a small wet/dry vac that plugs into the cig lighter. I got one for $15 on groupon that works great for crumbs

Getting them comfortable in the water as early as possible will certainly pay dividends. We did parent toddler swim lesson at a local pool that first winter and I feel she was much more comfortable in the water that the first summer. When they get a little bit older the Puddle Jumper vests work excellent and are coast guard approved. They work great because it puts the child in a natural swimming position instead of on their backs like most vests. We started with my daughter jumping off the platform holding hands to her jumping off a dock on her own by the middle of the summer. We also tried pulling her around by hand in shallow water on an inflatable ski trainer and she loved that but we never got a good chance to try her behind the boat due our lake being crazy busy every time we thought about it doing it.

If you trailer your boat each time then now is the time to try to streamline your launch and recovery process as best you can because things can get stressful quickly if Jr is crying. Figure out what works best for you and set reasonable expectations for what needs to be done with the boss lady. Each situation is a different and it took my wife and I few visits to figure out the new process but now that we have it down we are out on the lake with our daughter both weekend days for the most part.

Oh and great advice about trying to get in at least one adult boating day a year if you can. My wife and I played hooky one afternoon last year and it was fun to reminisce about how easy it used to be but we wouldn't trade what we have now for anything.

As you can see in our FaceBook baby announcement my daughter has been a Nautique fan since before she was born.


Working on her handle passes last summer


just about 21 months

[biggator]

My younger one was out on the boat at maybe 2-3 weeks old.. the car-carrier seats are foam and should float - and when they're older, get an infant life jacket with the big neck thing that floats them more upright (easier to grab, really).

Oh - and get rid of the flat-hulled boat and get something that gets banged around less... yes, the kid is a legitimate reason to upgrade a boat. Tell your wife that I told you so.

[ZIRB3L]

Our first son was on the boat around 2 weeks. He is 2 now and LOVES being on the water. Our second son was born a month ago, and as hard as I tried he has not had a chance to get on the water. Long trips on the boat are difficult with kids, like everyone else has said a bimini is a must. As far as vests go, we just got the Hyperlite infant vest and it works just fine.

[slidin_out]

Our son was on the boat at 6 weeks old and got up on a wakeboard at 4 years old. He loves the boat, wakeboarding, surfing, and most of all playing on the sandbar and jumping off the back of the boat a gazillion times. We spend a ton of family time together on the boat. A day on the lake doesn't cost any more than taking a family to the movies or out to eat and it's a heck of a lot more fun.

[kneebrdr]

I have looked at this picture, and cannot hold back any longer. Please do not do this, in the event of the boat going under, the car seat would float upside down and your child would most likely drown. I took mine out at 8 days old in a USCG approved jacket laying on a changing pad to keep him from rolling around the boat at the driver's feet. Put a blanket over him and he just napped away.

[HS]

Lot of good advice above. All signs suggest that the best is ahead for you and your family. Make the most of your time together and practice safety because boater safety is a learned skill, and as captain, your responsibility has just multiplied. Congrats, dad. P.S. take lots of pictures.

[evanrude]

Dont sell the boat. Kids love water. I have a 4yr old and 5yr old and another coming in Feb (all boys). This is my 4yr old wake boarding and surfing. Dont know if they are normal or not but they cant get enough of the lake.

[BoardSkier]

Congrats dad! If you can afford the boat, keep it. Nothing like kids (and their friends) growing up on the water!


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