baby on the boat?

I've got a 4 month old and hope to get him out fairly soon. How long have you guys waitied to bring your kids out for the first time? Also, what did you sit them in or did someone just hold them the whole time? My wife said something about bringing the car seat but it's pretty bulky and he probably wouldn't fit in it too well with his life jacket. Just looking for some ideas.

Thanks

My parents had me on the water when I was 3 months old. Wait, that explains alot...

I have great memories of taking my son on the boat when he was as young yours. He looked like a green M and M in his life jacket. Most of the time he slept. Usually his mom would hold him or let him lay on the seat next to her.

http://www.salusmarine.com/bijoux.html
This is comfortable and it keeps them afloat. You are not usually required to have a life jacket if they are under 20 lb. but we always did. This came out after our first two were too big.
Two months old was the youngest I've had one out. We always brought the car seat because they'll spend most of the time asleep but we did not tie them into it. If you just have a lay down baby seat that would work just as well.
A little bean bag chair would also work.

one of those bouncy seats right in the walkthru under the bimini. Works like a charm.

my daughter was one month old on her first day on the boat. when she was the we took her on her first camping/boating trip for 3 days. the first few times out we brought the car seat in the boat and used no life jacket. at about 3 months old we got her an oneil neoprene jacket that has a float behind the head.

i can tell you right now that if you want to have a pleasurable experinece for the next couple years out on the boat you better get him out ASAP and in a vest. the quicker you your son gets used to it the quicker he will enjoy it. i have seen many people cut their day short because their kid was not happy with the vest. you can even put the vest on while you at home and let him get used to it even when not on the boat

My daughter was born in March of 05 and was on the water by June.

Here's my two girls that summer...

id say when they are able to hold up their own heads and they are a little more developed since a boat isnt the smoothest ride.

Sis was on our boat at 8 weeks it used to be the only thing that would put her to sleep

my daughter has loved the boat since day one. she used to always fall asleep immediately when we got moving and stayed asleep the whole day.

these days if i go on the boat without her she gets mad at me. absolutely loves the boat. even when its cold.

Wearing the appropriate baby vest, we placed our 3 month old baby girl in a laundry hamper with some towels in it. Fits like a champ and very easy to carry! Tried the carseat first, but just not enough room with her vest on. Good luck!

We took our son on the boat when he was less than 1 month. They are great at that age, they just sleep. Make sure they are out of the sun!
We covered him in a light blanket and he just layed on the seat with someone next to him.

It depends on the kid. My daughter hated the boat when she was younger but loves it now. My son was indifferent to the boat when he was younger and is still a bit afraid of it now. When they were too young to hold up their own heads, they had those infant lifejackets on and we held them the entire time we were moving. I don't think the issue was the girl being too young as much as it was the hassle of bringing her out with us when she didn't want to be there.

If you do use a car seat, don't strap them in. You don't want anything unnecessary dragging your child down into the water in case of an accident. I'll second the putting a lifejacket on them at home to get them used to it.

Throw them in and have them hang out in the jacket

cute pics!

wife's due may 8th and we've got a 5 day trip to banks lake 4th of july weekend. should be interesting. plenty of help around though as there will be 13 of us. i'm actually more worried about our 19mo old.

Two of our kids were 4 weeks and the other was 3 weeks. They grew up around the water. The earlier you get them out, the sooner they are used to it. Don't freak out about it they will feel your fear and always be afraid. Babies usually just sleep with all of the engine noise. Have fun.

yeah, this will be our 3rd. shoot me now.

our oldest is great, our soon to be middle didn't get much water time last year so i'm a little nervous about this summer. you're so right about the motor and sleep though. works like a charm. looking forward to it!

no expert here, but i would have to say, just don't go hittin' any big double ups or something and bouncing the boat around

Daniel Watkins told me he's already jumping wake to wake with his 18 month in his arms. Now that's crazy!

Not to get off subject but my daughter is two and I'm looking for a life vest for her. Any suggestions? She wants something pink so I was thinking the Hyperlite Girlz Child Indy Neo. What does everyone else use?

our now 4 year old wore that vest last year and loved it. hers wasn't pink, but it was the def the hyperlite indy. our 2 year old is wearing it this year and the now 4 year old has a new pink HO jacket very similar to the indy. we graduated from the head flap jackets as soon as they could use their "diggers" and right themselves in the water.

(Message edited by brucemac on April 24, 2008)

I have the Jet Pilot for my 2 yr old!

We had ours out from probably 5-6mos. Got one of the life jackets like the one above and held him most of the time. We made a little next out of towels and life jackets usually between the walk through or in front of the drivers feet for nap time. Now he's 18months and was very upset last weekend that I was in the water and he wasn't...he's not getting a dry suit yet...that's all there is to it.

What do you guys put them in while on the boat? My daughter is due on June 6th and we would like to take her towards the end of the summer.

My sister brought her six week old on the boat for Memorial weekend, but her and my folks held the baby the entire time on the boat. That is exhausting so putting them in a bouncer or something would be a much better idea I would think.

we brought the carseat/carrier out a couple of times and just secured it as best we could on the floor. He wasn't strapped in most of the time. Once he was slightly more mobile, he wasn't thrilled being in a carseat all day, so we held him, let him crawl on the floor a bit or sit next to us on the seats. No standing while moving though

Brooke - Did he/she fit in the carrier with a life jacket on?

Bruce,

Thanks! The one we have for her now doesn't have a strap on the neck and I don't like not having quick access to yank her up. This one should last her for a couple summers since she is right at 30 lbs now.

I think he did for a while early on but he wasn't always in a life jacket. (begin flame session)

It also can get pretty hot out there. Does anyone use a fan/mister type device? I've kind of been looking for a clip on/battery operated kind of thing. Any leads?

Our son was born at the end of Feb and on the boat in May. By the end of the summer I had him floating in the water with me. Now (at 8yo) we can't keep him out of it.

At first I thought you were Jesse James.

Don't strap them in if you use a car seat. If something were to happen and the car seat went over board with your baby strapped in it could be bad news. Boaters safety course demonstrated what could happen if the seat sank...you would have a hard time pulling it up fast enough to prevent drowning. Throw a car seat to the bottom of a pool with the weight of a child strapped into (not an actual child) it to see what the potential risks are.

My parents had me on the boat at 4 weeks old. I turned out fine...haha. Its never too early!

My son was out on the water in just a couple of months and it was always the same story, as soon as he hit the boat he was out for the afternoon. Later in the first summer and the next he was awake all the time he loves watching. As for keeping him cool during the HOTTER months in Houston we would use a damp towel to cool him and keep the little guy out of the sun while sleeping. Addressing the whole car seat thing I always felt better strapping the child in with the easy to use secondary chest strap and strapping an adult life vest to the handle of the car seat. Reasoning for using the chest strap is that if one of my boys were to fall out of the seat it would be impossible to find them in the muddy water of the south. I can't live with that.

Get those kids out on the boat, and I'll see Ya'll in 15 years at the Pro-Wake Tour

My now 11 month old goes nuts unless he is sitting on my lap holding the wheel. When tired he will fall asleep with a tight grip on the wheel and you have to pry his hands from the wheel to steer.

When less than six months be careful they don't overheat and protect them from the sun. Also watch the bumps until the develop some strength.