Bradley's First Dip in the Pool

With B's first pd at TMC, we asked when can we bring him to the swimming pool. She said not until he's at least 6 months old, and I agree with her. With Dr Zainal, he said anytime as long as the water temperature is not too cold and each swim should not last more than 20 minutes. DH was excited and want to bring him for a swim. I, on the other hand, although excited, wanted to play safe and wait till he's 6 months old.

As he moves towards the 6-month mark, I started getting excited and bought his first swimwear. I would have love to see him in a rash guard and board shorts, but I guess that will have to wait till he's much older. Next item on the list to get him ready for the first swim: sunscreen! I always have very terrible reaction to sunblock and my face and body break out in horrible, itchy rash that often lands me in the doctor's clinic with an injection. So I am particularly careful with B's already sensitive skin. The things to look out for when getting sunscreen according to Babycenter:

* Zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide

* PABA free

* Paraben free

* Fragrance free

PABA stands for para-aminobenzoic acid and was once commonly used in sunscreen as an ultraviolet light absorber. Because of its high allergic reations, it was removed as an ingredient.

Parabens are a class of chemicals used in preservatives and in recent years have been found to link to some cancers.

With these in mind, I went in search of a baby sunscreen. Hah, actually not much searching required as all I did was to go into Mothercare and they only carried 2 brands.

Remember to do a skin test before using. Rub a small amount on the inner arm and wait for 20 minutes to see if there's any redness or reaction.

I was so worried he would catch a cold and used 3 towels on him.