newborn on boat?

B

bbarquilla@gmail.com

New Member
Feb 16, 2007
51
My little girl is 3 weeks. My wife is aprehensive about boating this weekend. We would just be on the hook in a cove and have lunch and swim on the beach. Of course she would be in a car carrier. The problem...I have not seen PFD's small enough to fit her!

So boating witht the family this weekend. Bad idea or not? :smt017
 
If momma is apprehensive and something does happen...who is she going to blame? :smt017

I think 3 weeks old is pushing it just a little. .02 cents worth. :wink:
 
Boating with babies is great. Its one of the best times because they don't move around. My son just started crawling, so the summer will be interesting.

Here he is at 10 days old. We had him on the boat through the end of September. He's wearing a Mustang Lil Legends PFD, rated 0-30 lbs.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6d933b3127cce8ab78483653000000046108Acs3Lduzcsz




There are a few things you need to be careful of with babies. You need to be sure there is shade for them, keep them covered, and make sure they don't get too hot. We avoided the heat of the day, taking him out either in the morning or later in the afternoon.
 
Our biggest concern was support for the neck and do go easy.

We went out with another couple in their boat. This was a mistake.

In your own boat you can control how slow you go. Really, no reason to even get it up on plane. Just go for a nice slow easy relaxing time.
 
Our boy was born May 25th last year and we had him out on the boat at 2 weeks old. It was on a Thursday, so the water was calm, but we felt very safe. We took him on the boat all through the summer and fall with no problems. We put him in a PFD the same as b_arrington is referring to. He is a lot more busy this year, so it will be an interesting summer. :smt101

Here he is about 5 months old.
 

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STIHLBOLTS said:
If momma is apprehensive and something does happen...who is she going to blame? :smt017

I think 3 weeks old is pushing it just a little. .02 cents worth. :wink:
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My opinion is that you make all the arrangements and precautions to be safe, keep your daughter and Momma Happy. Find the smallest PFD you can and get her used to it. For our twins we took them out at about 4 weeks. Two carriers and 2 small PFD's. Now they're almost 5 and never have complained about PFD's because that's all they know. :cool:
I'll try to find some pictures later tonight and post them. :thumbsup:
 
First, Congrats on the new baby!

When we bought our boat our son was about 2 months old, and my daughter was about 19 months old. At 2 months he did very well, slept mostly. The motion of the boat soothed him. We did have him in a life jacket that fit well, can't remember the brand off had, we had bought 1 and didn't like it after the first time out with him, so we bought another. I'll agree that the main concerns are the sun and heat. Also, not sure about the car carier as the life jacket with the flotation behind the head doesn't fit well in a carier. Not sure of the size of your boat (ours is a 185 bowrider) but we put a few towels on the floor infront of the passanger seat under the console area and layed him on them, the behind head flotation of the jacket worked great as a pillow.

I'd say as long as the weather is mild and you're not bouncing off waves or wakes you should be fine. FYI we bought this little half circle tent shelter thing(not sure how to explain it) at wal-mart for 10 or 15 bucks. It's great for breaking the wind and gives a little shade for the little ones.

Good luck and have fun while you can cause mine are 2.5 and 1 yr old now and it's a lot of work to keep up with them on the boat. I miss the days of laying them down and they would stay there!

Charlie
 

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Here is our son ... 4 months old on our friend's deck boat last weekend ... as soon as the engine fired he was out cold and slept the entire trip and picknick. He's 18 pounds and fits fine into the infant vest. On the 340 he'll be in the vest or under deck ...

IMG_0343_1024x768.jpg
 
We took our girl at 4 weeks old to sleep on the boat, but stayed at the marina and didn't go out. We did have a PFD, but I forget which one.

She's now almost 5 and loves the boat.

One thing to be careful with car carriers and the baby in it... if it falls in the drink, it will go straight down. You need to be 101% careful!!! A better solution may be a basket type carrier where the baby is not secured with a seat belt.

Since your wife has some reservations, I think it's best to play it more conservatively. Maybe for the first outing, just spend some time at the marina. Next time just go out for a short ride. And then the 3rd time you can plan to drop the hook and stay a bit longer.

If you had stuff to carry before, now it will triple with the baby!

And... Congratulations!!! Fatherhood is awesome!
Esteban
 
Thanks for the feedback guys i have the 290AJ, so it has all the comforts of home. Berth, AC, running water...ect. I'm sure the baby will be fine. Now I just need to convince the wife....and show her this thread :smt038
 
papertrail290AJ said:
Thanks for the feedback guys i have the 290AJ, so it has all the comforts of home. Berth, AC, running water...ect. I'm sure the baby will be fine. Now I just need to convince the wife....and show her this thread :smt038
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You should let your wife read this thread, maybe that will comfort her. Better yet, if you know of anyone around with small children, go out with them in their boat and see how they handle it.
 
Hmm... we've had this debate recently, but not about my offspring. In a cabin w/ AC and you aren't going against swells rocking their poor brains against their skull, you are probably fine. I had friends w/ a 2-7 month old last summer that wanted to bring him along on the 240 Sundeck and I had to aggravate them by saying no. I don't think the deck is a safe enough boat for a kid that small and number one... I'm not taking the liability on my. Heck, I don't even let non-swimmers get away without jackets.

my .02
 
It's all about being a responsible captain. No matter how large or small the boat is, there is a risk. That is why they wear a PFD, but it is also your responsibility to insure the safety of all those on board.
 
BrentJones said:
It's all about being a responsible captain. No matter how large or small the boat is, there is a risk. That is why they wear a PFD, but it is also your responsibility to insure the safety of all those on board.
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I agree with that and belive by his actions that they would be responsible. I'm simply saying that the larger boat will provide a comfortable place for the baby to stay ie. the cabin, if needed.

Charlie
 
Caden was about 7 mths or so when we took him. He sleeps most of the time, and does really good on the boat. # weeks is awfully small, but being in a cove, going slow, you should be fine. Just watch the sun. We coat Caden down every hr. or 2 just to be safe.


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Dad Arrested at the dock in Naples FLA

As while back I was at the Naples, Fl City dock when a couple came in for fuel. Mom had their near new born in a stroller, all strapped in nice and snug, dad docked and jumped off to fuel.

The City & County marine police dock at the fuel docks and a change of guard was taking place. The constabulary saw the baby in the stroller in the boat with out a life vest and immediately ordered the parents to put the child in a life vest, which they did not have. The police arrested dad and hauled him off to jail the wailing tears of mom.

The Police made mom take the baby off the boat and they arrested the boat.

Mom was left on the dock with no money, an infant and no means of getting her self out of the jam let alone her hubby. I helped mom get a ride back to their home which was in Ft. Myers Beach which was easily 35 miles by road.

After witnessing that I had to say "Holy Life Preservers, Batman!" and now I who do not have children carry two small fry jackets for emergency use if a guest jumps aboard with kid in tow. One is a Mustang and it will fit a 6 pound Newborn.

If you'd take the child for a day at the park why not on the boat just make sure the childs safety is properly maintained and please don't strap the infant into a carriage or seat ... they do not float or float properly.
 
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