Get Immunizations First

• According to Baby Center, it is best to avoid taking infants younger than 2 months into a swimming pool at all. Pools are often contaminated with bacteria, which may infect young infants, who are particularly vulnerable to bacterial infections. Bacterial infections often cause diarrhea which can cause potentially life-threatening dehydration. According to Baby World, it is usually best to wait to take an infant swimming until after he gets his first course of immunizations sometime after the age of 2 months.
  
  

Monitor Water Temperature

• Baby Center advises that caregivers monitor water temperature when you take infants to a swimming pool. Infants do not typically begin to regulate their own body temperature until the age of at least 6 months old and some do not adequately regulate their own temperature until they are closer to a year old. Pool water should be about 84 to 86 degrees. As a general rule, if the water feels chilly to the caregiver, then it probably feels really cold to the infant. An infant should be taken out of the pool, if he starts to shiver. Also, it is important to note that children under the age of five should never be taken in a hot tub because of the dangers of overheating.
  
  

Practice Water Safety

• Kid's Health advocates practicing proper water safety. A caregiver should either be holding the infant or holding onto the infant's float if the infant is placed in a baby float. As an extra precaution infants can wear a life jacket.
  
  When you take a baby swimming, you should always put an absorbent swim diaper on the baby to prevent further contamination of the pool water. Also, make sure to bathe the baby soon after getting out of the pool to wash off chlorine which may be irritating to the baby's skin. In addition, you should carefully dry the infant's ears to prevent infection.