Newborn babies have no fear of water. It is at 6 or 7 months that many babies first encounter fear.

When you pour the water over his head, make sure that you remain calm so that your baby stays calm. If he cries, stop and distract him with toys and songs. Once he's happy again, try to pour the water over his head again or wait for the next bathtime.

When you pour the water, start with only about 2 seconds worth of water. If he ingests water, which is unlikely since the water pours down from the top of the head, remain calm. It doesn't harm your baby. Your baby looks to you for social referencing. If you stay calm, he will remain calm.

Don't force them to do anything they don't want to do. Stay in very shallow water where they feel in control.

When you bring him to the pool, play with him in shallow water where he can sit, stand, and crawl. Use toys to motivate him to crawl to and distract him if needed.

Also, use this time to get him comfy with water on the face. You can demonstrate pouring water over your head and have fun with it. Then pour it over his head and praise him with lots of cheering and clapping every time you do it.

Start with bathtub swim lessons from the day you bring your baby home from the hospital. A newborn recently emerged from a comfy place of residence, submerged in liquid for nine months.

Maintain that level of comfort that your baby already feels around water. To do this, pour water over his head during every bath. For more details on this, check out the free course entitled, How to Prepare Your Baby for Swim Lessons 0 to 8 Months.

Dry drowning and secondary drowning, which is also sometimes referred to as delayed drowning, are not accepted medical terms. Here're the facts.

Hyponatremia AKA water intoxication. Wikipedia states hyponatremia or water intoxication results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by excessive water intake.

It takes a lot of water for hyponatremia to be fatal. This condition is scarce, but if your baby swallows a large amount of water (8 ounces or more), it can lead to Hyponatremia.

It’s doubtful that your baby would accidentally swallow anywhere near eight ounces or more of pool water during a swimming lesson or at bathtime.

So, the likelihood of your little one ending up with hyponatremia is very scarce. But in the off chance that your baby swallows a large amount of water (which is unlikely), it can lead to Hyponatremia.

The symptoms of Hyponatremia are vomiting, dizziness, lethargy, confusion, behavioral changes, completely clear urine, and swelling of the face, arms, or legs. If your baby shows these signs, seek medical attention immediately.

And the other medical condition is known as aspiration pneumonia. Dr. Peter Wernicki, member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council explains that "it's an infection that develops from water trapped in the lungs. But that isn’t drowning. It’s a rare condition. And a child with it would show symptoms, including coughing and labored breathing many hours after leaving the water, and parents would know something was wrong."

It’s Been So Blown Out of Proportion. So now we believe that anytime a child inhales or swallows a little bit of pool water that it's life-threatening. It's not the case. If your baby ingests or drinks a little bit of water unintentionally, there's no reason to concern yourself.

Remember, it’s only if the coughing lasts for hours and is accompanied by labored breathing that you would have reason to be concerned.

Short answer. No. You might think they can because most babies, not all, are born with a diving reflex commonly referred to as the mammalian diving reflex or diving response.

The mammalian diving reflex enables Babies to hold their breath when submerged underwater instinctively. ⚠️ Warning: Don’t dunk your baby without knowing how to condition them to hold their breath on command.

It optimizes respiration by preferentially distributing oxygen stores to the heart and brain, enabling submersion for an extended time. - Wikipedia

The diving reflex disappears at around six months of age. And just because most babies, not all, have this reflex, doesn't make it okay to submerge them before they've learned how to hold their breath by way of conditioning.

Many swim schools teach parents to blow in the baby's face just before submerging them. Blowing in the face stimulates the trigeminal nerve, which causes the baby to hold their breath involuntarily.

However, this method is harmful for two reasons. First of all, that's how we spread germs. Especially in the middle of a pandemic, which is the current situation as I write this sentence.

Secondly, if you submerge a baby after blowing in their face, you are essentially forcing them under the water. And forcing a baby to do what you want them to do should never be part of teaching babies how to swim.

The best alternative is to take the time to teach your baby to hold their breath on a verbal command. With this method of conditioning, your baby will build confidence and develop a love of the water—our primary goals.

First, you will condition your baby to hold his breath. This process takes a few weeks of regular practice. You will know when your baby is holding his breath because he will close his eyes on the verbal command, "name, ready, go." When he closes his eyes, that means he's holding his breath. He'll be ready for submersions when he can hold his breath on command for 5 seconds.

For more details on this, check out the free course entitled, How to Prepare Your Baby for Swim Lessons 0 to 8 Months.

You'll want to get TrustyTrunks. Copy and paste the affiliate link into your web browser. https://trustytrunks.com/?ref=CFOLDHorfV2V

They are the only leakproof swim diaper solution claiming to contain both solids and liquids. No other swim diaper on the market is leakproof.

Also, other swim diapers on the market can't guarantee to trap 100% of solid waste, so It often winds up in the pool. TrustyTrunks are meant to be worn over a regular cloth or disposable diaper.