shamu Report post Posted April 20, 2008 James goes for swimming lessons each week and loves the water and class (he doesn't actually understand the instructor etc but they are geared up to SEN children and happy to work with him). However he has developed a rather frustrating habit of opening his bowels at some point in the lesson every week and we have usually only just managed to rescue him out of the water in time to avert a full drain of the pool... He is not toilet trained and has no awareness so I use disposable swim nappies but wondered if anyone had found anything that is totally effective? I can't manage these near misses much longer and as he is quite loose it's only a short time before we do face a full drain if I don't find anything better soon! We have tried to work out what the triggers are as he doesn't usually poo at this time of day, but they seem to change weekly and I'm desperately hoping it's not a new habit that he has to poo in the pool every time..... Shamu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aro Report post Posted April 20, 2008 My guess would be the water temp? If it's cold maybe his body crunches up, pushing things out. If it's warm it could be a relaxing effect. We just use the main brand disposable swim nappy but not had it tested in this way so far A x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizK Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Have you tried a disposable swim nappy with a reusable one over it? All babies and toddlers in the local aqua babies class had to wear that combination to prevent leaks and it seemed to work Lx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westie Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Sorry not had this issue (yet) but the suggestion by LizK sounds like a good idea to try! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tjololo Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Hi Shamu, your problem sounds familiar...our ds attends a SN school and they have a hydro session each week. Ds loves it but 98% of the time, he fills his swim nappy (disposable, brand beginning with 'H'). Sometimes (2%!), he doesn't open his bowels but I think this is luck, in that he has probably already been beforehand. I think the reason why he consistently poos in the pool is pure excitement! He enjoys it so much and just lets go, I guess. We've had poos in the bath sometimes too but these are rare and fortunately, it hasn't happened for ages. To answer your query about swimwear, I do not know what the answer is and I dread the day when our ds is too big for the largest size of swim nappy - he is in the largest size now but it is a tight squeeze! I would hate for him to miss out on hydro but I really do not know what the solution will be so I will watch this thread for any advice. On a gloomy note, an outreach worker from a local PMLD school told me that some of the older kids there can't use the hydro anymore because they don't have the appropriate swimwear Not a very positive way to end this post, let's hope somebody out there knows something that we don't... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shamu Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Thanks for the replies - I will look into whether any of the neoprene nappies will fit him and use that over the swim nappy. It's particularly frustrating because until 7 weeks ago it had never happened before and now it's happening more often than not. I wonder if it's the water temp (we used to swim in a hydro pool which was uber warm and he never pooed there) but there's not much I can do about that.... I'll let you know how I get on in my quest! Shamu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Hi shamu... don't have anything to add re appropriate swim wear, but the 'double bagging' idea seems to make sense As for the 'why'... two thoughts (probably both useless but maybe...) - (1) Are you swimming for longer periods than you used to, or is he swimming more actively? Just the thought that the lower gravity in the water combined with physical exertion might be getting things on the move? That could even apply if it's just making him want a wee (and who doesn't need a wee as soon as they get in the pool? Thank heavens for chemical 'spoilers' I'm sure the water is much purer now than it was in my day... school swim galas would have looked like a red arrows display!) because taking a wee involves relaxing/using muscles in the same general area. (2) Could he be swallowing the water and maybe chlorine (or whatever it is now) acting as a laxative? Dunno - the only other observation I could make is that his mum shares her name with the Killer Whale at Sea World in Florida, so perhaps it's genetic! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephanie Report post Posted April 24, 2008 How about a swim nappy and then just regular swim shorts with the inner net kind of thing?? Or even some tight fitting trunks/rubber pants as a layer between the two - just to bide some extra time to get him out of the pool. How about one of those all in one sun/swim suit type things? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emum Report post Posted April 24, 2008 Hi Shamu, your problem sounds familiar...our ds attends a SN school and they have a hydro session each week. Ds loves it but 98% of the time, he fills his swim nappy (disposable, brand beginning with 'H'). Sometimes (2%!), he doesn't open his bowels but I think this is luck, in that he has probably already been beforehand. I think the reason why he consistently poos in the pool is pure excitement! He enjoys it so much and just lets go, I guess. We've had poos in the bath sometimes too but these are rare and fortunately, it hasn't happened for ages. To answer your query about swimwear, I do not know what the answer is and I dread the day when our ds is too big for the largest size of swim nappy - he is in the largest size now but it is a tight squeeze! I would hate for him to miss out on hydro but I really do not know what the solution will be so I will watch this thread for any advice. On a gloomy note, an outreach worker from a local PMLD school told me that some of the older kids there can't use the hydro anymore because they don't have the appropriate swimwear Not a very positive way to end this post, let's hope somebody out there knows something that we don't... There is a great online company called incy wincy which does incontinence swim wear right up to adult size, and the designs for the older wearers are very unobtrusive. We've bought stuff from DD from them when she was still in nappies on a few occasions with no problems at all. I don't think we are allowed to post links for commercial products on here, but if you search for them using google you'll find them, and your DS can enjoy swimming for as long as it takes for him not to need a swim nappy any longer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shamu Report post Posted April 27, 2008 (edited) Just a little update - I had him in a neoprene swimming nappy OVER the disposable nappy AND his swimming shorts (which have a net thing but would be useless as he's so loose...) and he didn't poo So this week was fine, but we've not really properly tested the system out yet have we For anyone who has older children who need protection, the company I bought the nappy from can do bespoke larger sizes (I bought the largest size which is 20kg plus and it's got plenty of room for James who is around age 5 in clothes, although he's only just 4.....) If you want the link, drop me a PM Thanks for all the help. Shamu Edited April 27, 2008 by shamu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites