Down with swollen nappies! (Huggies Little Swimmers)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	Huggies Little Swimmers
Date:	28/04/09 (237 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Do what they say, don't leak, don't swell up, cute designs

Disadvantages: Not as cheap as buying washable swim pants, not very green

What are Huggies Little Swimmers?
Huggies Little Swimmers are disposable swim pants that are designed for babies and toddlers to wear when they are swimming or in the water.

And what is the point of them? Can't they just go nude or wear a regular nappy?
As we all know children that aren't potty trained will poo and wee anywhere they fancy, including swimming pools. This could distress everybody else in the pool, be upsetting for your child, embarrasing for you and generally quite messy and unhygienic. When regular nappies go in water they swell up really big and become very heavy. After too much water pressure nappies usually split open and cause a huge mess too. I learnt this the hard way! Most (or all) swimming pools gives the thumbs up to Huggies Little Swimmers.

What do they look like? How do I put them on?
They are not disimular to regular nappies in terms of appearance, except they are a little thinner. You put the Little Swimmers on just like you would a pair of knickers or pants (or pull up training nappies). They have stretchy sides that can be ripped off when you are finished with it. Do not under any circumstances put the swim pants on before you arrive at the swimming pool and expect them to absorb wee because they don't... another lesson I had to learn the hard way! I didn't really understand when I first started using them and put one on my daughter on the car trip to the swimming pool, when I got her out of the car she was soaked. I'm an idiot.

Is there any size or age limit?
Little Swimmers come in 3 different sizes - small (16-26 lbs), medium (24-34 lbs) and large (32+ lbs). The swim pants are suitable for children 6 months onwards and can allegedly stretch to 4 years. If your child is younger than 6 months then you might want to look into Huggies Swim Nappies which are just like Little Swimmers but in an extra small size and with tabs to udjust to fit. If you get the correct size for your child there should be no reason for them to leak in the water.

What do they look like? Are they unisex?
They are absolutley unisex and come in 2 different designs - a Finding nemo design and Winnie The Pooh design. Both very sweet, colourful and eyecatching.

Do I need to put a swimsuit over the top of the swim pants?
The swim pants have lovely designs on so you can wear them alone. If you want to put a swimsuit over the top then you can. I personally put a swimming costume on my daughter but I have used the swim pants without a costume on a few occassions.

Where can I buy Huggies Little Swimmers from and how much do they cost?
Huggies Little Swimmers are available from all good supermarkets and childrens shops (Mothercare for instance). They can usually be found next to the regular nappies. Some swimming pools even sell them at their reception desks. There are 12 pants in the small pack, 11 pants in the medium pack and 10 pants in the large pack. A pack of Little Swimmers typically cost between £5.00 and £6.00, which isn't bad if you don't swim much but can work out very expensive if you swim often.

And my experience? Advantages and disadvantages?
Well I have used Huggies Little Swimmers many times and have never had any problems or incidents with them. Infact my daughter has done a couple of colourful suprises in her swim pants in the past and I never even realised until she had got out of the pool (gross I know). It just go's to show that they really don't leak - not even a colourful trickle down the leg which I know only too well from bath time!
So my advantages are they don't swell up or leak in the water, they do what they are supposed to, they have cute designs on and you don't have to use a swimsuit over the top.
My first disadvantages would be that they can work out a little expensive - a one off payment would pay for a pair of washable swim pants which you can use over and over. My second disadvantage would be that they are not biodegradable and take as long as a regular nappy to degrade on landfills.

Summary: happy swimming!