Letting babies swim in lakes?

We just got back from an impromptu trip to a lake house with our friends, sweet! It was a good dry run for our week long vacation at my aunt's cabin next week.

First I was concerned because of the baby float recall and fish biting off my son's toes since they might look like worms, but then my friend made me think swimming with baby was like taking a dip in the sewer. I know we all have our different levels of comfort so I just bit my tongue and promised myself to do a little research just in case I'm wrong by letting Elliott swim in the lake next week. This is another symptom of my "Mommy Life Crisis", second-guessing EVERYTHING even though I used to feel so confident in my choices for myself or even as a nanny to other people's kids.

So here is what I found regarding babies swimming in lakes, rivers, etc.:

Baby Center gives us the OK since he is almost 8 months old, although they caution about the temperature of the water and a baby's ability to regulate their body temperature. They say that lakes are just as safe (or not) as pools when it comes to bacteria and the like.

Not sure how legitimate eHow is, but they suggest waiting until baby is 6 months and their immune system is developed before swimming with baby.

Bacteria seems to be an issue in pools and open bodies of water, so keep swallowing of said water to a minimum. This article's fun fact about the amount of feces that hangs out on our butts makes my stomach churn. They do make a good point about not swimming after it rains or in lakes that are identified as unsafe.

Or Elliott could lose his nose to a flesh-eating bacteria, yum!

I'm glad I researched this and personally feel OK swimming in a lake with Elliott next week. I can go back to living under my bacteria-laden rock!