Baby swim classes?

[Rachels]

Have any of you done a mother-baby swim class? I'm wondering what they're like. I know they start for infants as young as six months, and I like the idea of playing and getting her used to the water so that swimming lessons are not so scary when she's older. But I wonder if the pool temperature is chilly, or if the classes are scary, or anything else that would make it a bad idea. Has anybody done this?

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[JMarie]

I have never done this, but I do remember my mother signing up with my youngest sister (she's sixteen now...) and they just loved it. It was actually held right before our swim lessons, so we sat and watched the class. The babies just seemed to be naturals in the water, for the most part. It was pretty hilarious at times, and I would participate sometimes when my mother was having a bad day (she has MS and would be a little too weak to hold Sara). I do think it helped Sara as she got older - she and my mom kept up the classes until she started swimming lessons, and by then she was just a fish in the water! Also, if it's an indoor pool (which I would assume it is this time of year) you should be fine as far as water temperature. Just be sure to have a big towel at the side of the pool in case the air is cool. HTH!

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[alandenisefields]

Rachel,

Thanks for using our message boards.

Actually, I (Denise) have some interesting insight into baby swim lessons. In my former life (in college) I actually taught swimming lessons including infants and toddlers.

So my take: definitely try to get in some mom-tot classes. Do not go for "drown proofing" classes as they will not drown proof your child and will scare the hell out of your child and you. They aren't worth the trauma.

That said, I'd recommend looking for a warm pool as you already surmised. Find out how experienced the teachers are and go observe a class or two. If you sense lots of unhappy babies/moms, don't take lessons from them. (Just remember there are always one or two babies that don't take to it or are having a bad day.)

Finally, consider including Dad in a few of the lessons. You can't imagine how rewarding this will be for him and the great pictures it will generate for your album and other family members.

Best wishes,

alan and denise fields
authors, BABY BARGAINS

[brubeck]

I've done this twice now (once at 8 months and once at 19 months).

The first class was in an outdoor pool. If it was a cold day I was worried that my daughter would catch cold. If it was a warm day I was worried that she would burn to a crisp and she had to wear a sunhat in the pool (that got soaking wet, naturally).

The second class was in an indoor pool and it was wonderful not to worry about either of these factors. So one of my big recommendations is to make sure it's an indoor pool.

Two other factors to consider: quality of instructor (which you can gauge by asking other people who have taken the course) and quality of changing rooms. Many of the changing areas are locker rooms with no baby facilities which makes it difficult to do a diaper change. It is also difficult to change yourself if you can't put your baby on the floor for a second. On the way in this is no problem (wear your suit under your clothes, strip them off quickly when you get there) but afterwards when everyone is soaking wet it's not so much fun.

All that being said, my daughter loved both classes. She enjoyed floating on the water and being held, and at 19 months was able to deal with being dunked and kicking and learning some skills to grab onto the edge of the pool and climb out. Obviously she is NOT ready to swim on her own, but the purpose was to acclimate her to the water and they did an excellent job in that respect.

In the first class I took there was one child (almost 3 by the look of him) who did nothing but scream and cling desperately to his Mom whenever they entered the pool. I look at starting these classes early as a way to avoid that kind of scenario. If you are taking your baby into the water at an age when they trust you implicitly (such as less than 12 months) then they should be gaining a good comfort level with it.

If you decide not to take the classes, you can also gain this comfort level with a young baby by holding them while you both sit in a full bathtub. Before the first class I did this and my daughter loved that too, which made me more confident.

[egoldber]

I did this with Sarah when she was 7-8 months and it was very worthwhile. This was not a swim class, so much as a water introduction. I took my class from my local county parks&rec center. The instructor was pretty good, but not what I would call excellent, and the class was still very worthwhile. The class gradually got them used to being in the water, to bobbing around in the water, etc. The instructor did not "make" you put your baby under the water, but did discuss how to do so properly if you wanted to try it and had an older baby (the class I took was for babies 6-18 months).

I know folks who took their (similarly aged) babies to a class through a local university and their experience was bit different. They were all dunking their babies on the first lesson and I would NOT have been confortable with a class like that. So I would definitely ask about their policy on this before taking the class.

I do agree about an indoor pool being a must. I took the class in March and it was still quite cold. The pool was heated, but it was still rather chilly many days. Also, brubeck is absolutely right on the difficult logistics of getting both you and your baby dry after the class. We spent as much time after the class getting ourselves together as we did in the pool!!! I also took the class with a few mommy friends from my playgroup and that made the class a little more enjoyable. This was also helpful in the post-class logistics, because you could leave your baby briefly with someone you trusted to be able to run to the bathroom or run rinse off.

In our class, we also had a few older kids (13-18 months) for whom this was their first pool introduction, and it was MUCH more traumatic for them than it was for the younger babies. I don't think being in a bathtub is the same experience, because in addition to the water, there is the experience of being in a large pool, with all the surrounding water and pool noises, which really was a bit overwhelming for some of those older babies. We have taken Sarah in many pool on our various travels since then and she has been great.

HTH,

[jojo2324]

Did any of you find that chlorine was a problem with the indoor pools? I have been interested in water time for DS, but the smell at the Y is overwhelming. TIA!

[egoldber]

Well, they SHOULD monitor the chlorine, and if the level is unsafe, they shouldn't allow you in the pool. That being said, we both did come out smelling with a definite odor of chlorine, but I guess I never worried about it.

[LisaS]

I took baby swim classes w/DD from 5 months and at first, it was great, she absolutely LOVED it for the first session. We did Baby Stage 1 for 6 weeks and then Baby Stage 2, but never quite finished. Like Beth and brubeck have said, they are generally much more abt getting your baby comfortable being in the water -- the introductory class is. My DD loved the first session and then she moved up to the next one, where the babies can "go for a swim" -- first head above water, then below while you hold them and then you let go while they are below (all for a few seconds). She was fine the first couple of times, but she never mastered closing her mouth so ended up swallowing water and getting upset. She was able to close her eyes, but not her mouth (too busy babbling). It got to a point, where she would start crying when she saw the pool..., and then she started hating her bath, which she has always loved, and it just wasn't worthwhile to make her miserable, so we are on hiatus from swim class for now and will try again. I took the class with babies from 5 months - 1 year and my DD was one of the younger ones, the older babies... 9 - 11 months, did much better. I think maybe we started too young; we started just before 6 months.

But, we did go on a few of pool/beach vacations with her, at 5, 6, and 7 months and she loved going in the water with us...(no dunking). We bought one of the inflatable baby seats and put her in it (One Step Ahead and BuyBuyBaby both sell ones with a sunshade over them) and pushed her around the pool in it and she had a great time.

The logistics, as they mentioned, can be a nightmare but I found a way around this. I always brought my stroller in with me (b/c I walked to class) so this gave me somewhere to put DD when I had to change. I would get her dried and changed first and then strapped into her stroller. If the changing area/locker-room has a large handicapped changing stall w/bathroom in it (most public places are required to), use this b/c it gives you more space for the stroller and if you're not so lucky to have mommy friends w/you in every class then you can safely go to the bathroom yourself w/baby in view in the stroller in the room.

[sweetbasil]

I registered my 19 month old an myself in a baby swim class in June '02. Sadly, after attending only one day with him, I broke my ankle. While I was in the hospital following surgery, and for the rest of the week, my husband and my dad took turns taking the little guy to swimming lessons. It really ended up working well, though, because he feels comfortable swimming with all three of us now. Sometimes, I wonder if he isn't TOO brave in the pool now! ;)

[brubeck]

No problem with the chlorine here, but then I have never really had skin issues with either myself or my daughter. If your baby is the type to react to certain diaper creams, lotions or laundry detergents then maybe you want to keep an eye on things and try to minimize the amount your baby's eyes get soaked. But generally speaking I don't think there's a problem.

My only problem now is that Baby #2 is due any day and I want to take him to swimming lessons this summer. I'm not sure how I'll do 2 babies at once so I may have to schedule a Saturday class so my husband can come too!

[egoldber]

Ok, does this make me a horrible person, but I am planning baby #2 so that Sarah will be in pre-school for part of the day when baby #2 is old enough for these kinds of activities, lol!!! :)

And I also used to bring my stroller into swim class. In fact we wheeled our strollers right out to the pool!! This was actually part of the problem in my class, so many mommies had strollers in the locker room at the same time! Also, in my case, there was a water aerobics for seniors class that got out at the same time as our class, so there was quite a logjam in the old locker room!!

But despite all this it was really fun. It's also a good way to meet other moms. Several people from class used to go out for lunch afterwards.

[brubeck]

Ho old is old enough for preschool? My kids are going to be 25 months apart. I suppose I could put the older one in pre-school a couple of mornings a week but I am worried about how she will adjust to the new baby as it is and don't want her to feel rejected.

Actually come January I am having a babysitter come for a couple of hours in the morning twice a week. During that time I will take my older child to some enrichment classes so we can spend one on one time. I wanted one of them to be swimming, but given how wet we usually are after the classes I didn't want to regularly emerge from a humid pool room with dripping hair into the cold outdoors with my toddler (especially when I will be breastfeeding). So the swimming (even though it is indoors) will be delayed until spring at least.

[egoldber]

Around here, pre-school "age" can be anything from two and up depending on the school, but I think that 3 is a bit more typical. The catch is that they usually want your child to be at least daytime potty trained.

We are planning things (knock on wood) so that Sarah will be almost 3 when baby#2 arrives. I figured that would give me about 3-4 months with new baby before Sarah starts pre-school. I decided that taking care of new baby AND having to have Sarah up and ready for pre-school by 9 would be too much for me initially. (I truly admire working moms who have themselves and their children ready and out the door before 8!) Am I overthinking this or what? :)

I think getting a sitter a few mornings a week is an excellent idea. I am seriously thinking about getting someone in one afternoon a week so that I can get some time to myself.

[brubeck]

Okay so now I'm totally off topic but in response..... :-)

Actually my work is part time so I normally have the sitter in two mornings a week anyhow. We love her and she doesn't overcharge, so we didn't want to lose her this winter when I am on maternity leave. The original reason to have her was to keep her semi-employed so she would be available when I went back to work. Having her take care of the new baby while I spend one-on-one time with my older child in an unexpected bonus, but one I am going to take full advantage of! :-)

Oh yeah, and with a new baby coming any day now I am NOT expecting any potty training progress in the near future.