Swim class?

[ellabee]

Does anyone do swim classes with their LOs? 

There's a 6m-2yr class at my YMCA that I was thinking about doing. It's a 1/2 hr and just focuses on gaining some exposure to the water. 

My parents have a pool and I'd like to spend some time there with LO this summer, so I thought it might be nice to start exposing her at the Y this spring. 

Also - if you have done a class, what did LO wear? We'll be using a cloth diaper for our swim diaper, but I didn't know if I should be buying a suit that has a floaty thing attached? Or arm swim things? 

[monster]

We did swimming lessons when LO was 6 months. You can buy reusable swim diapers, we had one made by Charlie Banana. You wouldn't want to use a regular cloth diaper because it would get too heavy. LO just wore a swim suit. IN our class the parents were holding them the whole time while getting them to float on their back/tummy, or just bouncing them around. Floaty things would have gotten in the way.

At the cottage we used one of those floaty rings in the water.

[nattybumppo]

Just a note about diapers - one place we looked at required you to buy a specific kind of diaper from them. I think it was a reusable kind. So you might want to check with the place to see if they have any requirements or recommendations for swim diapers. Same thing for the suit....they may have recommendations of what kind of suit is better for the class. (FWIW, we didn't actually do swim lessons....we just looked into it and for one reason or another, never got around to signing up for it.)

[katka512]

We've done lessons at the Y. LO wore a disposable swim diaper with a reusable one over it (I was paranoid.). She wore an iplay bathing suit over that.
I held her the whole time so no need for a floaty thing.

[bennieangel]

We're doing lessons right now through our community center - they are just to get LO used to the water, we hang out with him, try to get him to kick his legs or splash his arms, etc. We used disposable swim diapers because that's what I had from this summer - if we do it again I will probably buy reusable (we are planning to do it again). Eventually we'd like to get him into more "serious" lessons, but since we don't have a pool or lake property there's no rush.

My only tip is make sure he has a swim shirt, sometimes the pool is cold. But no, I wouldn't buy any floaties or anything, they'll probably have some there you can use for parts of the class (ours does).

[twaffle]

We've been doing swim lessons for about 6 months now. Every Monday morning and he loves it! He wears a reusable diaper and a rash guard. No floaties as he needs to Learn how his body moves in the water.

[ntdane]

We did lessons with DS1 around this age. We just used a disposable swim diaper with trunks over it. I agree with the suggestion of using a swim shirt/rash guard. The babies get cold and those seemed to help.

[ellabee]

Thanks everyone! I'm looking forward to starting the class.

I was wondering about those rash guard shirts. I'll make sure to get one.

[jjsmom80]

we did two sessions of swim class at the ymca. reusable diapers with swim trunks and a rash guard. He loves swim class. The teacher uses him as the example all the time. Dunked him right under the water, no screaming or tears! She says its much easier to get them used to water in their ears at a younger age. The firs time two years old were screaming!

[zandeela]

I may look into classes over the summer, we don't have a pool and don't know of anyone with one so I have not rushed into teaching her. She does love bath water though

[kaitkat]

We did lessons at 6 months she loved it! So much splashing and kicking I will probably re enrol her in the summer when we went the main goal was getting baby used to being dunked in the water. I had chronic ear infections as a child so we try hard to not dunk her in the winter since its so cold here. So I think summer lessons will be better for us

[lostinfaith225]

We did swim lessons when Lo was 6 months and are about to start back up next month. He loves it!!! I would get a disposable diaper. Our place required it.

He swam in swim trunks and I would put a swim shirt on sometimes as nov hit.

[lostinfaith225]

Oh, we did songs, had them going under water, "jumping" off the side of the pool into the water, floating with us. Fun!

[jtizzay]

Cute. I need to do this

[bsouls]

Do people ignore nap times for classes or try to pick one where you know LO will be up? I want my boyfriend to take T to some sort of class to help her socialize, but he is using the uncertainty of nap times as an excuse to not do it.

[ellabee]

I picked the class with a time when DD is consistently awake (11:20-11:50).

[sanibel21]

I keep meaning to start swim class! I hope I remember to look into it today!
I usually pick nap friendly times but there is one that falls right at her nap time. I usually leave early to see if she will take a cat nap on the way. It usually messes up our day a little but its nursery rhymes and books at the library and she really likes it/I think its a good one.

[bennieangel]

bsouls, we picked a time where LO is usually awake (4:30pm on Sundays). BUT there have been times where we've had to wake him up for class...but he's always happy to be there

[meggsm]

We went to lessons in the fall. She had a blast and is comfortable with water in her face. They did songs games and played with toys. I'd like to do them again with her maybe in the summer.

We have a reusable swim diaper by apple cheeks that's great. We also have a suit but she didn't wear it much.

We had an early riser/napper but a few times she missed a nap or it was pushed back but napped directly after her lesson and sometimes had a longer nap;)