swimming advice needed!

[jennyh]

Hi

I want to sign my daughter up to swimming in Sept when she wil be just over 6 months. She currently has a milk feed at 7am, 11am and 3pm and when the time is right I will introduce solids. My question is what time is best for the lesson? I have the option of 10am, 11am or 12pm. She must wait an hour after feeding before swimming but I am not sure which session to go for. Without wanting to completely over-complicate, she currently naps at 10am and 12pm ish. I've no idea what sort of a routine 6 month old babies keep so I am not sure what the best time would be. Anyone got any advice or experience of 6 month old napping/feeding habits??

All thoughts greatly appreciated!

Jenny

[mockney piers]

By then babies are all a bit different, but napping less, eating more spread out, especially if on solids.

My main bit of advice is to try her down the pool before signing up to a long course. The mocklet who seemingly has no fear and enjoys most things, most emphatically hated swimming. Water was too cold, he hated the chlorine and in no uncertain terms did he let me know that dunking is a big no no.

I'll try him again at some point, but all told it was a pretty traumatic experience, for me more than him I reckon ;)

[Fuschia]

Swim at 11 them ling nap right after p

[snowboarder]

The only thing you can be sure of is whatever works at 6m won't by the end of term at 8/9m!! I just worked round times - most baby groups are at either 10 or 11 though. 11 probably best for most but it sounds like her first sleep is really late - my 4m old currently goes down around 8.30am - and that first nap tends to stick around for a while fairly consistently (my 2 yr old only dropped his by then 9am nap at 16m).

[Saffron]

Whatever time you choose, you might want to try splitting the 11am milk feed into 2 parts, a bit before and the rest afterwards. I always found that Little Saff didn't enjoy her swim if she was too hungry or too full. When we were only b/fing I always did a short feed 1/2 hour before her lesson, usu just before we got changed for the swim. That would probably have equalled around 2-3 oz of milk when she was 4-5 months old.

When she started solids, I did a hearty breakfast (eg porridge oats) around 8/8:30. We went for a walk at 9ish. She would have a big bottle in the buggy and then a short nap till 10ish. Our swim lesson started at 10:30. Afterwards she wanted a b/f or bottle straight away. Then she would totally zonk out for a long nap.

Snowboarder is right in that you will likely have to make rolling changes to your routine as your baby grows. And as mockney piers says, some babies don't like cold water. Try to find lessons at a pool that is heated, or at least warm. If your LO seems at all chilly, invest in a baby wetsuit. They're not expensive. A little fleecy suit for afterwards is good too. Look for something snuggly you can easily slip your hungy, tired baby into w/o too much fuss. Forget getting the arms and legs of a slightly damp and exhausted LO into complicated little onsie things.

Have fun swimming!

xx

[mrs f]

Depends on your routine but I'd say either the 10 or 11 would work better.... Then she will not have fed for a while & will be ready for lunch after, personally I'd opt for 10 so you are them ready to feed by 11... She probably won't nap quite so much then either, but similar to SB our morning nap is earlier at 9am, I'd have thought the 11am feed stays at that time & is more established than the nap no?

[jennyh]

Yes her morning nap is usually 8.30am/latest 9am but she needs at least an hour otherwise is massively crabby. Problem is she rarely sleeps longer than 45 mins so i spend the rest of the time trying to get her to sleep a bit longer...often takes me up until 10am or just beyond. Anyway, sure it will all change by then, I imagine that the 10am would be best. Hoping that she will eventually be happy with shorter naps so that I dont have to do the ssshing, rocking, patting etc!

Thanks everyone.

[buggie]

Bugglet has had 11am swimming lesson since she was 5mths old. Initially she would (on a normal day) sleep from 9-1030 or 11 and then have br/feed at 11. On swimming days I'd have to get her out at 10am to get there on time (we go to London Bridge). I would give her a little top up just before her nap (often didn't take much) and when leaving pop her into the buggie with a shade over her to try & get her to sleep more.

Once dressed would feed before heading back (when she'd typically sleep) and lunch once home.

Bugglet dropped her 11am feed pretty much once 3 meals a day were established so she now has v v weak juice/water and annoyingly doesn't fall asleep until we're 5mins from home - argh!

Also now use my baby carrier as there're so many buggies parked there it can be a bit of a nightmare! x

[prm]

Jenny, I think you may be signing up for the same swimming class we are doing at the moment..we started at 8 months old and have a fairly similar routine to yours so found 10am to be the best time. We do 7am milk, 8am solids, 9am I put her in the pram and walk to the pool (I wonder around a bit so she gets a chance to sleep a bit before the class),9.45 go in and get changed, 10-10.30 swim lesson. That gives you time to get changed and give her milk there at 11 before you head back home. Hope you enjoy your swimming, we love it!

[jennyh]

Thanks everyone! It is a bit of a minefield, still shocked at the amount of effort i put into planning these things and thinking in advance about what is to come. I should have learnt my now that there is no point in trying too hard. Perhaps I am trying to cling onto the orderly approach i took to working life!

[mrs f]

It took me three attempts at thinking about c 's routine before I worked out which time was best! Are you doing baby swimming? We are gOing for the 10am class in sept then too... Will be sooo cute seeing our two in swimming costumes :-)

[womanofdulwich]

if you are going to drive to lessons, there is always the chance you baby will fall asleep on the way home.

[jennyh]

Ha - yes they will look cute, what about us though!?

[prm]

jenny, I also spent weeks in advance stressing about how everything would fit when we went swimming and trying to get our routine in place so it would "suit"...but once you go the first time you realise it's nothing to worry about, it was actually surprisingly easy

[mrs f]

jennyh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Ha - yes they will look cute, what about us

> though!?

Oh I hadn't thought!... What am I going to put my car crash of a post pregnancy body into... Reinforcements need!