Swim Baby Swim

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Being a pretty useless swimmer myself, I was keen to get Fred into the pool as soon as possible to ensure that he is confident and capable in water. I also thought that after spending 9 months in the womb, he’d probably be fairly at home there.

We began lessons when he was 4 months old and haven’t really looked back. Such is his excitement, that even before we’re in the pool his legs are kicking in anticipation and that’s pretty much how it continues throughout the lesson (which is lucky!)

We’ve recently joined London Baby Swim in Wandsworth, which I’d highly recommend. It’s in a purpose built unit, so there’s loads of space. As the focus is on babies and toddlers, the changing rooms are set up with baby changing mats and a playpen, plus there are high chairs in the reception area. The facilities are also kept really clean and the water temperature is warmer than a usual pool, so very baby friendly. In term’s of the lessons, there’s a really nice balance between helping the babies to learn some essential skills and having fun in the water.

We’re now reaching 6 months of swimming lesson, so along the way I’ve picked up some top tips on how to make the most of the experience. I hope that you find them useful.

  • Be organised about finding lessons – in London, baby swimming lessons tend to get booked up fairly quickly, particularly for the more popular weekend slots, so sign up to newsletters from pools that you like the look of, which means that you can book as soon as that term’s lessons become available.
  • Give yourself plenty of time – getting yourself and baby changed often takes even longer than the actual swimming.
  • Make sure that your baby is well rested before the lessons – a cranky baby is more likely to be overwhelmed by the experience, which can mean tears in the pool.
  • Double wrap your baby’s bottom – your cute little floater doesn’t want to be the generator of any floaters in the pool, with some pools now insisting that you use both a swimming nappy and Happy Nappy swimming trunks.
  • Plan your post lesson escape – have everything that you need to get baby warm and changed at the top of your bag, as it saves you having to scrabble around after the lesson.
  • Take a drink and snacks for your baby to have after the lesson – the lessons might only be 30 minutes long, but it’s both mentally and physically tiring for them.

Baby Soft Play Fun At the National Army Museum

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A few years ago, a friend of mine was in the process of buying a new house and as she listed some of it’s assets, high up the list was the soft play area for children located just 5 minutes away. Pre-baby, soft play was a world that I’d never really ventured into and not too surprisingly, wasn’t a big interest of mine! It wasn’t a widely available activity when I was growing up, although I do vaguely remember the ball pool at Blackpool Pleasure Beach… I was an extra tall 9 year old that exceeded the height limit, so much to my dismay I wasn’t allowed to enter. I stood on the edge watching my little sister, ‘our Nic’ have all of the fun. Yes, soft play holds some tough memories for me, although I think I’ve fully recovered from this hard lesson in life now. Anyway, moving on…

With little Fred in tow, I can now see the benefit of having a good soft play area nearby and am even becoming quite well versed on what’s hot and what’s not in the world of soft play fun! Having attended a couple of the big commercial offerings, I can report back that their scale can be a little overwhelming. They often seem to be in purpose built warehouses, which doesn’t help the acoustics when you’ve got 200 kids screaming noisily with excitement. Perhaps these larger spaces will come into their own when Fred’s a bit bigger and I can leave him to play whilst I escape to the cafe, but for the moment I just want something a bit, err ……calmer?… more chilled?

A tip off from a friend pointed me in the direction of the National Army Museum Kids Zone which I have since visited with Fred. It’s suitable for children from 0-8 years and has lots of different zones: climbing frames, a dedicated soft-play space for babies, arts and crafts, dressing-up costumes, books, interactive toys and panels. Plus, it is a far, far more calming space than some of the other soft play spaces, so is great for younger ones.

I’m sure that this is largely attributed to the ticketing system which they run, where you book your preferred time-slot online before you arrive – very handy. This keeps the number of children to a manageable level, which is important because it isn’t a huge space. The staff are absolutely lovely, and between each session, they run a 10 minute break for a quick tidy up which means that whatever time of day you go, it’s tidy, clean and generally feels well nurtured and looked after.

To top it all, the entry price is just £2.50, which is an absolute bargain for central London and should appeal to all thrifty Baby Jumblers! I can highly recommend it for a lovely outing for you and your baby.

To read a bit more about soft play for babies, and to find some other ideas for activities, here are some links that I found useful:

Benefits of soft play areas
UNICEF’s Early Child Development Kit (loads of good ideas and activities)
How to Stimulate a Child’s Mind, Michael Meyerhoff

Our top tips for flying with a baby….

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I’m a little ashamed to admit that at the grand old age of 10 months Fred has already taken 12 flights – through a combination of his daddy getting a 3 month job in Australia, alongside me wanting to make the most of my maternity leave, catching up with old friends. That adds up to a terrible carbon footprint (hangs head in shame). Although it does mean that I’ve become a bit of an expert on how to fly with a baby. Here are my top tips:

  1. Accept that it’s no longer going to be possible to get the absolute cheapest seats – travelling at baby friendly times tends to be more expensive: that’s just the way it is unfortunately.
  2. Ask for a bassinet cot – on long haul, specifically ask for a seat with a bassinet cot when you book, as they can often be highly in demand. Dependent on the airlines, they can be used up to 2 years. Each airline’s website details the size/weight restrictions. Read more about the restrictions on this blog that I came across.
  3. Be smart about packing – travelling with a baby generally means more kit, so you’ll probably have to check some luggage into the hold. On the budget airlines, if you’re smart about your packing, you can just take one large family bag, rather than paying for lots of individual bags. Remember things like highchairs and car seats can often be borrowed/hired at your location.
  4. Utilise space saving items – Totseat is a brilliant alternative for a high chair and is especially useful when eating out, as many countries don’t have highchairs in restaurants. Whilst the Babyzen YOYO is the first stroller that can be taken on as cabin baggage.
  5. Tag team it – if you can, travel in a pair. If your baby is wailing or if you have a toddler who just wants to be on the move, it’s handy to have someone else to take their turn with them.
  6. Early bird catches the worm – give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport and to check in. If your little one is anything like ours, they’ll strategically wait to fill up their nappy for the point when it’s going to be most inconvenient. Changing a nappy on the floor at the gate because you’re worried the plane is going to leave without you, isn’t pleasant for anyone.
  7. Take a carrier – it makes life easier if you have your hands free. I started out with a Baby Bjorn, but have now progressed onto a Macpac as Fred has got heavier. If you do bring a stroller, sometimes you can take it right to the gate, but there is still the risk that you have to wait until the luggage carousel to get it back when you land.
  8. Don’t be shy about getting additional assistance – the world is getting more baby friendly these days – some airlines offer priority boarding for families, airports now have family lanes, they might even have a soft play area tucked away…..in short do your research on what’s available before you go and don’t be afraid to use it. I’ve also found that generally people are happy to help if you ask. So for example, security staff were fighting over themselves to hold Fred whilst I organised my stuff to go through the security scanner. I like to think it’s because he’s especially cute, but I know really it’s just the baby thing.
  9. Give your baby milk during take off/landing – babies can struggle with equalising their ears during take off/landing, which can obviously cause them some pain. So getting them to take their milk can really help.
  10. Breast feeding makes life easier (if you can) – on long haul flights I found that being able to breastfeed really helped to settle Fred. It also made things easier at security checkpoints as we weren’t carrying lots of formula milk. If you’re not breastfeeding take lots of cartons and bottles. Also, be prepared to sample your products at security.
  11. Try not to worry too much about your baby crying – Fred was quite a colicky baby and I was terrified that he would disturb our fellow passengers on our long haul flight to Australia. Amazingly the background noise and movement of the flight lulled him to sleep. It was so effective that I’ve thought about producing a ‘Baby Sleep Plane CD’. Also, if you’re near the back of the plane the drone of the engines tends to drown out the most high pitched baby screams. If it does all go tits up, then many of your fellow passengers will have been there themselves – I’ve found that in the main people are usually sympathetic.
  12. Distractions are good – your bundle of joy will get bored on the flight, we all do! So take along a selection of their favourite toys to keep them amused.
  13. Use food pouches to minimise mess – weaning is tricky enough, but trying to feed your little one on a plane in a confined space is especially tough. I’ve found that food pouches and rice cakes are the most convenient foods when on the move.

I hope that these tips are helpful. If you have any other suggestions do please get in touch to help future mums embarking on what can initially be a terrifying prospect, but with a little preparation can be almost as smooth as travelling on your own.