So exciting, last weekend, we took our little one for a trial swim class. Because baby is still very small, a parent had to enter the water with him. I am quite jealous of the Hubs because he went down with baby. They did look like they had a lot of fun. For parents who are curious, the classes take place in an indoor thermal pool and the classes are pretty small (about 5 students).
Each class last about 30 minutes. Try to go early so that the parent taking photos can get a good seat to capture nice shots. I was quite lucky some parents let me have a seat (maybe cos I was too excited and disturbing their peace). There was an instructor around and baby did some water training such as floating and picking water toys.
As you know, we went for BabySpa as well (read our review here!) Personally, I feel that the BabySpa seems a bit safer for the baby because the swim school did water submersion for baby. (My heart did stop a bit at that.) I know many parents feel that swim classes are more value-for-money because the pool is bigger, but I do think baby is a bit too young to appreciate swim class.
Comparitively, he didn't smile as much but he didn't cry either. He was completely exhausted at the end of the class and we got to enjoy some date-time :P It was quite tiring for the Hubs as well as he had to squart most of the time. Swim diapers is not provided and you do have to spend quite a bit to invest in the whole gear.
To help fellow parents out there, here's our packing list:
- Thermal swimwear ($53.10) including swim hat ($15.90) and reusable diaper ($22.30) and cute panda towel ($17.90) from Cheekaaboo. The swim school will check on the reusable diaper and this passed. FYI, if your baby contaminate the water, you would have to pay a fine of $500!
- Disposable Swim Diapers (In retrospect, I should have bought them off BabySpa since there is a 10% discount, just quote "CHAA10")
- Body Shampoo (not used in the end)
- Clean set of clothes and diapers
- Wet bag with extra compartment
- 2 bottles of milk (not in photo)
Initially, I did dress our cutie in his full gear. But since this was at an indoor pool, the instructor took his swim cap off. This was his first time wearing his thermal swimwear (6-12m) and dang it was getting tight. Tip: Get a bigger size for your baby for longer mileage! Psss...Cheekaaboo is having 19% off right now and there is free shipping when you spend more than $100!
If you plan to let your child swim frequently in the condo/ public pool, it is pretty important to invest in a thermal swimwear so that your child can be kept warm. This piece by Cheekaaboo had a velcro at the back to prevent it from falling off. FYI, babies do struggle quite a bit. Not to boast, but my child did turn a few heads when he was dressed like this (have to admit I was beaming with pride throughout). Go for neutral colours like ours if you want to pass this piece to baby #2 in future. Erms, nope this is not a baby announcement. There is no sibling yet la!