Swim, baby, swim!

Malanga baby and I hit the piscina this weekend for her first baby swim class. She seemed confused and on the verge of crying at first, but was kicking and splashing by the end of the 30-minute lesson. She got the same joyous look on her face in the water that she gets when she is flying through the air on a swing in the playground.

I was pretty happy, too. It was my first time in a pool since my pre-natal swim classes (with amazing Andrea of Aqua Moms in Manhattan). One of the things I miss most about being pregnant is swimming every Thursday night.

I started looking for swim classes for Malanga Baby back in the fall, but didn't have many leads. I found one place in Forest Hills, Queens through Google that seemed to take younger babies, but they never returned my calls. Then I tried the local Y, but their fall session was starting when my daughter was just under six months and they were very strict about the six month age requirement. So we had to wait. Unfortunately, the bathing suits I bought on clearance in September no longer fit her. I did, however, find that Baby Gap has their full spring line out now, including bathing suits. So here we are, swimming away. I predict that Malanga Baby will love the beach come summer.

Classes at the Y seem like a good deal financially and we didn't have to become members to sign up. A very helpful tip I picked up from another mom in the neighborhood is to bring Malanga Papi along to the Y. It was very helpful to have another pair of hands to get Malanga Baby ready and to hang out with her when I had to change in and out of my own suit. And, of course, he could be the parent to go in the water with her if he wanted to, but in our case, he didn't.

BABY SWIM CLASSES
WHERE: YMCA, check your local branch for locations & times
THINGS TO BRING: Baby bathing suit, parent bathing suit, swim diapers (available year-round on diapers.com), towels, lock for locker, flip-flops for pool area, another parent or friend to have a pair of dry hands to help. Bathing caps are available on site for $7 or $8 each. These are required at the Y.

PRE-NATAL SWIM CLASSES
WHERE: Aqua Moms in Manhattan, check local gyms in other cities
WHY I LOVED IT: There's nothing better than the feeling of floating when you're carrying around all that extra weight. It also greatly relieved joint swelling and just generally made me feel good and refreshed. An added benefit was how well I slept the nights I swam. I like to think that I also toned up the muscles I needed to push Malanga Baby out and later carry her around all day in my arms.