Our First Swim Lessons: What I Learned (So You Don’t Have To)

Even though I’ve been a mom for almost 19 months, I’m constantly learning by trial and error. After two weeks daily summer swim lessons at our local city pool, I feel like I’ve finally figured out a rhythm—and I want to share what’s worked for us in case it helps you too!

Booking Swim Lessons: Affordable Options Exist!

We signed up through our local parks and rec department for a two-week Parent + Me swim class. It runs four days a week, 25 minutes per class—and the best part? It only cost $15 total. 🙌

Compared to local swim schools that charge $60–$80 per month for just one 30-minute class a week, this was a total steal. If you’re on a budget or just testing the waters (literally), I highly recommend checking out your city’s programs.

Prepping Ahead of Time

Doing anything new gives me a little anxiety. Doing anything new as a new mom? Forget about it.

Anytime I do anything new – sign up for something, buy a pass, book an appointment I always do a recon session first. I’ll do a “test drive” to see how long it’s going to actually take to get there and scope out parking, where I’m actually going, etc. So even though we lived down the street from this pool, I’d never been so I went on a little recon mission and scoped out the parking situation, where I was supposed to go, etc.

There wasn’t much info online about what to expect, so this little recon mission helped ease my anxiety big time. This is actually something I’ve been doing since college and have done for new jobs as well and it helps my brain prepare for the potential overwhelm of the first day doing something new!

Packing Essentials & What Worked for Us

Let’s talk gear, packing, and all the little things that made our mornings smoother:

The Pool Bag

I picked up a Bogge bag dupe – The Beachcomber Bag from Costco for $49.99. It’s HUGE and can hold quite a bit. The straps do slip a bit off of the connector piece on the bag (which is annoying), but it does the job. I’m not sure if the real Bogge bags have the same issue, so TBD on whether I’ll upgrade. Either way – I pack this thing full and then don’t have to stress if I inevitably forget to pull all the wet towels out when we get home and don’t worry about leaving it in the car if we have to go run errands after!

Commuting & Swim Diaper Strategy

I change Hobbs into his swim gear before we leave, except for the swim diaper. We use a reusable swim diaper from Green Sprouts because I got tired of him quickly growing out of the disposables, plus it greatly reduces waste! I learned the hard way that swim diapers aren’t absorbent—they’re only meant to catch solids. I would not recommend putting kiddos in their swim diapers and then in their car seats – so we do a quick diaper change once we get to the pool in the car because there’s less distractions since we’re in our “running from the law” phase as we call it – Hobbs like to just bolt from wherever we are, so car changes are less stressful!

For myself, I wear my suit and a UPF swim shirt and shorts in the car and then change into a loose dress so I don’t have to wear my wet shirt home!

Bright + Safe Swimwear

I grabbed some bright-colored swim sets from Old Navy—think neon yellow and coral. Why? Because water distorts colors, and bright (non-blue/green) swimwear is safest and easiest to spot in an emergency. I couldn’t find our exact set on Old Navy, but added some options to my Amazon Storefront under Summer & Swim Essentials. I’m not sure why more companies don’t offer brighter/neon colors!

Long sleeves with UPF protection also mean less time wrestling a wiggly toddler to apply sunscreen. Win-win.

Sunscreen & Sun Protection

For all the areas not cover by UPF cloths, we’re using Blue Lizard sunscreen—it’s reef-safe which means its clean and great for sensitive skin. To make application easier, I use a $8 makeup brush from Amazon (game changer) for application for both of us.

We also love this sun hat for outdoor time, but lately, we’ve skipped it during lessons since Hobbs is learning to put his face in the water. Otherwise, it’s a must for both the pool and the park and it’s one we’ve had since he was about 4 months old since it’s adjustable!

Post-Lesson Chaos & Quick Changes

After lessons, the locker rooms get super crowded since the Parent + Me and big kid classes end at the same time. To avoid the chaos, I usually do a quick deck change for H using a hooded towel poncho – this is by Zicoto, a little family owned business! I found them on Amazon. It gives Hobbs some privacy and lets me get him changed quickly while the crowd clears out.

I pack one diaper and a change of clothes for Hobbs for the ride home—nothing extra. I bought these travel toiletry bags in a set and they’ve gotten quite a bit of use postpartum! I always keep back ups of everything in the car in a fully stocked diaper caddy in case I forget something at home.

If we have errands or a playdate afterward, I’ll do a quick rinse in the locker room and change there. A loose dress is my go-to—super easy to throw on, even if I’m still a little damp. 

Snacks: The MVP of Pool Days

Even though lessons are just 25 minutes, H seems to burn so much energy splashing and playing (and occasionally crying the entire lesson). I’ve found having snacks ready to go to help with meltdowns post lessons. I’ve been using one of these Munchkin spill proof snack containers so Hobbs can munch while I dry off and repack our stuff and it saves me from having to clean up snacks dumped everywhere!

Bonus Summer Essentials

These aren’t in the swim bag BUT they are super important for Arizona summers: The Noggle since I don’t have air vents in the back of my car (opted for the 8ft) and this car seat cooler that has built in ice packs and it folds up nicely to be easily stored in the freezer between trips.

Final Thoughts

This might all seem obvious to some, but I always found posts like this incredibly helpful when I’m navigating new territory as a mom. I’m still learning—and probably always will be—but little routines like this make outings smoother and less stressful. Hopefully this helps you too!

Experienced moms—what would you add? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!