The UK’s leading Baby Sleep Expert, Jo Tantum, explains how swimming has helped her little one nod off much more soundly!
Ready to start swimming?
Find a class near me"Last February, I was blessed enough to have my daughter and although early, she arrived safe and well after many years of heartache.
Of course, I wanted the best of everything for her and one of those things that was really important was something that she could do just with her daddy. We looked around and thought swimming would be an ideal thing to do, a real bonding experience. The next thing we had to do was to find out where to go for lessons. We wanted a weekend slot and in the morning so it would fit in with her naps. Time and time again after speaking to people, and reading reviews online the same name kept popping up...Water Babies!
When Constance was five months oId, I went along to a taster session as it was mid-week and daddy was at work. The pool water was lovely and warm, something I was worrying about as I’m not a fan of cold water (is anyone?)! As Water Babies also use hydro-therapy pools, it means the water is heated, so she never gets cold. She loved the water and our instructor couldn’t have been more lovely. After we came home she napped for two and a half hours and woke up really happy. So we started a couple of weeks later!
Throughout the time she was having her lessons I noticed her getting more and more alert and aware of her surroundings and other people. Her hand-eye co-ordination has really improved and she loved chasing the ball and the little fish in the pool. Daddy loves his time with her and the trust between them has really grown. I hear him say "Constance, Are you ready?" before she goes underwater, and she looks him in the eyes. When she comes up, she looks straight at him again and smiles. It is so lovely.
Every Saturday after swimming, Constance always has a lovely long nap and goes straight to sleep that night and sleeps really well.
As a Baby Sleep Expert, her routines and her naps are really important to me. So I made sure she had a longer nap that morning by going up to resettle her once she woke. I would also put her in the car earlier so she napped on the way. Being flexible is really important. After swimming she was shattered, and she would fall asleep in the car on the way home. Then I would transfer her to her cot after giving her a feed.
She continues to love her swimming and also bath time. She loves her instructor Laura and all her little friends she's made. And we will continue with her swimming lessons until she’s at school.
I feel that it’s helped her physical development and also her appetite and sleeping. I would recommend Water Babies swimming lessons to any mums and dads out there! It’s the best thing we’ve done for her safety - and her future. "
You can find out all about Jo and her work on her website at jotantum.com.