We booked in for the term with Brighton Swim School Aquatics and will go weekly for 10 weeks.

The classes at the centre are appropriate to a child’s age, development and ability.

We’ll see how she goes, but I’d like to have her in swimming lessons until she’s proficient in the water, at the very least.

Apprehensive at first (not as apprehensive as her mummy was about getting into swimwear for the first time in 18 months – eeek), Millie was splashing about and giggling after 5 minutes in the pool.

The instructor said she was at a good age to start. Millie is 11 months and mostly understands what to do after some help or a demonstration (kicking her legs to make a splash, putting rubber ducks in a bucket).

Blowing bubbles in the water will take time, however. At the moment she is drinking it. Hmm. I really would like her to learn not to do that.

I didn’t learn to swim properly until I was at school (who remembers the Aquapass?). I don’t want that for Millie. It’s a life skill and I’m glad she’s testing out the water before she can walk or talk!

Millie and another little girl, Allegra, are the only two kiddies in the class.

It was so sweet to see my baby girl, who this time last year was still weeks off being born, discovering the joys of a swimming pool and trying something for the first time.

We can’t wait for next week.

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She’s been lucky enough to have been cast in some photo shoots for some fabulous Aussie brands (more on that in a post very soon).

But photo shoots take time and take their toll on mini models, so we had to give her usual swimming lesson a miss last week.

Not wanting to waste the fees I’d paid, we were able to do a catch-up lesson on a different day and time.

Whoa.

Who knew a different class at the same swim school would be such an eye opener?

The class we attended was jam packed. ARRGGH. Millie was completely distracted by all the noise and the instructor zoomed through the usual drills just to ensure everyone had a go before time was up.

Not a good start.

But I knew I was in for a fun ride when I hopped in the pool and was Ring-A-Rosing beside A MODEL. I recognised her from catalogues, but the perfectly coiffed topknot, black string bikini, false lashes and super all-over tan was a dead giveaway this was not your usual new mum.

Don’t get me wrong, she looked fabulous. Especially beside my pasty blob of a bod. Even in my super cute new (one piece) bathers, I was no match for this glamazon of the pool.

Ready to hit the water

After the uncomfortably cramped lesson, I was happy to be getting out of there (and thankful Millie’s usual lesson attracted no more than about 5 participants).

This was the next challenge. Getting out of the pool with a toddler is difficult. Making sure your swimsuit isn’t flashing boob, bum or tum is a mission while juggling floaties and a wet and wriggly baby.

But being discreet while clamouring out of the water should not have been a concern, for the change room was like a scene out of Police Academy.

Millie and I usually wander in and claim a shower before I dress her, then myself, with the help of a baby change table affixed to the wall.

On this particular day, there were two big kids hanging from the change table, rowdy kids sitting at the base of the showers playing under streams of water, prams with screaming babies pushed in the corners, bags/towels/clothes all over the floor and mums swanning around the room completely naked.

I get it. It’s a change room. It’s where wet swimwear comes off and dry clothes are put on.

But even I was unprepared. Millie and I were standing in the centre of the room. Dripping wet. Unable to reach my bag and towel or nab a hot shower. Surrounded by vajayjay.

We were in the middle of a nude merry-go-round.

These women must have been trying to impress one another. I have no idea what was going on. About 6 women were rudey-nudey at once and in absolutely no hurry to put it away.

The door was constantly swinging open, exposing their parts to everyone in the aquatic centre. They didn’t care.
Their own children were running amok. Young boys who had followed their mums in were staring.

One woman was standing naked in front of a foggy mirror BRUSHING HER HAIR. Proud of the fact that the hair on her head was the only hair on her body?

Another had stripped off and was bent over, fossicking in her bag.

One mum had at least put on a rather teeny, see-through G-string while continuing to dress her kids.

I’m no prude, but it was bizarre. I didn’t know where to look.

Am I the only one who uses a towel shield tied around my waist when taking off bikini bottoms? The only one who makes sure at least boobs or bum are covered when I’m in a busy change room? Mindful of trying not to flash other people’s school-age children?

I was almost convinced Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out of a cubicle to tell me I’d been Punk’d. He didn’t.

TELL ME: Am I being overly sensitive or do you think being discreet is good change room etiquette?

The post Memo To Swim Mums: It’S Not Rio De Janeiro appeared first on millie mummy melbourne.

Summery pineapples for the win

When holding the swimwear it immediately struck me how thick and durable the fabric is. There are no see-through areas once on and you can tell the bathers are made to last.

The racer-back styling means my daughter can swim without straps falling off her shoulders and the matching rash vest will provide the ultimate sun protection without being restrictive and preventing her from enjoying the beach as a little kid should. The swimwear dries super-fast, allowing Millie to play after a swim without being dripping wet. The bathers don’t seem to absorb much water which is fantastic when it’s time to go home – no soggy towel or wet clothes in the swimming bag!

The matching rashie is just as sweet Millie in her new Speedos

The fabric doesn’t contain elastane so will not degrade in chlorinated water. We’ve had multiple swimming lessons in an indoor pool and the bathers show no sign of wear and tear. They’re still as bright and stretchy as the day we received them.

Pineapple prints at the pool

The fit is perfect, my three-year-old has the size 3 and they are spot on – not saggy and not uncomfortably tight. She can jump in the pool and swim any stroke without the bathers restricting her movement.

Racer-backs are synonymous with Speedo

In a bright and happy shade of pink with a summery pineapple print, the bathers and rash vest are super cute and highly appropriate for a little girl.

This range is functional but still fun. With weekly swimming lessons in a chlorinated pool, I love that they will last and when on the beach this summer I have peace of mind knowing the rashie will provide excellent sun protection.

But don’t just take my word for it, find out what some other mum-kid teams thought when putting their new Speedos to the test. The full review is live now on parenting website Babyology.

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