Being a new parent comes with more than enough advice from friends and family. Try these bottles. Put him to bed at this time. Teach him to do this. Try to do that everyday.
We all can relate to the barrage of well-meaning tips and tricks to having a baby and coming out alive (and somewhat well rested) a few years later. However, every once in a while comes the “I wish someone had told me fill in the blank.”
This was true for us, unfortunately, when a friend mentioned the Baby Splash classes at Hubbard Family Swim School in Blue Ash. By the time the recommendation got to us our little one was just 3 days shy of 6 
months, the age limit for the Baby Splash classes. We still enrolled him in the next level up (Little Snapper), which he enjoys tremendously every weekend. We were sure he’d splash around in the pool all day if he was allowed. The whole ride home after that first class we kept saying, “I wish we had known about the Baby Splash classes sooner! We could have been taking him for months!”
The Baby Splash classes are a gentle introduction to swimming and to the water. They focus on water safety skills, water acclimation, back floating basics, and comfort and balance in the water, as well as some bonding time with mommy or daddy. All your baby needs is a cloth swim diaper (we got ours on sale at Target for around $7), and an adult who’s willing to jump in with them. In fact, the cloth swim diaper will be your only cost for the Baby Splash classes. Yep. You read that right – they’re FREE until your baby turns 6 months. Another reason I wish I had known about them sooner! $0 for some quality fun with your little babe and a half hour with truly wonderful instructors – who could pass that up?
Hubbard Family Swim School is located inside the KidsFirst sports complex in Blue Ash. I was amazed at the size of that building. They offer everything from music classes to tumbling for a wide age range. I was also amazed at how clean everything is, not only in the KidsFirst building, but especially in the swim school area. I would think having hundreds of kids through the doors weekly would be a recipe for a crazy huge mess. I was pleased to find very clean bathrooms, huge changing tables, and an area to rinse the chlorine off after class – showers that are probably cleaner than my own actually. We will certainly be back, if not for the swimming skills, definitely for the memories and fun!
About Emily:
Emily grew up just north of Cincinnati in Hamilton, OH and now lives in Western Hills with her husband Jim, their son James and their lunatic yellow lab, Rosey. Emily graduated from Xavier University (Go Muskies!), and is now a stay at home mom after working in marketing and promotions for local radio and TV stations.
Emily spends most of her free time visiting the manatees (James’ favorite) at the Cincinnati Zoo, shopping at local antique shops, or singing Beatles songs with James who typically just stares at her like she’s crazy. Emily hopes one day he’ll join in but for now she enjoys his giggles. She also enjoys photography and has quickly turned into a Pure Barre addict while trying to melt away the daily milkshakes she consumed while pregnant. So far it’s going well, but Skyline frequently gets in the way.
Emily loves to write and is looking forward to connecting with other Moms in Cincinnati while writing for Cincinnati Parent.