I've recently started swimming with my 5-month old. He absolutely loves it.

But leaving the house is double the stress, as not only does he need a swim nappy, one over the top, a towel, normal nappy yadda yadda...then there's the big problem of ME.

Now us mums claim to be 'low maintenance', but let's not lie we strive to look good. Any woman does.

But now being mothers we feel the need to present ourselves as 'groomed' rather than wild banshee-I've-been-up-all-night. And we like to give the impression our children sleep well - (no idea why people feel the need to do this) if 'well' means 2 hours of dummy ping pong - so be it.

There's no competition as such, but what small amount of normality/sanity we manage to withhold we exude that in the form of appearing collected and calm -thus groomed.

I inspected myself this morning, the angry red spot I'd been sporting for the last week had softened, my lashes looked glossy and black and I radiated a little tan (thanks He:Shi).

'Hmm, not bad', I said to the mirror. If I can give the impression I'm aceing this motherhood shiz - we'll roll with that. So off we toddled to our Mini Swimmers  session: www.miniswimming.co.uk

So, first rule of swimming:

If you have a very active lad like mine his arms and legs will be flailing everywhere, so inevitably your hair will get soaked.

Tie it up into a trendy top knot. One point for practicality, one point for trendiness.

Try invisibobble an new innovative hair creation, even hotty Victoria's Secret model, Candice Swanepoel has a permanent invisi-bob on her wrist.

Second rule:

If you insist on wearing mascara, ensure it's waterproof. Every week I end up with panda eyes, I could stand in for Alice Cooper by the end of the 30 min session. Having Beauty Ed status when I'm not being a mummy - I should be highly embarrassed.

I love Max Factor Masterpiece Waterproof mascara, £9.99 for swooping lashes & no streaks.

Third rule:

If you're having a bad skin day, and it's making you feel poop, there's no reason why you can't wear something to conceal it. Don't bother with thick, cakey concealer. Why not try a nice, light tinted moisturiser, or your foundation mixed with your favourite moisturiser.

Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin Foundation, £8.99 isn't waterproof but it's hard wearing and will stay put, it's also non comedogenic which means it doesn't aggravate spots.

Origins Vita-Zing, £28, is light and airy, and it's efficacy at boosting an exhausted, pallid skintone is second to none. It evens out patchy skin tones and goes from moisturising cream to tint on contact with your skin.

LN xx