breathing whilst swimming

Question
Hi
I am a 40 something who is learning to swim for the first time but I am having great difficulty breathing without taking in water. I am doing an exercise where i lie face down in the water and work on my leg stroke which was poor. I keep my face in the water and breathe out through my mouth. My problem is when i come up for air there is water in my mouth and swallow it when taking in a breath. i then loose my leg action and start sinking in the water again. i cant seem to keep my head out of the water to breathe properly. I don't mind having my face in the water but i cant get oxygen when i come up without totally loosing my forward movement.

any advice appreciated

Sincerely
Michael

Answer
I apologize for the delayed response but I believe I can offer some insight into your breathing difficulty. Swimmers, especially for freestyle, breathe to the side in order to not stop or sink. The kicking of your legs should never stop during laps unless you are turning and the arms are coming up and going down into the water at different times while pushing you forward. right elbow comes up and the hand goes out of the water by your side and goes back in above your head, the left arm then does the same motion and so on.
Moving on to your interest in breathing during swimming:
when that left elbow goes up the head turns (not raising the neck at all) to the right and a quick breath is taken in... after the breath has been taken in the head goes straight back down with your nose to the bottom.
The out breath is released through the nose during strokes so it does not slow you down.
Go to youtube.com and type in competitive swimming videos and watch their breathing techniques; it is tough to get use t but it will become second nature after some practice.
Thanks!
Hope this helps