Freestyle Breathing problem

Question
Ok, I am able to swim easily (I learned when I was young), but now I am trying to do it as an exercise.  My goal is to be able to swim 20 laps without stopping (a whole lap being this: swim across the pool and then back).  So far I can only do almost 1 lap without stopping, then I start hyperventilating.  For some reason when I try breathing, I slow down a lot.  It seems like I swim really slow and I always end up hyperventilating.  Does this take time?  Will it be a few weeks before I can swim continual laps without stopping to hyperventilate?  Or is this because I'm not breathing right?

Answer
Kevin--
You want to think about breathing while your swimming as being the same as breathing when you are walking around.  The most likely reason you are hyperventilating is because you are not blowing enough air out underwater, therefore you can't get a good breath above water and it does slow you down.
If you are breathing every stroke it may not be enough time for you to blow enough air out before you take your breath stroke.  Try breathing every third stroke,if you can breath on both sides, otherwise try breathing every fourth stroke(1 arm is 1 stroke).  This should be enough time to get the air out.
This can take a little while to fix,but you may be able to figure it out pretty quick.
Hope this helps,
George