I agree that the swamp is quite a bit more difficult than the black forest.. constantly wet sucks I would say avoid night time period. Cold and wet is a no go also the wraiths can be a bit much early on.

Bring a hoe with you and try to level out the ground as much as possible. I don't mess with the poison resist meads it's easy to kill blobs with a few arrows before they get to you and I don't think I've ever in my life actually been hit by a leech but they maybe helpful for others.

Just take your time make sure you have good food at that level like deer meat, royal jam and maybe beef jerky should be good enough. Try to go in with rested buff. Be mindful of your surroundings.