Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Baby Swim Class.

This morning was day two of Carters baby swim class. We decided to sign him up for the class once we got settled here. Before he didn't care very much for the water. If we put him in the pool he would warm up to the idea and float in the turtle for a while. But once we got here he discovered his love for the pool, and instead of running away from it, he would immediately run for the pool stairs and want to stand by himself and splash. Not really understanding the concept of when he puts his face into the pool water he can't breath at the same time. That was the deciding moment, that afternoon we did a little research and found the local rec center had a class for infants and toddlers. It's nothing too advanced, we're really working on getting the babies to kick and paddle, working on holding their breath when going under water, trying to blow bubbles and getting comfortable with the water and trusting the parents in the water. We play a lot of little games with them and Carter loves it when he gets to go after the little floating balls. He also loves to splash and watch the other babies in the class. Since Carter was little he's always tended to keep his mouth open when smiling, laughing and just in general all the time. This really hasn't changed, so it's been a challenge to figure out how to get him to shut his mouth. This morning the instructor got him to do it and put him under the water for the first time. He did great! Then I felt more comfortable and was able to do the same a few times. The class is really more for me, so I learn what to do with him in the water and what things we can do to help our baby learn to swim and float. If he loves the water this much (still doesn't like splash pads all that much) I think the best line of defense will be to teach him to swim as early as possible.

1 comment:

The Youngblood Family said...

How fun Angie :) So, the swim classes are in Florida? The YMCA offers Mommy & Baby Classes here. If you guys join here, let me know and I might join you guys with Caroline.