Fishy...

My little fish - he's done so well this year with swim class! He's now able to push himself, backwards, off the wall and swim on his back. Until he realizes he can watch the video...

My Little Fish...

Here's my little fish - he has no fear and is already pushing himself backwards off the wall

Summer Fun...

Today, we went to hang out with Kirk & Deanna to enjoy a summer afternoon! Alexander was very excited to see his friend Marina.We also went over to their neighbor's house and played in his pool for a bit. Alexander, being the dare-devil that he is jumped in a few times and even jumped off the diving board. He had NO fear.Then after some swimming time, we played baseball while Marina enjoyed her new car!

Vacation Video...

Here's a brief, yet cute video of Alexander practicing going underwater.

Swim Time...

Swim Time!Today, we went over Steve & Ann's for a 4th of July cookout. Alexander was looking forward to the pool but we weren't sure just how much of a reality this would be. Well, we were pleasantly surprised!I bought him this swim-vest that allows him to float and he really did well! He was able to spin himself around, doggy-paddle & even kick on his own. Daddy was in the pool with him the whole time but the times where Daddy let go, Alexander did great! He even jumped in a few times and once went under water & he was good with it! We had a hard time getting him out of the water, he loved it so much!I guess this year's swim sessions with Mommy will go a lot smoother!

Swim Class...

This morning, Alexander & I went to swim class again. He loves going to class now unlike the first time. The whole way to class he kept saying 'jump in pool' as that is turning out to be his favorite thing.


Once we got to class, Alexander couldn't wait to jump right in. We got in and started kicking right away. We got a toy that they use to throw for kids to swim towards them - so that's what we did for a bit. We kicked around the pool for a bit. Then we jumped in several times - and he's getting less nervous about jumping in. A few times he would even jump off to the side instead of directly in front of me...so I would play around and twirl him.

I tried to teach him how to blow bubbles into the water but he couldn't understand the concept of closing his mouth...we'll try again next week!

Swim Class #3

Swimming class today went well. There were only 3 families there, including us, so it didn't feel as crowded as usual. Alexander had a ball and got into the water right away, he even let me put on the floaties without too much of a fuss.

We swam around and I tried to get him to kick to different places he wanted to go. We went to see the little baby (who's 7 months old) and the Daddy showed Alexander how the little girl goes under water by blowing on her face first. Alexander said he wanted to go under the water but didn't quite get the concept down of closing his mouth first.

We tried it a few times but I didn't fully put him under and then the time I was ready to and thought he understood the closing of his mouth, he opened it right as he was about to go under so he got a mouth-full. But he was good and kept right on kicking, jumping & swimming.

As we were getting changed, he even wanted to try out the shower. He didn't fully stand under but he got a lot further than he did last week. Baby Steps. He's all excited to go back next week which I think next week's lesson will be how to blow bubbles in the water.

Swimming Lessons: Part II...

Today was Alexander's 2nd swimming class. We talked about it during the week and he seemed genuinely interested in going back into the water to kick & jump.


I'm happy to say that today went extremely well! He knew exactly where he was and what to do once we got to swim class. When Allison walked into the locker room, it was cute he waved to her and said "Hi A-son". Needless to say, Allison's mommy & daddy were very impressed that he was 1) not crying and 2) remembered who Allison was.

He wanted to put on his swim diaper, lock up our stuff in the locker & bring our towel. He was practically dragging me into the pool! We walked into the pool area and he was chomping at the bit to actually get into the water. There was no crying at all. We let a couple kids go in first but he couldn't wait. He walked down the stairs on his own and didn't seem to mind that the water was chillier than last week.

There was a different lifeguard there and he made me put a floaty around Alexander. I thought this was going to cause a meltdown but Alexander wore it with not one complaint the whole time. We spent the 30 minutes "swimming" and kicking around the shallow end. I was trying to show him to kick his feet while moving his arms. He hung onto the edge and kicked for a bit but he was more interested in either swimming over to the steps so he could walk up & go back into the water or jumping off the edge into Mommy's arms.

We did a bit of floating on our backs as I was trying to do the backstroke with him but we haven't gotten the concept yet of hands & feet can move at the same time. We'll get there...I'm just happy that Alexander had a great time and wasn't at all afraid of the water.

When it was time to go, we got out of the pool wrapped the towel around us and as we walked into the locker room, Alexander turns to the pool and says "bye pool see nex' week". Ahhh so smart! In the locker room, I turned on a shower just to rinse the chlorine off us and for a minute I thought Alexander was going to come in but he decided against it. We have six more weeks to see if he'll go in once...

Swimming Lessons: Part I...

Today, Alexander had his first swimming "lessons". Technically, they're not swimming lessons but a "Mom & Me" class that allows us free time in the pool to allow him to get acclimated to the pool/water. Thank goodness we tried this first.

In the car, he was very excited to go to the big kids pool and swim with the big kids. I even asked where we were going and he said 'svim'. He was fine getting out of the car and into the building. However, the minute we walked into the locker room and the door shut he PANICKED! His whole body started shaking and he was crying so hard. The poor little guy was genuinely scared. He kept saying "home" but when I asked if he wanted to see the pool he said yes.

I put my bag down which gave him another crying attack, and took him to see the pool so he knew what was there. He stopped crying for a few moments but then started crying again, hard. I took him back to our locker and he kept saying home. I changed his diaper and put on his swim diaper and even though he was crying & scared, he let me change him without a fuss.

I was torn - do we stick it out or do I not put him through this torture and just take him home!? I figured I'd wait to see how he was when more kids arrived since we were first. Maybe seeing other kids would make him relaxed...a little girl, Allison, showed up and he stopped crying at first but then he started right back up. He saw Allison & her Mommy go out to the pool and he pointed to follow. So I took him back out and he was fine. Then he saw a man with hair just like Dr. M and he PANICKED again. I took him back into the locker room and tried to calm him down. I got undressed and figured we'd see how he was when the kids got in the water. He didn't want me to put him down so getting undressed holding on was interesting.

We walked out with our swimcaps & towel and I thought for sure that he was a goner if I had to put the swimcap on him. Thankfully only one other Mom & kid had a swimcap on so I didn't even attempt it. All the kids got into the water first and although he was very interested, he would continue to cry and then stop and cry again saying "home".

Finally, I walked down the stairs holding him and he was not happy. I took another step so his feet were in and he was fine, preoccupied by other kids. He would cry again and I would try to preoccupy him. I started to walk around in the pool and he pointed to the stairs saying 'out'. At this point, I thought that I'd let the poor kid go home since it had now been almost 20 minutes of him freaking out.

We walked up the stairs, and he stood at the top. So I held his hand ready to go and he pointed back to the stairs! What?! So I go in backwards and he walks down the stairs right after me. He clings on but let's me walk a bit but then wants to leave again. We did the stairs thing about 7-8 times but it seemed to work. It allowed him to get comfortable. Finally at 11:15, I saw him crack the first smile. (I looked at the clock specifically to see how long it took for him to relax). So for the last 15 minutes, he had a ball!

We did the stairs a couple more times, he held onto the ledge and kicked, and then the lifeguard brought out a baby slide and he went down the slide 4 times and splashed into the pool as I was at the bottom catching him. He even stood on the edge and jumped in so that I would catch him. At one point, he went on his back for a bit to let me have him float. He held onto a kickboard and did some kicking around the pool. The last 15 minutes were so much fun! However, my stomach was still in knots waiting for him to freak out again.

When free time was over, we walked up the stairs and he was Mr. Personality waving to everyone, saying goodbye 'pooltime'. So we'll see how next week goes...hopefully a bit better. Here are two pics that we took after swimtime when he was in a much better mood and actually let me put him down.

Just Keep Swimming...

This week, I signed Alexander up for swim classes. Well I tried to sign him up for swim classes but they were full! So he's on the waitlist, must have large interest because I signed up on the 2nd day available to non-members and it was already full.

Rather than waiting to see if a spot opens up, I signed him up for the Mommy & Me sessions. It's 30 minutes of 'self-learning' each week. We'll be able to use this as an introduction to the water & pools to see if he really likes it. This is a non-formal session where we can just play around, swim and get used to the water!

I've mentioned it a few times asking him if he wants to go in the big pool and swim with the big kids and he gets this "intriqued" look on his face. The first session is next week so let's hope it goes well and he doesn't freak out!