First Day of Swim Class!

Long before we had our little Princess, I knew that I wanted to send our kids to swimming lessons.  Maybe it's because I can't swim.  Now that we have our little one, I figure I might as well live vicariously through her.  Besides, she can teach me, or save me from drowning someday.

After months of searching for a swim class that teaches infants, we were in business.  But, I didn't realize that so much went into it.  When I called to set up our first appointment, the intructor informed me that we had to purchase disposable swim diapers (which we already had), as well as a cloth diaper and swimuit.  It turns out that the swimsuits I had bought on sale were no good.  Who knew about baby swim wear and cloth diapers in one?  I sure didn't.  Then I thought maybe if I buy the cloth diaper, I can still have her wear one of her own suits.  But that seemed like too much of a hassle and too much stuff to put on.  So I called my friend, Mike.  He and his wife Sue have been taking their little girls, Catherine and Gabriella, since they were infants too.  Now they're like fish in water!  Check 'em out, rockin'caps and goggles!

Everyone knows that I ask a lot of questions and this situation was no different.  I had to clear up this possible diaper and swimsuit fiasco.  Mike told me the best thing would be to get a swimsuit with the cloth diaper already attached, in addition to the disposable diapers.  That way if she poops, it would all be kept from oozing out.  So after firing off some more random questions regarding keeping her safe in the water, he finally mentioned something that put everything into perspective.  He said, "In your belly, she was swimming."  On that note, off we went to her first lesson!

We were able to purchase the swimsuit and cloth diaper in one at the swim place.  The instructor was so sweet in helping us pick out the right one.  After a quick change, we were ready to get in the water.  We decided that her daddy would be the one to go in the pool with her.

Our little Princess loved the water!  It may not look like it in the photo above.  But once she actually got in, it was on and poppin'.  The first thing we were all told to do was feel our babies stomach.  This is a test that's done before and after each lesson to track how much water is digested.  Our babies bellys should feel the same at the end of the session.  If the stomach becomes harder that means a lot of water was swallowed.  Our little Princess had already been trying to break the rules by drinking the pool the minute she got in.

The instructors also went over things like getting the face and hair wet, moving the arms and legs, floating, and getting in and out of the pool.  She wasn't a big fan of floating on her back, but she enjoyed everything else and made a big splash.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our little Princess's first swim lesson.  It was certainly a great learning experience for us.  Next week will be my turn to get in the water with her which should be fun.  But,  I'm not looking forward to wearing a bathing suit!