We've taken Keira to our community pool a handful of times this summer. She seems to love the water, but we really had no idea how to teach her how to swim or get her used to going under the water. Instead of doing it ourselves, we signed her up for lessons at the YMCA. Surprisingly, the lessons are very reasonable. It's just $40 the entire session, and that's the non-member price. It's cheaper if you're members. The session includes 4 Saturday classes in a row, a half hour each. There is an instructor and an assistant helping in the water and about 10 kids in the class.
Keira's first class was this past Saturday. We got up, quickly fed her some breakfast - oatmeal, because nothing gets you going like the power of quaker oats! She had a big morning ahead of her! Unfortunately, we weren't as lucky to eat. With just coffee mugs in hand we headed to the Y and made it just in time for her 9AM class. Parents can live on coffee alone!
I dressed her in her vintage-ish bathing suit (my fave) and white rob. She definitely looked the part of the confident swimmer before class started!
Of course, before you even enter the pool you have to go through the courtesy rinse. I never quite understood the point of rushing through a shower before getting in the pool, but all the babies & their parents HAD to do it. I thought for sure the crying would start as soon as I put her under the water, but remarkably she took it in stride. I apparently thought it was funny!
We're in & ready to go! She's a little clingy but I'm not complaining. I love her holding onto me and she quickly adjusts.
As soon as we got in the pool, Mr. Bob, our swimming instructor, told us to hold them tight against our chest and dunk with our babies. I swear, I thought he was joking. By the looks on other parents faces, I wasn't alone! What happened to blowing in their face to get them to hold their breath?!? Nope, no blowing in their face, no nose holding (for the baby), and no real warning other than 1... 2... 3. Certainly, not what I expected in the first class, but hey, we're here to learn!
Check out Keira's first dunk. She & the other babies in her class did great. In fact, no one in the class cried after the first dunk!
After the hard part was out of the way, we went on to learn some holds. The football hold, where I held her jumping up & down in the water.
The chest hold. This was my favorite, because I could help her kick & shower her with kisses at the same time.
Last, but not least, arms stretched out with the baby as far away from your body as possible.
We also tried to teach the babies how to get in & out of the pool. This will take lots of practice!
We've got three more classes to go with these kiddos! They are all so cute and such great students. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish in our time together.
Next time proud daddy will get into the water too! Originally they told us only one parent could get in the water but Mr. Bob encourages both parents to get into the water. Just think, if Ryan had gotten in, we wouldn't have been able to capture any of it on camera & I wouldn't have any of this to share!
If you're interested in learning more about swimming lessons with the YMCA of WNC, click here.
As soon as we got in the pool, Mr. Bob, our swimming instructor, told us to hold them tight against our chest and dunk with our babies. I swear, I thought he was joking. By the looks on other parents faces, I wasn't alone! What happened to blowing in their face to get them to hold their breath?!? Nope, no blowing in their face, no nose holding (for the baby), and no real warning other than 1... 2... 3. Certainly, not what I expected in the first class, but hey, we're here to learn!
Check out Keira's first dunk. She & the other babies in her class did great. In fact, no one in the class cried after the first dunk!
After the hard part was out of the way, we went on to learn some holds. The football hold, where I held her jumping up & down in the water.
The chest hold. This was my favorite, because I could help her kick & shower her with kisses at the same time.
Last, but not least, arms stretched out with the baby as far away from your body as possible.
We also tried to teach the babies how to get in & out of the pool. This will take lots of practice!
We've got three more classes to go with these kiddos! They are all so cute and such great students. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish in our time together.
Next time proud daddy will get into the water too! Originally they told us only one parent could get in the water but Mr. Bob encourages both parents to get into the water. Just think, if Ryan had gotten in, we wouldn't have been able to capture any of it on camera & I wouldn't have any of this to share!
If you're interested in learning more about swimming lessons with the YMCA of WNC, click here.
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