A Little Floating Kiwi

Floating Kiwis is the name of Lucy's swim lessons.  Today was her first, and Daniel took the day off - so we got to go together!  What fun.

 

He taped the whole lesson (all 10 minutes of it), and I snapped photos.



These are survival swim lessons - not blow-bubbles-in-the-water swim lessons.  The entire purpose is to give your little one a fighting chance, should he/she fall in the water while your back is turned.



At Lucy's age, she's capable of learning to flip over onto her back and float there, breathing air and waiting for someone to get her out.



And today was lesson #1.  I thought I would be much more upset, but surprise--I felt fine about it!



I guess I have come a long way in the almost 10 months since she was born--when I held her for that first blood draw, both of us crying in the pediatrician's office and wanting to go home. 



Tracey is her teacher, and she's just great.  Her pool is outdoor but heated to a gentle 89 degrees F, quite comfortable for Lucy.



She started with some gentle half-dips to get Lucy used to having part of her face in the water, and then she moved on to fully letting go of Lucy so that she could begin to learn the life-saving benefits of flipping over and keeping her face up.



I thought she did really well!  She was sad/mad for parts of it, but she's definitely learning.  The lessons are only 10 minutes b/c that's about what babies can handle.



She's developing muscle memory, so short frequent lessons (four times/week) will mean she'll be able to float by the end of next week.  Only 8 lessons, and she'll be floating - isn't that crazy??



For her second-to-last lesson, she'll be fully clothed and in a normal diaper--to make sure she can "pass the test" of flipping and floating with all the extra weight.



Of course, she will NOT be ready to be anywhere near the pool unattended.  But since drowning is the most frequent cause of death in kids age 1-4, that extra little peace of mind that she'd have a fighting chance is--for me--priceless.