Swimming in the Snow
When I first got pregnant, I decided that I wanted my baby to have swim lessons before her first birthday. You hear so many warnings and horror stories in the media about children drowning in pools and bathtubs, signing her up for classes was a no-brainer. So on December 4, Arianna and I headed to the pool for her first class. It was freezing outside - about 29 degrees at most, and it was 830am on a Saturday. Dedication at its finest.
I thought that I was really prepared for class. I had on a tankini, Arianna had on a swim diaper and new swimsuit, and we each had a brand new fluffy towel. We came already dressed for class, with little tracksuits on top. I wheeled Arianna's stroller into the locker room so she would have somewhere to sit while I changed my clothes. I brought flip flops so I wouldn't get a fungus. But all these preparations weren't good enough.
The basic layout of the swimming class is as follows: sing a water-based version of the Wheels on the Bus, free swim with some water toys, jumps off the wall (some going underwater), back float, football hold swimming, underwater swim, and finish it all off with a water based version of the Hokey Pokey. They do throw in some extras every week too during the free swim - such as "sprinkles" from a watering can, floating/jumping off a raft, swimming under a noodle tunnel, etc. The whole class lasts about a half hour, which surprisingly feels like a really long time.
Arianna absolutely loves her class. She stared at her teacher, Joan, throughout both songs and followed along - splashing her hands and kicking her feet at the appropriate times. She just kind of hung out for the back float, and kicked her feet and moved her arms during the football hold swim. And although I was nervous and felt terrible about dunking her underwater, she didn't seem to mind at all.
There are about twelve other kids in our class, all under the age of two. Most of the kids really enjoy the class. One little boy, however, screams. He screams in the locker room, he screams getting into the pool, he screams during the jumps, he screams during the songs, and he really screams after going under water. Three weeks so far of this little dude screaming and crying. His mother doesn't seem to mind though. But the rest of us sure do. All the parents look at this mom in shock at how she is truly unaffected by her baby's distress. And all the babies look at the little boy like he's nuts.
The pool water was a bit chilly that first class. Not cold, but definitely not the bathwater I was expecting it to be. So we were a little cold in the water. All that however, was nothing compared to what was ahead. When class was over, we got out of the pool, I wrapped us in towels and headed for the locker room. It was freezing. So freezing in fact, it felt windy. Arianna and all the other babies were screaming because it was so cold. I tried to get her changed as fast as I could but it was really difficult. I didn't want to get her stroller wet so I had to hold her to change her which didn't let me hold up my own towel. We were both freezing and miserable and I felt unprepared and livid at how cold it was in there. I was proud of myself for one thing though - I was the only mother who brought along a travel size hair dryer. Arianna really doesn't even have any hair, but I dried it anyway because I didn't want her to be cold (or colder...) once we got outside. I even dried the parts of my hair that had gotten wet. None of the other moms seemed to care though, they took their babies with their wet mops of hair right outside, no hats or anything.
It took me the next two weeks to finally feel a bit prepared. I solved the towel dilemma by ordering myself a wrap around towel with straps, and by ordering Arianna a child-sized towel with a hood. To help Arianna feel warmer in the water, I ordered her an infant wetsuit. But when that didn't prove to be enough, I also got her a long-sleeved rash guard, which seems to be a good solution.
To solve the freezing locker room issue, I complained. A lot. I complained to the desk staff, the swim instructor, the girl who takes attendance, and the director the swimming lessons. Finally, by week three, it felt a little warmer in there when we were clothed and dry, but once we were wet, it felt pretty cold. The next person on my list to complain to is the head of maintenance.
Also by week three I got into a much better after-swim change routine. Before class, I take the front tray off Arianna's stroller, and put the seat to a lying down position and cover it with a fluffy towel. When we get into the locker room, I quickly undress her and lay her down in the stroller and cover her with another dry towel. Then I dry her off and dress her. Once she's all dressed I take the towels out of the stroller, put it into a seated position, put on the snack tray, cover her in a blanket and give her some "cookies". I quickly get myself changed and get all of our stuff together. Then we go in front of the big mirror, blow-dry our hair, and put our coats on. And Arianna is asleep before we even pull out of the parking lot.
Here are my swim necessities:
I thought that I was really prepared for class. I had on a tankini, Arianna had on a swim diaper and new swimsuit, and we each had a brand new fluffy towel. We came already dressed for class, with little tracksuits on top. I wheeled Arianna's stroller into the locker room so she would have somewhere to sit while I changed my clothes. I brought flip flops so I wouldn't get a fungus. But all these preparations weren't good enough.
The basic layout of the swimming class is as follows: sing a water-based version of the Wheels on the Bus, free swim with some water toys, jumps off the wall (some going underwater), back float, football hold swimming, underwater swim, and finish it all off with a water based version of the Hokey Pokey. They do throw in some extras every week too during the free swim - such as "sprinkles" from a watering can, floating/jumping off a raft, swimming under a noodle tunnel, etc. The whole class lasts about a half hour, which surprisingly feels like a really long time.
Arianna absolutely loves her class. She stared at her teacher, Joan, throughout both songs and followed along - splashing her hands and kicking her feet at the appropriate times. She just kind of hung out for the back float, and kicked her feet and moved her arms during the football hold swim. And although I was nervous and felt terrible about dunking her underwater, she didn't seem to mind at all.
There are about twelve other kids in our class, all under the age of two. Most of the kids really enjoy the class. One little boy, however, screams. He screams in the locker room, he screams getting into the pool, he screams during the jumps, he screams during the songs, and he really screams after going under water. Three weeks so far of this little dude screaming and crying. His mother doesn't seem to mind though. But the rest of us sure do. All the parents look at this mom in shock at how she is truly unaffected by her baby's distress. And all the babies look at the little boy like he's nuts.
The pool water was a bit chilly that first class. Not cold, but definitely not the bathwater I was expecting it to be. So we were a little cold in the water. All that however, was nothing compared to what was ahead. When class was over, we got out of the pool, I wrapped us in towels and headed for the locker room. It was freezing. So freezing in fact, it felt windy. Arianna and all the other babies were screaming because it was so cold. I tried to get her changed as fast as I could but it was really difficult. I didn't want to get her stroller wet so I had to hold her to change her which didn't let me hold up my own towel. We were both freezing and miserable and I felt unprepared and livid at how cold it was in there. I was proud of myself for one thing though - I was the only mother who brought along a travel size hair dryer. Arianna really doesn't even have any hair, but I dried it anyway because I didn't want her to be cold (or colder...) once we got outside. I even dried the parts of my hair that had gotten wet. None of the other moms seemed to care though, they took their babies with their wet mops of hair right outside, no hats or anything.
It took me the next two weeks to finally feel a bit prepared. I solved the towel dilemma by ordering myself a wrap around towel with straps, and by ordering Arianna a child-sized towel with a hood. To help Arianna feel warmer in the water, I ordered her an infant wetsuit. But when that didn't prove to be enough, I also got her a long-sleeved rash guard, which seems to be a good solution.
To solve the freezing locker room issue, I complained. A lot. I complained to the desk staff, the swim instructor, the girl who takes attendance, and the director the swimming lessons. Finally, by week three, it felt a little warmer in there when we were clothed and dry, but once we were wet, it felt pretty cold. The next person on my list to complain to is the head of maintenance.
Also by week three I got into a much better after-swim change routine. Before class, I take the front tray off Arianna's stroller, and put the seat to a lying down position and cover it with a fluffy towel. When we get into the locker room, I quickly undress her and lay her down in the stroller and cover her with another dry towel. Then I dry her off and dress her. Once she's all dressed I take the towels out of the stroller, put it into a seated position, put on the snack tray, cover her in a blanket and give her some "cookies". I quickly get myself changed and get all of our stuff together. Then we go in front of the big mirror, blow-dry our hair, and put our coats on. And Arianna is asleep before we even pull out of the parking lot.
Here are my swim necessities:
Comments
Post a Comment