Today was Jack's first swim class!! We are taking a parent/infant swim class at Lakeshore Athletic Club on Tuesday afternoons. And let me just say, it went swimmingly!! He is in a class with three little boys and they all range between 6 and 9 months. I really need to get a photo of these guys because you have to see them in their little swim trunks. You could just eat up these little guppies!
It was Jack's first time in a swimming pool and he was pretty intrigued by it. He initially had a mixed look of fascination and terror - like it was the BIGGGGGGEST bathtub he had ever seen! He then started to warm up and get into the activities. Now, swim class for 6 to 12 month olds is not that intense. It's basically a lot of games, songs and splashing around. He had fun laying on a kick board, floating around and kicking his feet. His favorite activity seemed to be sitting on the edge of the pool and "jumping" in. Essentially, you hold your baby on the edge of the pool and get them to reach out to you to jump in. I was a bit worried about him falling backward because you're down in the pool holding a slippery, writhing tot in your hands and there is a very hard cement floor in back of them. My worst fear came true for one of the other moms and her boy fell backward and smacked his head. "Was the baby OK, Uncle Lar?" "Yes, Tommy, the baby was just fine!" (Anyone remember "Animal Stories" and Larry Lujack?!?!). No blood and even no tears. Jack also accidentally put his face in the water and lived to tell about it. He was a bit flustered and sputtering but not upset. All and all, it was a very successful first swim class for Jackson.
But let me say that the worst part of the class was for the mommies - and I'm not even talking about getting in to a swim suit (overweight and pale after a long Chicago winter? not a pretty site...). Have you ever thought out the logistics of getting into a swimming pool holding an infant?! The options, as laid out by the instructor, were: 1) Sitting on the edge of the pool and sliding in; or 2) climbing down the ladder while holding the infant. She also begrudgingly offered a third option of holding the baby while you got in. Guess what? I took the third option. Let me see.... sliding in and possibly removing a layer of skin from your body or the baby's? Or climbing down a metal ladder, with concrete all around, using one arm, and balancing a squirming baby in the other? Hmmm...I think I'll let someone hold my little guy, thank you. With that said, when class was over, the instructor climbed out of the pool pretty quickly and left. Myself and the other three moms remaining in the pool looked blankly at each other, trying to hide the terror on our faces and keep the facade of cool yuppie mom. "How do we get out?", we silently smiled to each other. We all made our way to the ladder and I let each mom go up the ladder before me so I could analyze their techniques. In a nutshell, there is no safe or graceful way to do it. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done with Jack. I also forgot to mention that I hurt my knee last month and it is still very sore and weak. We made it out safely but I think the swim moms need to ban together and come up with a team plan to get the babies out safely or kindly ask our instructor to stick around and help us.
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