Swimming

A pretty constant question since the kids arrival has been “When we go swimming?” I’ve quizzed them a bit on their swimming experience which has pretty much been nil. I think Wen has been in some sort of water hole before (I can only imagine the water) but I’m pretty sure he could stand up.

I signed them up for swim lessons a couple weeks ago but they don’t start until the middle of June. I put Wen & Beza in level 1 and was told that I can move them up if I found out they know more than I think they know.

Last week we finally had the opportunity to go swimming at a friend’s house (how I long for a pool in our backyard 🙂 Noah is a decent swimmer on his own. Natty still requires floaties to be independent although she does a pretty good job at gliding short distances. I’m hoping by the end of the summer she’ll be able to be on her own.

I also bought floaties for Beza and Wen. We got in the pool (along w/ my friends 4 kids). I told Wen & Beza to stay on the steps while I was getting Natalie’s floaties on. I wasn’t sure how well the floaties would hold them up since they weigh about 10 lbs more than she does. Well before I know it Wen has stepped off and is behind me (within arms length) sputtering and flailing his arms. I quickly grabbed him and pulled him toward me. I truly think that if he had stopped flailing and relaxed he was probably in an area where he could have stood up. But he was getting mouthfuls of water from his efforts to stay afloat.

So, needless to say, he completely freaked himself out about the water. He spent the rest of the day inside the pink float ring. I took him out a couple of times to show him how to float on his back but he was so tense that he couldn’t get his body to really relax despite the fact that I was still holding on to him.

Beza did much better. After about 40 minutes she was jumping off the side, going under the water, popping back up and slowly propelling herself toward the side of the pool. She had a blast. They haven’t really gotten the kicking/arm movements down so they move pretty slow in the pool.

Now Wen keeps telling everyone “I need preschool swim lessons!”