Category: Swimming

1. Humpty Dumpty fell in the water : The Alternative Ending

   Posted on 7:32pm Wednesday 17th Oct 2012

   Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

   Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

   All the Kings horses and all the Kings men

   Couldnt put Humpty together again.

    

   Thats how is goes isnt it? Well apparently not if you go to a Water Babies class!

   Mum, aka Nanny came back from the Water Babies class today still singing the nursery rhyme and I had to ask how Humpty Dumpty managed to fit into a baby's swimming lesson. Apparently the little ones are sat on the side and when Humpty "falls" into the water they go! (well you learn something every day).

   Nanny is really embracing the lessons now and the little one loves them (especially since getting her wet suit), she still dithers as she is sat on the side and is absolutely happiest when in the water. Reassuringly, all of the Water Babies pools are heated to 30° or above, so I cant say I blame her for wanting to be in the water rather than out of it!

   I love that she has no fear of being "dunked" underneath and happily did a "free" swim today. I dont love so much that I am not the one to share this with her (but thats just me being selfish) and Nanny is already asking if we are going to do the next course. She looks forward to the weekly classes and I am not sure if it is Nanny or the little one who is enjoying the classes more.

   Nanny now needs swim goggles to watch the little one under water and my eldest daughter is helping her get used to people wearing goggles by using hers EVERY bathtime. She looks a little bit like a pink fly but the little one thinks its hilarious, although not so sure Nanny would if I got her a bright pink pair!

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2. Approaching the water again ...

   Posted on 9:36pm Tuesday 25th Sep 2012

   You may recall that my Mom took my little one to her first Water Babies class a few weeks ago. Unfortunately for us (but not for Mum), my Dad then decided to book a last minute holiday for them and off they jetted to Egypt for two weeks! Bless her, she was genuinely upset that she was going to miss the classes for a few weeks but we have had great fun in the bath each evening getting her (again, the little one not Nanny, because that would be weird) happy covering her face with water.

   Water Babies teach unique methods that enable the little ones to feel at ease swimming both above and below the water and (hopefully) love the sensation of floating in such a warm, calm atmosphere. I have to be honest, our bath time preparations have not been quite as calming, I would probably go as far as raucous with significant splashing, lots of laughing and a very very wet bathroom (and mommy).

   Nanny was exhausted after the last lesson but I think that was more to do with her being anxious before the class, when she realised how friendly and relaxing the whole experience would be, she couldn’t wait for the next class.

   With my eldest daughter making great strokes (see what I did there) into her swimming now, I can’t wait for the little one to be joining her without water wings too. It still amazes me that for someone who loves water so much that my eldest hasn’t had the confidence for swimming lessons until she reached 7 years old. Water Babies is helping to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself and with them teaching more than 28,000 (!!) children each week, I am confident in having two competent, contented little Water Babies.

   I had a lovely tweet from Water Babies today asking Nanny and the little one would be back tomorrow, so as they approach the water, I am sure they can look forward to a warm welcome back to the classes …. just maybe not as warm as Egypt!

3. Learning a life skill with Water Babies

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 10th Sep 2012

   My eldest daughter has loved the water from a young age, happily splashing around at bath times but when the subject of swimming lessons came up, she always baulked at the idea, to the point of getting ridiculously upset and as a result, teaching her to swim has been a long and somewhat laborious process. So with the little one, when the opportunity came up to go to local Water Babies classes, I literally jumped at the chance to say yes.

   There are obviously lots of different baby swimming classes available but having started 10 years ago in 2002, Water Babies is the UK's leading baby swim school, teaching a core skill to hundreds of babies & children every week which can potentially save their life. The website tells you that Water Babies course is very different to traditional swimming lessons.  For a start, because they only use warm water pools, babies can join classes from birth. (I wish I had known this a year ago!).

   So we enrolled on the course and I was dissapointed that it was on a morning I would be unable to take her, but my mum stepped in and was delighted to get the opportunity to take the little one swimming. Admitedly on the morning of the first lesson, she was awake at 5 am (my mom not the little lady) fretting about how she was going to dry them both off after the lessons but off the went in the "happy nappy" swim shorts supplied by Water Babies. We chose the location at the Forest of Arden Hotel, where once upon a time I was a member of the gym (when I had both the spare time and money for the indulgence of a gym with spa facilities, but I digress), so I know what a fabulous location it is.

   Nanny tells me that the Water Babies team were super friendly and welcoming (and hugely complimentary about the little one) but she was tired as the lesson is right when her natural sleep time is (again, my daughter, not Nanny), so we need to "encourage" an early sleep on Wednesdays in future! We have some exercises to try and get her used to having her face in the water, so bath times are huge splashing sessions which seem to get me more wet than the children at the moment. Although I am not joining the lessons each week, I am definately enjoying the benefits right in my own bathroom! Cant wait for more .....

   

   I absolutely love this photo (courtesy of Water Babies Aylesbury) and cant wait to get a picture of our own little Water Baby!