Swim Lessons

This summer we signed Elle up for her first ever course of swim lessons.  I intentionally picked a class with no parent participation because I'm trying to prep her for preschool this August.  She recently joined a Saturday morning gymnastics class that is also just the kids and their coach...no parents.

The week before her first swim lesson I called our parks and rec office to double check it was just the kids and their teacher, no parents in the pool. 

Here she is all ready for her first class.  

Eric had to work so I was at the pool by myself with Elle and Oliver. I figured Ollie and I would hang out in the lounge chairs and cheer sissy on. Then I noticed every other parent showing up in swimsuits and I started to panic. Thankfully an old friend from high school was there and her son happened to be in the same class so she offered to hang out with Elle in the water. Oliver and I sat right behind Elle on the ledge and I felt like the worst parent alive for the entire class. Elle was scared, didn't really want to participate and I didn't push her at all.  Poor girl was the only one in the water without her mom or dad.

Day 2 I came prepared.  Eric was working so my parents came to hang with Ollie and Elle and I got in the pool. She loved having me hold her in the water but would scream anytime the teacher tried to get her to do anything. Float on her back...no way.  Wear the noodle belt...absolutely not.  It was a lot of clingy to me as tightly as she could and screaming/crying.

Day 3 or 4 were slightly better, still not loving it but getting better about participating.  To get her to go with her teacher I would swim to the other end of the pool so she would go with her teacher and swim to me. On Day 4 she was doing really good, I was able to dunk her, she was having fun.  Then it came time to blow bubbles in the water and she inhaled instead of exhaled and was coughing so much I thought she was going to be sick.  Of course my mind immediately went to a Facebook article I read about secondary drowning (one call to the pediatric hot line after swim lessons and we were good to go :) #momanxiety

Go Sissy go!!

On day 5 they decided to try no parents in the water.  There were normally 4 other kids in her class but on this day it was only her and one other little boy.  They both did amazing! Elle did everything the teacher asked...happily.  She went under water with no tears before or after.   This was by far our best day and it ended with a trip for ice cream. 

The last few days she did good but she was insistent that she did not want to go under water. She didn't learn any real swimming techniques from this class but she is much more comfortable in the water.  She ended up loving her teacher Miss Megan and would talk to her about birds, cheese sticks and anything else that came into her little mind.

This is her laughing.  A bird made a nest in the water slide and Roni's loves her some birds! Side note - she doesn't understand why "beautiful birds" won't let her come say hi, she gets so frustrated that they always fly away.

Overall I'm so proud of this girl. She stuck it out and had some fun too. :)