Swim Lessons

This winter I decided to put the kids in swimming lessons. They had a great time with it! And it went really well. (However, on the frigid -15* days, I was asking myself what I was thinking!)

Greyson's experience:
On the first day, Greyson was SO EXCITED about swimming lessons until the moment his feet touched the water at the edge of the pool where he REFUSED to get in... without me. And since I didn't have a bathing suit, he didn't get in. Everyone thought he was afraid of the water and everybody was wrong. He was probably a little skeptical of the new environment, but I suspect that he just didn't want to do it without me (the mama's boy that he is). He is most definitely NOT afraid of the water! This is my boy that holds his breath under water for what seems like forever in the bathtub. They have a class that runs at the same time that is a parent/child class. So, I asked and got permission to join him in the water with that class the next week. It was obvious to everyone at that point that he wasn't having a problem with the water, just with separating from mom. After a two weeks of joining him, at a convenient moment, I slipped him back into his original class (the man above was very instrumental in this!). He stayed with his class after that and had a great time!

Oh yeah, one more thing, it was during this swim class that I determined that Greyson needed to bulk up a little. His whole body would shiver from the time he got in to the time he got out. And his little ribs were a a little too noticeable. Although he was eating a lot already, I think his metabolism must be super-sonic fast. After this, I increased his diet's good fats and carbs (this would have been easier without a nut allergy to contend with) - whole milk, sunbutter, more cheeses, more pasta.... He seems to have gained weight and has stopped shivering so much while in the pool. On a side note: He also seems to have grown an inch or two in the last few weeks. Come to think of it, Madelyn seems to grown a couple of inches in the last few weeks as well.

Madelyn's experience: Madelyn was excited from the get-go about swimming lessons and it has been amazing to see Madelyn's progress from week to week (with the help of some "homework" in my gym's pool). She has issues with forward momentum but all in all, is getting the swimming movements down. In this picture, she is about to show me how she can go underwater and hold her breath. Very cool!