Daniel’s First Swim

This afternoon, by bear of a child would not calm down.  He didn’t want to eat, needed to nap desperately but just couldn’t, so I decided it was time to go outside.  I knew the stroller wouldn’t go over well, and he is just too darn heavy to carry for too long.  So, I decided to take him swimming for the first time.  I put on my swim suit then put him in his.  He thought the process was just fantastic and thought that his suit’s fabric felt cool against his skin.  He kept rubbing the sleeves with those sweet, soft, little hands.  His suit is 18 months and really wasn’t that large on him.  Plus, a swim in the hotel pool meant mommy was going to carry him to his destination.

Daniel loves his baths, but swimming is a totally different sensation for baby’s bodies.  They really do move with the feel of the water as they have no idea how to control how they are supposed to move in the water.  Of course I held him the entire time, but his first initial face when we walked in was pure joy.  Then I started swooshing him around, popping him in and out, and letting him slash about in the water (everything mentioned made him giggle which made me laugh and Daniel to giggle even more).  While I was holding him out in front of me, he started to move his legs except they weren’t kicking anything which confused him for a minute.  He got over it quick enough and then realized he could splash with his hands.  Naturally he enjoyed that part of swimming. 

The pool had steps to enter into it.  I took Daniel over to the second step so he could stand in the water.  I balanced him, took my hands off to just in front of him to allow him to fall forward into my arms.  He loved it!  I also laid him on his back so he could feel what being flat in the water would feel like.  Normally, I allow water to go into the ears as that is the feeling most children hate, but as we are a couple thousand miles from home, I did not want to take the chance of water getting stuck to cause an ear infection.  However, with that being said, I did dunk him just once.  The way water fills the ears is just a little different with a dunk.  Anyway, it was incredibly fast, and the expression on his face was priceless.  He sputtered out the water with wide eyes and looked at me as if to say, “what the…”.  I was sure he would cry, but not a single tear.  My baby is just wonderful.  Lastly, Daniel tasted the water.  He gave it the most disgusted tasting face ever!  Overall, swimming was a gigantic success, and I can’t wait to go again with someone else so we can take pictures!!!