We planned for his first birthday party to be a pool party since my parents have an in-ground pool at home. I figured "why not get Blake used to a bigger body of water?"
Last week was the start of his swim classes. I guess technically they aren't really swim classes. They're Mommy and Me classes so I am required to get in the pool with him. Errr... Daddy and Me? Grandma/Grandpa and Me? Any adult we appoint can get in the pool with him but I decided to do it since the swim school has a class on Thursday mornings. And what a coincidence it is that we have no plans on Thursday mornings. ;-)
The basic idea of the Mommy and Me class is to get the babies accustomed to water and show them what they are capable of doing in the water.
We missed last week's class but made it to yesterday's class. It was ADORAAAAABLE!
A little crowded, but all of the kids in their little swimsuits killed me.
Blake and I got in the water and he was all smiles and giggles! He kicked his legs and splashed around! I wish someone was there to take pictures of his first time in the pool!
We went back and forth from wall to wall "swimming" after a little sailboat and a rubber ducky. We played catch with the rubber ducky by throwing it a couple feet ahead and swimming to it to catch it. Blake floated on his back like a natural, too!
Then came time to play "Humpy Dumpty" where the kids sat on the edges of the pool while the mommies and daddies held them up. We sang the little song and when Humpty fell off that wall, so did the kids. Well, they didn't fall but the mommies had to lift them up off the edge and help them "fall" into the water with their heads going under.
Holy sh*t... that was tough!
Blake took in some water and was definitely caught off guard. But he wasn't crying... so we did it again.
That's when all hell broke loose. I don't think I've seen this boy cry and scream and disagree with me that hard... ever. From that point on, he didn't trust me, the water, or anyone around us. Almost all of the babies were crying. Screaming. That definitely didn't help calm my Blakey down...
We had ten minutes left in the class and I gave up. Blake and I sat against one of the walls and I tried to calm him down. I tried helping him splash but he didn't even want to let an arm free. He hung on tight around my neck and refused to let go. My poor boy... so distraught and... well, probably just really pissed the eff off. :-/
Getting him dressed was another battle we had. Goodness gracious. A wet, squirmy baby in a cold changing room with no changing table or nothing to lay him down on. I looked at the stark, chilled room and just shook my head. Now mommy was pissed. I was still soaking wet and Blake was still crying his little eyes out. We probably took the longest in the changing room, but you know what... I didn't hear any other babies crying so I hope the other parents understood or realized I was having a tough time.
Finally dressed and buckled up in the car. Blake almost instantly fell asleep. *whew* There was hope!
But instead of just driving off and enjoying the peace, I sat in my car for about 15 minutes to just catch my breath. My hands were far from being steady and I felt like maybe that was an anxiety attack? I started to get a little bit of a headache so I shut my eyes and took deep breaths...
Oy.
Am I going back next week? I should... huh? At least now I know about the changing rooms and I can prepare myself a little better.
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