Swimming Fenn ~ His First Day of Swim Lessons

On Saturday, Fenn had his very first swim lesson. We're going to Mr. Ed's Adventure Swim School here in Knoxville. He prefers and recommends that both parents get in the pool with their child, but because of my advanced state of pregnancy and because I wanted to be able to photograph and video the event, I opted to stay on the side of the pool. When we got there, Fenn was issued the standard swim diaper. It looks kind of like a little Speedo. They use this kind because of the elasticized legs which will hold things inside in the event of an accident. Don't want to see anything floating around the pool that doesn't belong there! Anyway, I had to take a photo before we put his regular swimsuit back on. That's our little Michael Phelps!The session starts out with getting the child used to having water poured over their face. First, you let the water drain out of the holes in the bottom of the bucket, and then you just dump the whole thing over their face. Fenn did great with this part because we've always dumped the water over his face when bathing him. He did get a little irritated, though, because Dan had to keep doing it over and over. I think he was just ready for a break!Next, they are put on a float mat where I guess they're supposed to get comfortable being on their belly and having their feet straight out behind them. And then you hope to get them to start kicking their feet.Next, they are put on a barbell-looking contraption. It really does the same thing as the mat, but Mr. Ed said some kids prefer this over the mat. That was the case with Fenn. He seemed much more comfortable on the barbell thing.For the next exercise, you put them on their backs to start getting them comfortable with floating. At the end of the class, they sang some songs and played some games as a group.Most of the class is made up of other toddlers about the same age as Fenn, with a few older kids in there, too. Overall, I think the first class was a success. Fenn didn't seem to be traumatized by anything. Of course, the goal is to eventually take him under water. But we, along with the parents of the other kids Fenn's age, opted not to do this during the first class. At least I don't think any of the other parents took their kids under so soon.We did come to the conclusion that it is much easier if both parents are in the pool. It just makes it easier to get the child in the correct position for the various exercises. Plus, one parent can hold the child and the other can get in front of them and talk to them. So.... it looks like I'm going to have to pull out the maternity swimsuit and get in the pool for the next couple of classes. After that, I guess Dan will have to do it by himself. It's a 5-week class, so he'll have two more scheduled classes after Piperbean #2 is born on the 15th. I'll miss the 4th class. But at least I can still plan to go to the last class on the 23rd of May. I'll just have the little one in tow and won't be able to get in the pool with Fenn and Dan. I love this last photo. He had just gotten out of the pool and had such a happy little look on his face.