Hellobee

Last week Petit Macaron had his very first swim lessons. It was also his first time in the pool. I was actually fairly nervous about the experience and how he would react, but overall I think it all went quite smoothly.

Petit Macaron is 16 months old and I already feel like he’s starting swim lessons late! All the moms I talk to seem to have their kids start at 6 to 8 months. Yikes! I just felt he was so tiny and I didn’t even have him in the actual tub yet. On top of that, I honestly was nervous myself thinking he might slip from my arms and I pictured the most horrible scenarios. Ultimately, I decided I needed to push my fears aside and do what was best for my child. I wanted him to enjoy the water and also know water safety. Additionally, he would cry whenever I put water over him to wash his hair. I knew we needed to tackle this water dislike sooner rather than later, and so I made the dive and signed us up for swim lessons.

We are having our lessons at the YMCA where we just became members. The YMCA swim lessons are progression based, so you use age to determine the class. The class names are pretty cute: shrimp, kipper, ilia, and perch. You can start at 6 months and go all the way through to teens. They offer adult and senior classes as well so you can take swim classes your whole life, haha.

At 16 months, Petit Macaron landed in the kipper class (15-24 months) so he is on the younger side. It seems most of the other kids in the class are closer to the older side and all have taken a class previously. Luckily the instructor was great and took special care to help us out. For instance, Petit Macaron was overwhelmed and clinging to me with a death grip, so she suggested we take to the outside of the group when crossing the pool to keep the splashing and commotion to a minimum. She would also suggest positions on how to hold Petit Macaron to do modified versions of what the others were doing. Another tip she gave us was to come during open pool time when there were less kids in the water and to just have fun with him. It was great to get this advise to help us acclimate Petit Macaron to the water.

During our first week, we had two lessons. The program runs on 6-week cycles, and you go to two lessons each week. There is also a option for just one class a week on the weekend. We opted for the two lessons a week option to keep the momentum going.

The class itself follows the same structure each lesson with some slight variations. Here’s how the class went for us:

• Introduction Song – All the caretakers and kids get in a circle and we sing a song together. The song is cute and goes around the circle welcoming each kid to the water and lesson and it includes splashing with your hands.
• Another Song – Both lessons we sang a variation of “If You’re Happy and You Know it” but instead of clapping your hands and whatnot, it was a movement in the water.
• Swimming Exercises – Everyone went to one side of the pool and then helped their kids across doing different swim movements. First we paddled across, then kicked. As you go across you repeat the action, “paddle paddle paddle.”
• Side of Pool Exercises – The kids were placed on the side of the pool with the caretaker below in the water. Then the kid either gets into the water from sitting or standing position, or the caretaker helps them in. Again there are songs like Humpty Dumpty.
• Back Floating – Caretakers and kids went in a circle with the kids on their backs. There is a cute song about being a pancake. (We only did this on the second lesson).
• Free Time – Toys are handed out and the kids get some time to just have fun in the water.
• Under Water – The kids practice dunking their heads into the water, or in our case, we used a pasta colander to make a shower effect over the head. As they go under the water, we say “1-2-3 Hum” to help the kid know that they are going under the water and to also help create bubbles since the hum sound makes the kids exhale.
• Ending Song – Another fun song saying how fun the lesson was and reciting when the kids will return for the next lesson.

Yup, we did all that in 30 minutes!!

Swim Gear: Another thing I was clueless about was what my kid should wear swimming.

If you’re new to the kid swim thing like I am, then I also want to let you know about diapers. You don’t use normal diapers because they absorb liquid and would probably explode in the pool. You can either get disposable swim diapers or reusable diapers. While we are normally a disposable diaper family, I opted for the reusable swim diapers. I found the advice on Lucie’s List to be incredible helpful (and funny). There is also some good advice on Babylist as well. We bought the Alva Baby Washable Swim Diapers. So far, they are working quite well.

Then we also bought Petit Macaron a swim outfit. Old Navy has some great, affordable, and cute options. We purchased these swim trucks and this swim top. The YMCA instructor encouraged the parents to use a swim suit on top of the swim diapers to help kids connect the swim suit to swimming. I found the swim top to not be really necessary, but I think I’ll continue to use since I think it helps keep Petit Macaron warmer when bopping out of the water.

Lastly, something I didn’t know as I’m not a frequent swimmer: you need to wash off before you get into the pool. I had no idea! I’m not a fan of it, but apparently it’s required.

Overall, I am very glad we are taking the swim lessons and hope that Petit Macaron starts to enjoy them more. Are you taking swim lessons? When did you start swimming with your kid?