Swimming Week - Part 4

When I mentioned on twitter that I was doing swimming week I was asked by @muddlebymum for tips on taking two young ones swimming at the same time.  Well, in all honesty I hadn't thought to much about this before as I've not had to do it.  But I promised to do a post for her and have a think about the best way to take two little ones at the same time.

Now some of this may be repetitive from Wednesday's What to buy post but I will also be adding to this list!  For the elder of the two children (muddlebymum will have a 14 month gap similar to my 15 month gap so I'm going to assume the eldest is at least this age) I would have them in armbands and if they're quite small for their age then I would also recommend a Konfidence suit to keep them warm as they won't be able to have your full attention.  As well as armbands having an extra floatation aid such as a woggle may well be a benefit.

For the baby I would also recommend a Konfidence suit to keep them a bit warmer and I would recommend a babyseat too.  This way you will have your arms free to deal with both children.

I would recommend taking a small ball with you when you go swimming.  This will help to entertain your toddler as you can gentle throw it between you (and it will splash a bit which is all part of the fun!), push it between you, get them to push it with their nose etc.  It will be great to have something to entertain them and help build their confidence in the water.

Also think about what to do after you get out of swimming.  I would recommend a hooded towel to go straight over your toddler to start to dry them off and get them warm and for a baby I read about this great product on Toby Goes Bananas.

It's called an Apres Splash all in one.  It's basically a towel and "go home" outfit all in one.  All you need to do is put a nappy on then lie them on it and do up the poppers.  You don't need to wrestle with a wriggly baby or worry about getting clothes on them.  Just put them in this and they will dry off and get warm.  Since you'll have not only a baby but a toddler to get dressed anything that makes this a bit easier will be welcome!!

Swimming Week - Part 3

I hope you have found the posts on swimming useful this week.  If you haven't seen them yet then here is my post on swimming lessons and my first set of tips for taking your child swimming.  I have also come across this great post from Time Waits for no mum about changing room etiquette, it's worth a read to bring a smile to your face. Swimming is a great skill for your child to learn but particularly for young children the most important thing to do is to have fun!  Below are some things that you can do with them in the pool to learn to have fun and also build up their skills in the water.  But I would also recommend to also introduce water safety when you take them swimming such as how to get in and out of the pool nicely as whilst they enjoy the water it's important for them to respect it to.

• When you go swimming get in first, ideally from the side by sitting down putting two hands to one side, turning around and sliding in then get your child to repeat.  It's important that they learn to get in like this every time as they may be entering shallow water and if they just jump straight in they could hurt themselves.
• Blow bubbles!  This is great to encourage them to get their mouths into the water and blow out rather than swallow the water.  My daughter doesn't always do as I ask (surprising for a 2 year old?!!) so won't blow bubbles unless Mummy has a turn first! So we take it in turns then see who can blow the noisiest / quietest bubbles.
• As I mentioned in my previous post pretending to wash your face in the water is a great way to start getting wet and getting water up to the face.  Your child may again want to take this in turn.
• Sing....! Our favourite songs in the water are:
• Grand old Duke of York... When they're up lift them up and when they're down... Well you know! You can start by just bringing them down or if you're feeling brave let go at the top! My daughter loves this! She has her armbands on and so doesn't go far under the water (I don't just drop her don't worry!) and we start every lesson off with this song.
• Humpty Dumpy... On the first line sit them on the wall and then when he "has a great fall" let them fall forward.  When they're a bit older they can be encouraged to fall forward and then swim forward to you but to begin with they can just fall forward into your arms.  Encourage splashing and smile and giggle lots about getting wet as it all helps to build their confidence.  
• Ring a Roses... You can sing this one quietly to them but when they all fall down it's a good one to give a dunk or even just put mouths in the water and blow bubbles.
• Row Row your boat..... is a good one in the water.  You can hold hands and row row pulling each other together and away.
• Other things to try in the water:
• Taking a small floating ball with you as there are so many things you can try; pushing with your nose, pushing with your hands, holding with your hands, splashing / moving it with your feet
• Splash!! Before you get in you can sit on the side and splash your feet then in the water you can encourage splashing.  With young children they often simply don't know what it means to "kick your legs" so you need to think about the language you use and showing them what you mean.  So splashing your feet before you get in gives an idea of how to do it in the water.  You can try saying things like splash your feet or I'll come and tickle them!
• Jumping in! This is a great way to build confidence but it's really important to teach them safety as well.  Start with toes over the edge and don't let them jump until you tell them they can go.  You can start by taking hands, then them jumping to you and you holding, then letting them "hide" under the water when they jump in.  This all adds to the fun of the pool.
• Jumping in is also a great way to get them to get their faces wet but if you're feeling brave then you can dunk them under the water.  A good way to do this is to blow on their faces then take them gently under.  If you blow of their faces every time this get them to learn to close their mouths.  They may not react well but they will get used to it, when they come up smile and give kisses and reassurance.
• If you have a woggle (see here) then you can do all sorts of fun things with it.  You can tie it in a knot to make a motorbike (you'll have two handles) and can blow bubbles to make the engine noise, ride on a horse (sit with it between the legs), sit on a swing.  They're great versatile floats.
• If you use armbands it's also good to have some time at the end of a session without them so they learn how different their bodies feel without them.  Armbands are my preferred aide but it is a personal choice.  With armbands you can also take out a little bit of air as they get stronger.

My next post will be about swimming with two children! I hope you've enjoyed swimming week, I'd love to hear your comments.

Swimming Week - Part 2

As you will have read in my first post of "swimming week" I love swimming and my daughter is a true water baby.  But I have been a bit rubbish at taking my son swimming and only did it once in 7 months which I'm not proud of.  He enjoyed this first session when we went at 6 months (he's now 9 months) and loves his bath so when I took him a few weeks ago I wasn't expecting a negative reaction.  However he didn't like it and I think I underestimated the difference in him going into a small, warm bath to going into a big swimming pool. He wasn't happy the whole time we were in there.

I resolved after this to take him every week at least until I returned to work. I took him the following week after our disaster and there was proof that his memory is extending because as soon as we arrived on our second session he started crying in the changing rooms!! But we carried on and went into the pool, determined that we weren't getting out until I at least got a smile... And it worked!  We sang some songs, did some splashing and we even did a few underwater "swims" and he not only smiled but we got giggles too! Result! So I thought I would share a few top tips for taking your little ones swimming, please feel free to let me know of anymore!

• Make sure you take them at a good time of day. IE I usually take my son around 3pm because he's had his long nap so he shouldn't be tired and he has a bottle at 2pm so he won't be hungry. It's worth trying where possible to ensure that they are not near nap time and won't be hungry to ensure they'll be as comfortable as possible. 
• Stay calm! Think swan (project!!), you want to appear calm on the surface even if you're a ball of nerves underneath.  Your child will feed off your mood so calm and happy is the way forward
• Start by having a cuddle with your little one and having a jump around the pool.  If you get splashed at all embrace it! Giving lots of cuddles is reassuring for them in this alien environment and it will help them feel secure.
• You can wash their face to get wet, remember that you can do it too and smile whilst you do it!
• Sing!! Singing is a great way to calm them down especially if they have a favourite song.  It doesn't have to be loud, it can just be calmly sung in their ear so they can hear it and no one else! Singing is a great distraction for them and also gives them something familiar.
• You can move them around on their tummies with your hands under their shoulders and on their backs with their heads on your shoulder.  If your little one is teething then they may not like being on their back so don't force it if they don't like it just change positions.
• Swish them from side to side (vertically but horizontally will work too) as they will like the lightweight feeling and this is actually an amazing trick to calm them down and helped my little boy! I did some swishing with him (my hands under his shoulders, him on his tummy) and this is when he started to relax.
• Don't expect too much too soon, if they're not enjoying it then don't stay make yourselves stay in until they do smile as it may take a few short sessions before they relax and if you stay in too long they'll get cold which will make them even unhappier.
• Have fun!!  Swimming especially at this young age should be about having fun and enjoying yourselves in the water.  It may take a few sessions before they're really having fun in the water so don't force it and just go with the flow.  

Later in the week I will post some more ideas of what to do with your child in the swimming pool as well as what to buy for swimming and how to cope with two little ones in the swimming pool.