Marking our Territory

I promised an update on swim lessons which there have been two already.  The first one was less successful then I originally anticipated.  Rebecca came for moral support and to help with locker room changing.  I was grateful for the extra set of hands and her presence calmed some of my anxieties primarily since she had done swim lessons before with kids she babysat.  Wyatt was slightly keyed up because Rebecca and I were getting him all excited for his new adventure.  He was doing great until the water hit his belly button.  Then he pretty much hated it and wanted to run to Rebecca sitting on the bleachers.  He was much more content to throw rubber duckies in the pool at me swimming then actually participating.   I did get him in for a while by distracting him with splashes and drawing his attention to the fluorescent lights but mostly he twisted up his face and yelled out his fake cry until I placed him back on dry land.

And so went our first swim class.  He loved running around the pool with Rebecca just didn't enjoy the water so much.  Basically, all we are learning is pool safety, regarding entering and exiting, and getting the kids comfortable with the water.  There is song singing and trying to encourage the beginning of swimming like kicking his legs.  The Y has a policy of no forced submissions, which I was very happy to hear because there was no way I was dunking my child.  The instructor said that it does more harm then good and resulting in more drownings rather then less.  Anyway, I think Wyatt's hesitation was due to the new experience of it all.  There were people doing laps and it was very echoey and hot.  Maybe he was intimidated by the biggest bathtub in the world that he couldn't stand in.  Maybe he was embarrassed by his belly hanging out like the instructor suggested.  Regardless, I shrugged it off and decided we would try again next week.  

Next lesson started off the same way. I sat on the edge, splashing him with water, sitting him on my lap, just trying to get him comfortable.  He continued to scrunch his face and whine (pictured).  After about 10 minutes, I just decided to go for it.  I jumped in figuring he would rather be in my arms in water then on the side of the pool alone.  I was right.  He whined for a bit then loosened up.  I danced with him in the water for a bit getting some smiles and then he was like a fish.  He was laughing, twisting and splashing.  At one point he laid his head on my shoulder, resting in float position, kicking his legs in the water.  The instructor was very impressed with his 100% improvement.  I KNEW he would love it when he gave it a chance.  The rest of the class was spent "swimming" after rubber duckies which he would throw just out of reach.

Back in the locker room, you can only imagine it is somewhat of a task to get him and me out of bathing suits and dressed for winter.  I try to get him done first and work on myself as he explores shutting the lockers.  I had gotten his onesie on and he was naked from the waist down.  He moved past me, in between another woman and child, forcing me to go around the bench we were sitting on.  I guess I was a little too slow and got to him just in time to hear the woman say "Oh, He's peeing!  He's peeing!"  Of course my response was "Yeah, he does that all the time."  Because I do let him run around naked at least once a day and sometimes he pees on things.  Like the laundry basket, or me, or the garbage can, or the den floor. (Yeah, Mom, didn't quite tell you about that one.  I promise, I cleaned it up.)  The woman probably thinks I'm crazy for being so nonchalant and now I have to see her once a week.  My family thinks we are going to get kicked out.  All I can think is 'So, What?! He christened the locker room floor.  It was bound to happen eventually.'