Our Little Fishy

With as often as Gordon, William and I are around swimming pools and large bodies of water we decided putting William in a good swim class was a MUST!  We found a highly recommended Swim Academy just down the road from our house that we have really grown to love.  The owner of the company was a pediatric nurse that had seen far too many drownings and near drownings.  I'm so thankfully she opened the Swim Academy to help parents teach their children a valuable skill!
Their summer time schedule was so busy that we weren't able to start William until July 13th.  The class William takes is an infant survival class.  Each class lasts 15 minutes.  I was shocked at how short the classes were at first but I quickly realized why.  They. Are. Intense.  Luckily. William has done a fabulous job.  He loves the water and tells everyone he's a dolphin and a shark!
The first four weeks William went four days a week.  Our busy evenings just got busier (again, so very worth the time and money).  This has given me a little glimpse into our sport days that are just around the corner.  The second day of the first two weeks were the hardest.  For whatever reason, William was the most upset on these days and just cried for mama.  Thankfully. other than that, he's been a champ....and even asks to go to swim class!
Today was the start of Week 5 (which means only 2 days a week of swim).  William can now float on his back unassisted, understands to swim to the side of the pool to rest, and is learning that when he can't make it to the side he must roll over to his back, to a floating position, to rest until swimming the remainder of the way.
His teacher, Ms. Amelia, is wonderfu!  William tends to struggle with flipping onto his back.  He doesn't understand why he can't just swim back and grab onto the teacher.  *he's a bit hard headed*  I guess grabbing onto the human in the water is just a natural instinct.  Today, she took him to the big pool for the first time!!!  He did much better there for some reason.  He finally realized that getting to a floating position wasn't an option.

Waiting of our turn on Day #1

Watching your child struggle in the water is hard.  Watching your child cry for you while taking these intense classes is hard.  Thinking of your child drowning (being scared and alone) is harder.  Burying your child due to a drowning accident is unbearable.  $28/class.  I'd pay more.  We should have done it sooner.  The lessons he's learning are priceless.  They are skills he'll keep with him forever.  After this month he'll go once a week for as long as we want.  We plan on keeping him in a class from here on out.  I'd love for him to be on a swim team one day!  It's such great exercise and a skill that helps keep you safe.  William's teacher has told us several times that he's a strong swimmer.  Music to this mama's ears!  

Ready for swim!

Even on days that William has cried or not gone right to his floating position we've been so proud.  We tell him everyday how important being safe in the pool is, that he has to learn to float and that there isn't always someone there to save you.  And honestly, I think he understands.  He's trying so hard.  He loves practicing with us in our pool on the weekends.  We can't tell him enough how happy and proud of him we are!!!
So, if you can, find a class in your area!  Believe me, you won't regret your decision.  My heart is so happy watching our little fishy in the water.