Turtle Tots

I remember so vividly standing at the cold poolside at school waiting for my swimming lesson with clammy hands and a lump in my throat. I absolutely hated swimming and the very thought of floundering around (often doggy paddling my way to the side) made me feel sick every week when my lesson came about! Since having Leo I have really taken care not to push my fears (of which there are many!) onto my little boy.

Being scared of something when you are so tiny feels far too much of a burden for a baby boy as sweet as ours. Leo was eight weeks old when me and hubby first took him swimming, where I sobbed as soon as his feet hit the water. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy I was just amazed that any baby of mine would be so brave and limitless in what he wanted to do!

Since that first time we have taken him swimming every couple of months but only ever to float about and now that he is VERY almost a year old I thought it was time to try something new.
This is why I was so very excited when I was approached by a lovely lady from ‘Turtle Tots’ to come and join their baby 3 classes at Sleaford’s Better Gym. Today was our first class and I can honestly say that both of us came out smiling ear to ear! Niccole, one of the swim instructors was such a bubbly, natural personality that instantly makes you feel comfortable even though it was a situation that I would normally be so uncomfortable! Leo spent the whole time looking and listening to everything and I couldn’t help but adore every second that five toothed smile.

As it was our first class a lot of it was spent getting to grips with the songs and little exercise but it couldn’t have been more simple. We splashed, we played and paddled after little plastic turtles! It was just so nice to feel relaxed in water for once and I truly feel that doing this will set Leo on a much better path than the one that made me fearful of water. After all, if I am confident then the little man that spends 90% of his life with me will be too! Some of the practices we did included swimming on their backs, learning to paddle and kick, holding onto the side and swimming through a hoop and I’m really excited about what we will both learn in the coming weeks!
In fact everything went surprisingly smoothly, that was until it came to getting out of the water at the end of the session. I very (un)gracefully climbed out of the pool, wobbly Mum tum and just as I steadied myself Leo pulled my bikini strap off whilst laughing and left me stranded grabbing for a towel! A lesson I will take from today...buy a new swimsuit and never trust a baby to not pull at brightly colored straps!
We cannot wait for our next Turtle Tots class!!