Learn to swim the turtletots way!

I think that I will always be the over protective mum. That is my destiny, that is one of the things that I was put on this planet to do...worry. In life I try my best to only panic when panic is deserved, when things are really going belly up that's when my worry shines through but until that moment I am quite a calm person. All of that changed when I became a mother.

Lots of the people that follow this will already know that Leo is an IVF baby. I never want to 'go on' about how important he is to us because every single baby is a blessing, surprise, planned or made in a lab like our boy. They are just as important, they are our future police, nurses, shop keepers, farmers, sportsman and to be fair as long as Leo is a happy man when he grows up we couldn't care less what he decides to do with his world. However these 'blessings' that we have seem to come with so much worry. Every time that Leo falls and begins to cry I know that if I don't cuddle him straight away then he will get on and be fine and yet my arms instinctively reach out to protect him from everything.
This is an aspect that I have found difficult when it comes to Leo's turtle tots swimming lessons! I cannot explain how much we are both enjoying our classes, we go every Friday at 9:30 am at Life Gym in Sleaford and if anyone is even thinking of taking their little ones then I cannot recommend them enough. Please get in touch with Nikole and mention MumHack sent you!!

But back to this notion of 'letting go' and this is where it gets relevant to our swimming because as a mother sometimes you need to put on a smile and act far more confident than you are. When me and Leo get in the water (thankfully much warmer than your average swimming pool so theres no huge intake of breathe or shivering babies) I am still filled with insecurities. Both for myself and Leo. I worry that I will make a fool of myself, that my son is too young or not strong enough and yet by the end of our half hour class Leo is shocking me by 'bum shuffling' himself into the water from the pools edge. He is filled with confidence, he splashes and babbles the whole way through the class. A certain little boy that we see almost every week usually gets the for-front of Leo's chatter and he is very chatty! It's so lovely to see him interact with other children his age and to see him learn to kick and pull the water back which are all the first starts to learning to swim. We do songs and role play and honestly after the first five minutes all of your inhibitions are gone and you are acting like a turtle to make your little one laugh.
I will always worry. I will always be that mum and I am proud of that fact because I am mummy to the most fantastic little man and I will forever be grateful of this.

'Oh little lion cub...I knew the day when we first met you that you were destined for magical things. You were born from a last hope that we had almost given up on and all you will ever have to do to make us happy is be the perfect you that you are.'