Sunday, August 19, 2012

First "Swim"

Taking Gareth to swimming lessons twice a week has given both Ryan and myself the urge to go swimming ourselves. The only problem being that neither of us owned swimsuits. The last one I had had been purchased when I was 14 or 15 and Ryan had thrown his last one out a few years back. The urge to swim finally overpowered Ryan and we went out last weekend to pick up some suits. My options were definitely limited, I'm assuming because of the time of year. And can I just say how difficult it is to find clothes/swimsuits when your body is still a completely different size than it normally is.

Ryan worked from home on Tuesday and we went off in the afternoon to the public swim at the local pool. I was worried that Malcolm and I would end up staying home since swim diapers start out for 16 pounders. Turned out it was a bit big, but doable. And luckily we'd inherited a swim suit in his size from his cousin. I'd figured we'd never use a 3-6 month suit, but am now glad we took it anyway.

Gareth stuck with Ryan and Ryan got him to put his head under water several times. Malcolm stuck with me. At first he sucked in his breathe every time the water hit his belly as it was a bit cold. Once he got used to the temperature he didn't much care that he was in the water. It was noisy and there were lots of other people and so many new things, so he was a bit overwhelmed. He handled it pretty well, but wasn't terribly interested in making eye contact or engaging in any way. I moved him around a bit in the water while he sucked his fingers. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures. A lifeguard offered, but my phone was in a locker. By the time I met Ryan and the boys back in the lobby after our swim, Malcolm was back to his usual smiley self, though he was totally exhausted we'd later discover. I figured he'd want to eat while at the pool, but he didn't ever cry or in any way indicate he was hungry. Then I thought I'd feed him when we got home, but I turned around to help Gareth with something and a couple minutes later Malcolm was out. I thought picking him up and going to find the burp cloth would wake him up, but no. He slept for a couple hours and then was ready to go to sleep for the night about 9:30, and didn't wake up until 8 the next morning. Now that's something I could get used to!

2 comments:

Momof8 said...

Yes, buying a swimsuit at this time of year can be risky. I bought one a couple of weeks ago and got lucky--I found it at the first store I went to, and it was one of only two one-piece swimsuits in the store in my size. Because its the end of the season, I got it for half price!

While Savannah had her swim lessons, I watched the Mom and Tot lessons. The babies' reactions to the water varied from one who took to the water like a fish to one who cried every day and clung to his mother as if she were torturing him. I'm so glad Malcolm liked the water.

Erin said...

We were at a sporting goods store, so they had quite a few, but it looked like a lot less than they would have had earlier in the summer. And by the time I eliminated the $75 serious swimmer suits and everything way too big for me, I wasn't left with much to choose from. Oddly enough, it seemed like the men's swimwear was quite well stocked. Ryan found a suit in just a few minutes.

Now that I have a suit I'm thinking I might try and do a tots class with Malcolm this winter. It'll be nice if he can get started earlier than Gareth did.