Toddler Swimming Lessons- ISR Day 1

This weeks has started as a week of "torture" for my son (and who am I kidding-- for me too!)... we signed him up for swimming classes.  But these aren't just any swim lessons... Mama is not in the water and he gets one-on-one instruction from his teacher for 10 minutes a day, EVERY day for 4-6 weeks until he knows how to swim, float, swim... its called ISR--  Infant Swimming Resource's Self-Rescue program http://www.infantswim.com/.   It's for kids 6 month to 6 years.

It's not cheap, requires a serious time commitment every day and it's tough to watch your baby and in the case of my kiddo-- yelling/crying for his Mommy while kinda being freaked out by the whole experience. 

Google ISR Swimming on You Tube and you will be amazing at the tiny kids that learn how to swim.  More importantly-- you can read stories for kids who took the class and has some kind of run-in with a pool or water and were able to save themselves because of what they learned in the class. 

So just like letting your kids get bumps and scrapes as they learn to crawl or walk or disciplining kids when it's not fun but what they need... that's why we're taking this class... for the end goal of having a kid who could live if he ended up in water and a kid that will eventually enjoy swimming (like my niece and nephew who are complete fish in the water and took the classes when they were young).

Here is a 20 month old after completing the class to give you an idea of what they learn and what someone my kiddo's age can do at the end...


Link

THey are super strict in watching what your kid eats all day during the 4-6 weeks and you have to log their foods, pees, and poos, and their sleep.  That is also the reason lessons are just 10 minutes... they do as much as possible to limit potential injuries. 

One day 1-- he just did wall work-- where he was put a little away from the wall and reach out to grab it from multiple angles (no underwater yet).  He actually did really well with that-- he just cried for me the whole time-- and I only got a little teary twice while watching it.  : )  Thankfully my sister-in-law was there to support both of us.

I'll keep you posted on how it progresses and maybe post our own video at the end.

21 weeks and such

While I'm late in posting (shocker!) I actually took my 21 week belly bump photo on the correct day.  Yeah, that's a shocker too!

Symptoms:  So far so good still!  Yeah!  Major progress has been I am now back to drinking water first thing in the morning and I can swallow like all 10 of my vitamins in one giant fistful again!

Exercise:  Running 3x a week-- with the shortest run being 4 miles.  So far I'm keeping pace and having minimal side effects (I even haven't had the constant urge like I need to pee on every run!)  I also talked hubs into lacing up his running shoes Sunday and we ran 63 minutes together while pushing the tyke in the jogging stroller!  It was HOT too!

Thoughts:  I had my first "birth the baby" dream.  True to pre-baby dreams it was definitely unconventional.  I wasn;t full term and was trying to push out the baby-- this was all while I had ZERO pain and tried to babysit my son between trying to push and trying to figure out where my husband was.  It was an odd dream but it also made me really ready to meet this little guy!

I just completed a 21 month series with a great group of ladies through my church.  We had out "graduation" and someone asked the two prego ladies to take a bump picture together... so since I rarely let my head be in blog photos... here goes below... I am on the right at 21 weeks and the beautiful lady on the left is due a month after me with her third kiddo.

 

Can I just brag that I found that dress an hour before I had to get ready for the night on a trip to Target.  It was only $25 bucks and isn't a maternity dress so I think I can wear it in the future too!  Score!  We did not coordinate our dresses, we're just both fans of black and white!

Lil Bit of Everything and 20 week Update

On Saturday the fam (minus my hubs : ( and I hit up an informal 5k fundraiser for an organization that I recently designed a small building for... Barren Heights and whom my mom and stepdad volunteer with.  It's a cool organization that helps families who have a child with a disability take a free vacations at their camp while volunteers assist in meals and fun with their kids.

I was pleased with our 5k time... we averaged 8:45/mile all while switching who pushed the munchkin.  He got a huge kick out of the balloons and got his favorite tool... a hammer... painted on his face... It was fun!

20 weeks:
Well... the official belly pic at 20 weeks (a few days late) is deceiving as usual... I must look thinner from the side... ha ha!  I certainly have a belly!

Total Weight Gain: About 8.5 lbs

Symptoms:  Feeling better still, no sickies, no cravings and I can drink water and take pills without gagging (mostly)  : )  I'm sleeping well and will enjoy the sleep I can get until it gets hot and I get more prego!

Thoughts:
Some random one's for you:
I'm wondering what it will be like to balance two kids?  Will it be the same MAJOR adjustment as one was? 

I'm also wondering what I should buy two of?  I know that's kind of dumb but when I change N's diaper I still use the changing table... can they share one or will I need two?  What else?

Will my boys be sporty?  If so, will I actually enjoy spending time watching sports?

Will I feel the urge to have more kids or feel done after this one?  Will Hubby and I be on the same page regardless of which direction it is?

Exercise:  Still running but no long run due to the 5k event over the weekend.

Happy Monday!  I make no promises but will hopefully be back around Thursday when I'm 21 weeks since this one is late again!

It's a...

Looks like I get to continue a life of worms and hammers and trucks... we're having another boy!  I always thought I'd be a Momm of two boys.  I guess I was on to something.  While I am not a sports fan, I enjoy all the adventures that comes with the typical life of a boy! 

I think we have a first name picked out but we won't tell our family/friends until birth.  The reason we do that is to avoid the... "oh, I don't like the name Sally" or "I once knew a Sally who was so mean..."  People keep these things to themselves when the baby is in front of them but somehow when it's still in your belly they think it's okay to say.  I've heard it too many times... so we will keep it under wraps again.

Finally... A Post with Photos!

Unless you are McLightning and have perfect form, a runner can usually get a kick out of their official race photos posted several days after a race.

We had just run up the bridge and I had just finished a Camelbak drink of water in this shot... at least you can't see both feet because I usually run with both of them on the ground at the same time.  : )  I do think the bridge angle is pretty darn neat though!

He're my grand finish... I thought I was busting it at the finish with good form only to see this photo and realize I was still my slouchy self and looking kinda pooped.

Finally here is my stepdad and me after we were reuinted at the finish.  I do look pretty pumped up here, showing off the metal and he looks drained and was probably wondering why I stopped to let the guy take this one.

So-- for my lack of race photos... here are a few  to keep you coming back.