Water Baby

Yesterday Baby had her first water familiarisation lesson. I was going to knock up a fake photo of Baby floating on her tummy, but that would require more time than I have - she's already 40 minutes into her nap and my hard drive is making loose-cog noises so, time is of the essence and all that. Just revisit this image of surfin' Baby and imagine the rest.

The tiny class of three mums and three bubs started at 11am on the dot - just when Baby produced a big yawn signalling that it's already been two hours since she last woke and therefore time for another nap struggle. Too bad, Baby - you have a class to attend.

With pull-up swimming nappies on, Baby seemed quite at home at the Children's Pool. the room was lovely and warm, the water was at bath temperature and there was plenty for her to look at - how fascinating the ceiling lights must've been.

The European-sounding instructor lead us through little songs, floating Baby on her back and playing fetch with rubber duckies and balls. Then Baby was floated on her tummy through a tunnel and under a waterfall (water from a garden sprinkler), occasionally dipping her head just enough to get a mouthful of water (oops).

One thing she wouldn't do though, was kick. There was nothing we could do to make her little legs go up and down in the water; asking her nicely didn't work, nor did manually moving her legs. Perhaps she could tell there was no need, since mummy was doing all the work for her.

The class was over within half an hour, but after half an hour of crouching on my dodgy knees in the shallow pool and holding a slippery (though perfect) baby body with my dodgy hands, followed by half an hour of getting both of us showered, dried and dressed - I was knackered. I was glad I'd taken the car.