Swimming

A week or so before we left to go visit the grandparents, Jen took The Bean for his first swim. There's a great little saltwater pool around the corner from our place, so she and a friend with a baby The Bean's age went to check it out. Both boys LOVED it!

For us it was a good trial run for our trip because Jen's aunt and uncle just installed a saltwater pool in their backyard. We made it over a couple of times while we were there and The Bean really seemed to enjoy himself.

Making his "teething" face, but still enjoying himself in the water.

On our second visit we were carrying him around and he was fussing. As soon as we held him out in front of us he started smiling and froggy-kicking his legs. Everyone was amazed at how happy he seemed to be in the water. We'll have to be sure to take him back to the pool near us often.





Swimming is one of those skills I feel is necessary to have, at least at a basic level. My siblings and I grew up going to lessons and spending weeks during the summers splashing around in lakes and pools. I think it's important that he remains exposed to the water until he's able to start actual lessons.



Sidenote: Being so fair, one of the things we were really concerned about in the backyard pool was The Bean's sun-exposure. We went on the EWG website and researched the best sunscreens for infants and found a zinc-based one we were happy with. We also had him in a rashguard shirt and a bucket hat every time we took him in the water. He didn't seem to burn (or even tan) at all, which was what we were hoping for.

Another note: We had also bought him a PFD designed for infants, but he HATED it so we didn't make him wear it in the pool. It'll still be good to have if we do any boating.