I am a huge advocate of swimming lessons, and children learning to swim at a young age. Valerie has been taking swimming lessons since she was two months old! She loves the water so much, and she is getting really good at it. I am still a bit protective of her in the water though, and still want her to wear floatation whenever she's in the pool. Its important that she knows how to swim without the floatation, but I want her to have it on just in case. I never let her swim alone either, I am always right in the water next to her. Depending on the situation, I either prefer a floatsuit, for when we're in the pool and I am around, or a US Coast Guard approved life jacket for open water.
Last time my niece, Beth, came to visit last summer, I found out that she didn't know how to swim! I couldn't believe that! I had to take Valerie to her swim lesson at the community center, so I took Beth with us, to see if I could get her signed up for a class. It turned out that the only class available was for infants, up to two years old. I asked if they could make an exception for a fifteen year old. They had no problem with it, but warned me that Beth probably would not like some of the class requirements. I was told that the children were to be dropped off at the community center daycare 30 minutes before the swim lesson time, since many of the other kids in the community daycare already. Once all of the swimmers were at the daycare, they are loaded into a large, 8 seat stroller and taken to the pool area, where the attendants change each student into their swim gear, and then take them out to the pool area. The attendant reiterated that Beth would be in the crawler class of the daycare of half an hour, before being strapped into a stroller, and taken to the locker room where she would be undressed, and changed by a daycare attendant. Then, she added the kicker. The students were required to wear a one-piece floatsuit and a swim diaper. After the lesson, the children would be bathed, re-diapered and dressed, before being taken back to the daycare. I told her that I had problem with that. She gave me the forms, and signed Beth and Valerie up.
I knew this was going to be an exciting experience for Beth, so I instructed her to write down her experience in her a journal after I picked her up and took her home. Here is an excerpt from her journal:
My aunt made me go to swimming lessons today with my one year old cousin. I wasn't sure what to expect, but my aunt asked me to write down my experience, so I would never forget what happened, although I don't think I need to write it to not forget it...
Auntie Veronica dropped me and Valerie off at the Community Center daycare. A very nice lady named Chloe picked up Valerie, and took my hand, walking me back to the "Crawler" room of the daycare, usually reserved for children between six months and eighteen months old. I knew that nothing good was going to come of this as soon as Chloe had called me "little one." She was only five or six year older than me! Anyway, the half hour before we went to the pool wasn't bad. Valerie and I were given blue ankle bands to signify that we were part of the swim class. She was placed in a playpen and I was told to just relax until it was time to go. I ended up just standing and chatting with the three ladies who were in charge of the daycare class. They said that their shift would be over before I got back, so it would be a different set of people who would be watching me after swimming. Before I knew it, I was told to stand at the front of the room. Soon a large, eight seat stroller was wheeled in. Since I was the largest, I was lifted into the one of the rear seats and strapped in with the five point harness. It was a little tight, but I managed to fit. They strapped Valerie in next to me. Once they had the other kids loaded up, they started to push us to the pool building.
I want to say that riding in a stroller was an interesting experience, but it wasn't my first time riding in one recently... When we got to the pool area, the attendants took us to the women's locker room, and straight to the baby changing area. They started from the front, taking the babies one at a time, out of the stroller, laying them on the changing table. They would strip them down to their diaper, then change them into a swim diaper, and dress them in a one piece bodysuit with floats sewn in. Every time the Attendants would change a diaper, they would coo to the baby about the state of their diaper. Once they were in their swim gear, they were put back in their seat, and strapped back in. Soon it was my turn.
Chloe put the baby in front of me back in his seat, before turning her attention to me. She unstrapped me, and instead of letting me stand, She lifted me up by my armpits, cooing to me that I'm such a big girl, and laid me down on the changing station. Without even saying anything, Chloe started to undress me, starting with my t-shirt, and bikini top, and then she laid me back and started to take off my shorts. leaving me in just my bikini bottoms. I will never forget what she said next! "Oh my, this wont do at all? What was your Auntie thinking sending you here without a diapee? What if you made an oopsie in your pants?"
I literally died.
She took off my bottoms and grabbed a baby wipe, taking my ankles in one hand, and lifting my butt off the changing station, and wiping it thoroughly with the other. Once I was cleaned to her satisfaction, she reached into the bag of Pampers Splashers next to me and pulled one out. She showed me the diaper before threading my legs through the holes, and pulling it up my legs and over my hips. She reached into Valerie's diaper bag and pulled out one one-piece bodysuits. She threaded me into, and and zipped it up. I could see the bulge of the swim diaper around my waist. I felt like such a baby. Soon I was strapped back into the stroller and we were all wheeled outside to the pool.
I was eventually placed in the water, but was held by the swim instructor the whole time, who was pretty much just floating me around. It was actually a big calming. I don't think I'm afraid of the water anymore, if thats the silver lining of all of this. Just when I thought it was getting better, it got worse.
When we were done in the pool, we were handed off to another attendant, who carried us into the locker room to where a baby bath was set up. I was stripped out of my bodysuit, and stood there, while attendant, this time an older woman in her 50's, pulled open the back of my swim diaper and cooed at me for being all clean, before ripping the sides of the diaper, letting it fall to the floor. She lifted me up and sat me in the bath. I was almost laughing because I barely fit in there, but I was too embarrassed. I sat there as the woman washed me from head to toe, before lifting me out of the tub. She quickly wrapped me in a towel, and laid me on the changing station, next to multiple open bags of diapers. Once I was laying down, she used to the towel to dry me off before letting it fall to the sides. She looked me over and reached into one of the packages. I was about to say something, when she pushed a pacifier into my mouth. I watched in horror as she unfolded the diaper and grabbed me by the ankles, sliding the diaper under my butt and pulling it up between my legs, before taping it. I wasn't expecting a baby diaper to fit me, but it did. She smiled at me as she put my t-shirt and shorts back on me, and placed me in the final open seat in the stroller. Once I was strapped in, we were taken back to the daycare.
Thankfully Auntie Veronica was there to pick us up right away, and I was able to take the diaper off. Strangest experience of my life!
Elizabeth Costello 8/3/2018
If she still doesn't know how to swim, you can bet she's going for another class! Good to know that Baby Dry size six fit her as well, since she's still struggling with her bedwetting. I think thats enough for today! Have a good weekend, and see y'all monday!
-Veronica
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