Scarlett's Swim

I remember the first time I saw a video of a baby who had had ISR lessons. I had massive anxiety the whole time I watched it. It doesn't look natural and your parental rescue instincts are kicked into high gear. Ander was older when he started lessons so it was less distressing. And this year Ander was even more confident and completely took off. He learned the Swim-float-swim technique that enables him to breathe before continuing on swimming. This video shows a few of his skills, the flip at the end is my favorite, it shows how he completely loved his lessons, and never wanted to get out of the pool at the end. 

He is a total fish in the pool now. He's swimming, jumping in, going down the slide on his own, diving down to retrieve things, and generally trying to grow gills by spending so much time in the water. Even still, Nathan and I stay close by in case he does something like knock himself out jumping in too close to the edge.
Speaking of, Ander accidentally fell in the pool the other night when no one was swimming and we all got to see if he would actually do what he has been taught. It was a nervous and long 10 seconds for me watching Ander flail around until the shock wore off and he realized he had the skills to help himself and he swam to the side. If you are wondering how deep his emotional scar will be- he spent the next hour jumping in and swimming around the pool.

This year Scarlett started ISR's self rescue lessons. I was suddenly witnessing my own little 10 month old being taught to roll to a float no matter how she may fall or be set in the water. It took several weeks before she would go through a lesson without fussing through at least part of it. It is hard but important work she has been doing. Dotty had Scarlett floating on her own by the second lesson. Dotty's amazing. The program is amazing. In this short video Scarlett is wearing clothes and a diaper to simulate accidentally falling in water, as she would likely be in clothes. She does great even being weighed down. I'm so grateful for these lessons and the survival skills these babes have learned.

If you want to learn more about Infant Swim Resource you can click here to learn more about their programs and "Not one more child drowns" Mission.