How To Introduce Baby To The Water This Summer
This post was sponsored by SwimWays as part of an Activation for Influence Central. I received products to facilitate my review. #SwimWays #IC
To say I am a different mother with my third child would be an understatement… I am a completely new mom with my baby girl! I have lived… I have learned… I have made mistakes, learned from them and improved. I don’t want to brag, but I think I got this baby thing down now! We are originally from Maine and spent all of our summers at the beach, on the lake, at the pool, the water park… basically any place there was water you would find us. My baby Adeline is my Georgia peach, I had her five months after we moved here and though we are no longer near the ocean, we have found plenty of places to stay cool! Now that Adeline is old enough to join us in the water, there are a few tips I would like to pass along in order to show you how to introduce baby to the water this summer! It’s not always as simple as plopping them on the shoreline and hoping they love it, sometimes it takes a bit of persuasion and earning their trust, without traumatizing them!
My first bit of advice to you is NOT to just plop them in the water and assume they are going to love it. I remember when my oldest was a baby and we brought her to the pool at our local recreation center. There we are in our bathing suits ready to have a good time, I just walked right into the pool assuming she would love it. As soon as the water touched her toes, she was climbing up my body and trying to maneuver herself to the top of my head. If you could imagine bringing your cat into a pool… yeah it was basically similar to how you would expect a cat to react! The very large pool and children splashing all over was probably a key factor into her immediate displeasure, I regret introducing her to water that way! You think because they laugh and splash for an hour in the bathtub that they will just love the pool! But many times that is not the case and your baby needs to be slowly transitioned. Since I am a wiser mother now that has learned from that mistake, I decided we would take a different route with baby Adeline. I found a decent sized inflatable pool for the backyard. We play out there every day so it’s a place my daughter is familiar with and very comfortable being at. My older kids and I allowed her to be with us as we set up the pool, she sat beside it and watched it inflate. Once the pool was full and sat in the sun for an hour (to warm up the water) I let her stand at the side of the pool and splash her hand in there. Once she was curious enough to take a look inside, I decided it was an opportune moment to get out the SwimWays Baby Spring Float.
What is the Baby Spring Float you ask? Well it is the single best baby float on the market today and the perfect product if you are helping to introduce baby to the water for the first time this summer. SwimWays created the Swim Steps line of products to help children become confident swimmers, they have a great collection of products for swimmers of all ages. I have my two older children in swimming lessons at their local aquatic center, so I was thrilled to learn that national Learn to Swim Day is May 16, 2015. This day is designed to remind parents and guardians to kick off summer safely by engaging their children in water safety and swim instructions. Knowing we are ahead of the game for this summer is a relief! I agree very much with SwimWays and the fact that they believe swimming is an important life skill and that all children should have the opportunity to learn to swim. This will be the fourth annual National Learn to Swim Day and I am very happy to be sharing this special day with you all!
I am also happy to show you the very moment I introduced my baby girl to the pool this summer! These are literally photos taken within seconds of placing her into the water! We let her have the pool to herself, all hyper and splashing siblings were asked to wait a few minutes before getting in. She was very uncertain at first, but had three people on the sidelines cheering for her and she quickly knew from our reactions that this was a fun experience. Babies are so in sync with our body language and facial expressions, so make sure you are not acting frightened or uncertain yourself. You can see in the picture below that she was tense and would not put her hands down. She eventually felt comfortable enough to relax and enjoy herself! How cute is that itty bitty baby? Gosh I love her!
What I love most about the Baby Spring Float is that it is so stable and not at all wobbly. The float doesn’t tip or anything like that, so baby always feels safe and sturdy in the water. You just know that the one time they think they’re falling over and baby is going to want OUT of the pool! So it’s truly great that this float is so steady in the water! I am also loving the adjustable canopy, Georgia is hot and sunny so this is a must for baby girl to have! It also has plenty of space for toys to keep baby entertained. Plus the float is easy to fold, store and transport… you can bring this thing with you everywhere all summer without it being a hassle! I am so in love with this float and greatly look forward to the many water adventures we will have these next several months. We plan on using the pool with Adeline several more times, enough times where I feel she is ready to be introduced to bigger waters. I hope this post has been of some guidance and you and your precious baby can make an easy transition into water this summer. Good luck friends!
So make sure to participate in the 5th annual National Learn to Swim Day on May 21st! SwimWays started National Learn to Swim Day in 2012 and is fully dedicated to educating parents and children about the importance of water safety and the many benefits of learning to swim. The SwimWays Baby Spring Float is the single best float on the market today to help you celebrate with baby, as it’s the perfect product to introduce baby to the water for the very first time.
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