Overcoming the Fear of Swimming Pools Part I

This is probably a super long awaited post, considering how I have been mentioning time and again about Blake overcoming his fear of swimming pools, and how he has enjoyed swimming and water play ever since.

Blake's first experience in the swimming pool was probably what got him to fear it in the first place. It was probably too cold for him, and he was too young to know any better. On top of that, we even had him go underwater a couple of times. Haha. Oh, things parents do to teach their children some lifelong skills.

So after dipping Blake underwater over two separate occasions, we decided to give the neck float a try (read about it here), thinking the neck float will give him some sense of security. Boy, were we wrong! After this episode, we decided to stop bringing Blake to the swimming pool.

The sudden thought of aiding Blake to overcome his fear of swimming pools came after we brought him on his first trip to the zoo.

Seeing how he saw other children enjoying themselves at the water playground, but he was too afraid to join in, made me feel that it's about time to do something about his phobia.




Running towards his safe haven, after spotting Sean sitting some distance away from the water playground.
It had been nearly 10 months since we last went near any swimming pools. It's about time, right? Besides, swimming is a relatively good sport to pick up, and almost all shopping centres have a water playground now. On top of everything else, I pretty much enjoy going to the swimming club to relax! Hehe. Yes, one selfish reason on my part.

So the first thing I thought of was to buy a nice float for Blake to sit on. We have to start from square one, with just his legs touching the water, and every other part of him above.

I brought Blake along to find the perfect float - one that was cute enough to attract him to, made of good material, and hopefully, can hold up to weights of 18-20kg. Reason for the last criteria? I had NO IDEA how long it will take me to get Blake to overcome his fear of swimming pools, so I'd rather buy a good sitting float which he can use for a long time, than to buy one after another as he grows.

Luck was on our side, and we managed to find it at our first search stop!


On March 1, 2012, I brought Blake to the swimming pool on my own for a trial. He was naturally frightened, and it took me a while to settle him down. But after sitting him in the float, and giving him a piece of fallen flower to hold onto, he became a little more comfortable. I walked him around the pool a few times before attempting to take photos of this memorable moment.

A really nice maid and the little girl she was with came over to play with Blake while I went to get my camera. It was very sweet of them to help me out. I had told them Blake was afraid of the water, and the maid started to drip water onto the float, which made Blake laugh! Hehe.

She was also very kind to help us take a few photos! She said some shots weren't very nice because Blake wasn't looking, so she just kept taking until she got a shot of Blake looking into the camera. Super sweet, right? Hehe.


After spending about half an hour walking around the swimming pool with Blake on the float, I attempted to sit him in the shallowest part of the swimming pool, but he was still terrified. So back into the float he went, and we walked around for another 30 minutes before heading to wash up.


Job well done!
I could tell that Blake was mighty pleased with himself that day too. Over dinner, he had a good appetite and was in an extremely good mood!




Daddy and Mommy's brave boy J
After this first attempt of getting rid of his phobia, I decided to bring Blake to the swimming pool at least once a week. I also went on to take him to a couple more places with water play to help speed the process up - will continue this journey I had with Blake in overcoming his fear of swimming pools in the next blog post J

Indoor and Outdoor Fun

My previous post touched on how I discovered about the magical three hours a toddler needs daily, in the form of physical activities. This post is mainly about the activities I do with Blake on a regular basis, adding new activities along the way when I discover them.

Indoor Activities

Some of the activities Blake and I enjoy doing are playing hide and seek (he will hide, and I will seek), allowing him to climb up and down furniture, dancing to some of my favourite tunes, and running around the house playing catching.

But our favourite activity of all time has got to be water play! Be it a bubble bath, or just water on its own, it’s a sure hit for both Blake and me J

We bought a mini pool from Toys’R’Us, and some bath toys to make water play at home fun! The mini pool is super awesome for use on rainy days. Blake can have water play, rain or shine! Whenever we have water play, or bubble baths, I will bring in my ipod and speakers to up the level of fun with all the songs I can sing along to. Hehe.

 

Every once in a while, I will also like to pick Blake up and put him on the sofa and start tickling him. Making him laugh wastes energy, and it’s super fun too! Haha.

Outdoor Activities

When it comes to outdoor play for Blake, sky’s the limit!

What we do on a regular basis is to bring him out without a stroller, and make him walk most of the way on his own. Not only will Blake be able to get all the walking and exercise he needs, we also have one less big bulky item to bring out! We take public transport (especially the bus) everywhere we go, so this was a HUGE load off our back J On top of that, we don’t have to rely, and squeeze with people in the elevators to get from one level to another! Total freedom for all of us!

There is just one tiny problem… If Blake is too tired to walk, he will want to be carried, and might fall asleep. If this happens, I’ll have to carry him everywhere I want to go! And at almost 12kg in weight, that’s quite a load! Luckily, we still bring the baby carrier (we’re using Babybjorn Synergy, by the way) so there is some comfort there.

Another one of our favourite outdoor activities to do is swimming! I try to bring Blake to the swimming pool at least once a week. He started out being really afraid of huge water bodies (read all about it here). It took me months, after we stopped going for about a year, to get him to fall in love with swimming pools! And now, whenever he sees a big body of water, he will want to jump into it!

Evidently in love with water, Blake wanted to join the pink dolphins at the Dolphin Lagoon Sentosa for a swim.

Another huge hit for Blake are playgrounds, be it dry or wet. As long as he sees one, he will want to go and have some fun in it. Thankfully, most of the time, I’m able to pull Blake away from playgrounds when we are in a rush to get from one place to another. I do try my best to let him play whenever possible though.

And then there are days where the weather is awesome – cloudy with good winds. These days are great for times to stroll in the park, where Blake will have an endless road to run on! Parks are not something we do pretty often, even though we stay just opposite one. Haha.  We got Blake a tricycle to ride with when we go to the park, but he seems only keen to sit on it at home, and not out. I wonder why! I think I’ll try the tricycle again when we’re bored, and out of ideas to drain his energy. Hehe.

The last on our outdoor activities list (for now) is bubble play!

Blake loves to chase the bubbles, and would go crazy laughing when we start spraying/blowing the bubbles. So much so that the entire ground level will have his laughter ringing throughout!

So these are all the activities I have been doing with Blake for the past few months, only going at it more actively in the last 2 weeks or so, after I read the article.

I even did a test the other day, by not giving Blake at least 3 hours of activities. By evening time, he was cranky and grouchy, refused to eat during dinner, and kept throwing tantrums! The following day, I packed his schedule with non-stop activities, stopping for a nap and meals, and he was very cooperative! I truly, truly am a believer in the three magical hours. Do try it to see if it works on your child!

P.S. Do take note though, if you’re going to the swimming pools or wet playground, do invest in swimmers’ diapers.

P.P.S. all these activities done with Blake also means less time for him to be with his pacifier! I’m sure he will wean off of it soon, on his own! J

One Week Later

**long post ahead!

It’s been a week since Blake started school, and so much has been happening! The progress my big boy is making in school, me getting a kick start back at working on my random projects, having more me-time and couple time with hubs – just to name a few.

So here’s a quick one week report of how things have gone so far. Not many pictures as I have not been able to capture any shots of Blake in school.

Read the full details of the first day of school here and here J

18 June 2012: After returning from the weekend break, it was Blake’s second day of school! The day started out pretty much the same as the first day of school. Only difference is, Sean joined us J

Blake cried the moment he got out of my dad’s car. When my dad drove off, he attempted to run after it, which Sean and I found rather hilarious. Sean then carried him into the school, and handed him over to his teacher, 蒙老师 (Ms Meng). We left shortly after.

After their lunchtime, I sent a text message to 蒙老师, to check on Blake’s progress, and to seek her advice as to when to pick Blake up. According to 蒙老师, Blake did not cry as loudly and as long as the first day; It was still on and off crying though. He also did not eat much for lunch, but when they gave him Honey Stars cereal, he ate away happily. That was what the children had for breakfast, by the way. Haha. Next thing I know, Blake had fallen asleep during nap time. 蒙老师 actually patted him to sleep. Such patience! I don’t even do that with Blake anymore!

When we picked Blake up, after their tea time, he looked really dazed. It was as though he went through some time-warping machine, but it took him less than half an hour to be back to his normal self again! We rewarded him for job well done in school with some playtime at the swimming pool!

19 June 2012: Blake did better than on the second day (which was better than the first!).

He did not eat much for lunch, although he did eat whatever snacks I packed for him. I was truly shock when I opened his bag, and realized that the snacks (except one) were gone! He was also more active, and went running around the classroom and hall after his afternoon nap, while others were still sleeping. Haha. 蒙老师 had to accompany him and play with him during this period. I can only imagine how tedious that must be!

When I went to pick him up, I stood at the door to his classroom, with his back to me. He was busy playing with a toy, the only child with a toy, might I add. His teachers called out to him, and I called out to him, but there was no response from him at all. Then his classmates went, “Blake, your mommy is here!” on and on and on, and finally, Blake turned around to see what the commotion was about. The moment our eyes met, Blake looked like he was about to burst out crying. He got off his seat, and ran towards me. It was a very ‘awwww’ moment.

Rewarded him with a bubble bath that day! :D

20 June 2012: The fourth day saw much improvement in the crying department.

Half an hour after I left the school, 蒙老师 sent me a text message to say that Blake has stopped crying! Huge improvement! During their naptime, she sent me another message to inform me of what Blake had eaten for lunch – sandwiches (about the same amount as all the other children. Blake’s the youngest in the whole school, by the way), and a whole banana! He did not take the fried egg, as it is not exactly one of his favourite things to eat. I’m guessing cos it’s pretty tasteless on its own. Hehe.

When I went to pick him up, I took a peek through his classroom’s window. This boy of mine was holding a Lego brick in each hand, going around the classroom trying to fit the pieces into the Lego pieces in front of his classmates. Everyone else was seated. Again, the teachers called out to him, to inform him of my presence, but he made no response. His classmates then joined in to make the announcement. In the end, one of the teaching assistants had to carry him out so that he can see me clearly. Haha. Looks like he’s beginning to enjoy school a lot!

Rewarded Blake with water play after school!

21 June 2012: The fifth day had quite a hilarious start for us adults. The moment my dad turned into the small road to Blake’s preschool, Blake started crying. He cried really terribly, and my dad asked, “Wow, you decided to just cry earlier?”

When we reached and got off the car, my dad and younger sister said 'goodbye' to him, and through his loud crying, Blake waved and said, 'bye' twice. This made everyone laugh really hard.

We entered the school gates, and 蒙老师 came out to receive us. Blake immediately leaned towards 蒙老师, and tried to reach for me after she was carrying him. It looks like some kind of standard procedure for him to react the way he did. While 蒙老师 was taking his temperature, I said ‘bye’ to Blake, and again, amidst his crying, he raised his hands, waved and said, 'bye' to me twice. This had me burst out laughing again. 蒙老师 could not contain her laughter too, and laughed till her face went red. Haha. This boy of mine! Too cute for words sometimes.

蒙老师 sent me a text message a little later to let me know that Blake only cried for a very short while after I left, which was an improvement. Yay! She also said Blake is very smart! Double Yay!

蒙老师 left a note in the parent-teacher communication book, saying that she’s very happy that the time Blake spent on crying was much shorter than the day before. It’s such a great feeling to know that your child’s teacher is as happy as me, the mother, about Blake’s improvement in adjusting to the school!

Went to pick Blake up from school, and he got really excited when he saw me through the window. Hehe. He rushed out, dragging the assisting teacher behind him. When he reached my arms, the assisting teacher told me in Chinese, “Must hold his hands! He’s very active! He will run and climb everywhere! That’s good!” Oh boy! Haha! Needless to say, we rewarded Blake with some fun at the swimming pool!

Seeing how Blake is adjusting better to preschool day by day, and how he enjoys going to school (even though he still cries when I drop him off), I feel really happy! Looks like grooming him to be an independent boy paid off :D

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P.S. Regarding today, most of Blake's schoolmates went to visit the old folk's home. He's too young to be going, so he had a whole day of play with the other students who did not go as well. Sadly, he developed fever suddenly, and I had to quickly finish up my errands (had a meeting to attend, and my camera to collect from the care center), and rushed down to pick him up. Thankfully, Blake's fever subsided, and he's now napping to recuperate. Hopefully, the fever will be all gone by tonight! *fingers crossed*

UPDATE: Took Blake's temperature after he fell asleep, and it was 36.1°C. Took his temperature again this morning before breakfast, and it was 36°C. Blake's fever is completely gone! :D

P.P.S. for those who didn't know, I'm currently in my second trimester with baby number 2 :) Hence, the bulge in the belly area in some of the photos. Hehe :)