Benji in the water
Benji has never been in deep water if any sort, not a pool, the ocean, or a lake. I’m sorry to say that swimming doesn’t hold much allure for me, and although Ian enjoys it, usually mommy ends up being the one responsible for this kind of activity. But on this trip, Ian has patiently been spending many hours in the pool, helping Benji slowly get comfortable in increasingly deep water.
This slow introduction to water actually started at a very fun pirate ship toy that has 6″ to 1.5′ of water around it, and water shooting out of various places. We took pictures of that on a “waterproof” camera that leaked and broke the next day. Wonderful.
Anyway, after that Ian got a floaty vest for Benji, and they went into the deeper pools. The pool they have gone to the most has big, shallow steps that slowly progess from about 6″ deep to 3′ deep. The first day, Benji stayed on the first couple steps.
The next day, they went to another pool where the steps were slightly deeper, and Benji floated a bit where his toes could only barely touch. We also went to the beach and Benji really enjoyed going in the waves with Papa Gary.
Finally, today (February 25), Benji went floating out where his feet couldn’t touch at all, and he didn’t hold on to Daddy at all. We were all so proud! Benji isn’t adventurous, but he was persistent in stretching himself and finally got there.
Now, he’s having a ton of fun paddling himself around with his feet. I foresee many more days of fun swimming at indoor pools in our area.
Thanks to Ian for working with Benji to increase his water comfort level. This week Benji has been to the Northshore YMCA pool with me twice. It is 3′ to 6′ deep, so once he goes down the steps, he is floating and kicking the entire time. He magically transforms from Benji the big boy into Benji the Baby Beluga! So fun! And boy, does he ever nap well after swimming.