Well Aliza's been in swim lessons since she was a little under one. She is now 2 1/2 years old. She's taking lessons from the YMCA so they're not intense or anything. Their approach for infants and toddlers is to let them have fun and get comfortable in the water while learning some basics skills, such as kicking, paddling, holding breath, climbing out and jumping in.
Last Saturday, after taking a nice break for the holidays, we returned for a new session. During freetime, we attached the float to her back as always and practiced treading water. This time ended up different because instead of sinking or flipping on to her face and belly when we let go, she actually put everything together for a split second and was swimming!!! She was so excited! Even if it lasted 2 seconds, it was amazing to watch! There was fear but also a lot of joy in her face and in her voice. It was cool to see all the different components of her lessons finally click. That afternoon she managed to tread up to 5 seconds.
Today was an awesome day!! She improved so much. She would swim about 6 feet to catch me, rest and then do it all over again. The panic has changed to excitement and to, "I'm doing it, Mom! I'm swimming! I'm a fish!" followed by gulp, gulp, cough, cough. But even with the minor choking, she's ready to start again. I wish I had photos or a video but I was the only one there. I'll have Patrick take some next week.
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