Blog : Little Lilypad Co

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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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Category: Swimming

  1. How things change in the blink of an eye

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    It doesn't seem so long ago that my youngest daughter was clutching her arms around my neck when we entered the swimming pool, so to see her development in a relatively short space of time fills me with pride and amazement. She lies on her tummy in the bath each night kick kick kicking, happily putting her face in the water and she is just like the sponge with water in the bath tub, the way she absorbs everything she is being taught.

    She now loves to watch her big sister at her swimming lessons each week and you can see her wanting to climb in. It is now bordering on a wrestling match to prevent her from getting in the water. It is interesting to see a little competition between the two girls about who does well in their lessons (well the older one moreso than the little one) but you can see her wanting to swim like her sister.

    The thing is, she is actually really beginning to swim. Until around 6 months, babies placed in water tummy-side down will move their arms and legs in a swimming motion, so when their swimming reflex and the dive reflex are both engaged, a baby can look like they are swimming but now at almost 2 years old .... she is doing more than look like she is swimming.

    This week they have been learning to blink when they come out from being under water. When they are tiny, the parents always wipe away the water but as they get older they have to learn to clear the water themselves, so all we have been saying for the last couple of days is blink, blink, blink.

    This small change is another reminder that she is developing so quickly, copying her sister in her desire to absorb everything around her and it amazes me how swiftly things can in the blink of an eye .....

     

  2. Why we love Water Babies

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    We have always blogged about our Water Babies journey, so when I read today that the ASA are reporting in an article that 51% of 7-11 year olds can't swim 25 metres, it made me even more delighted with our progress. You can read the article here.

    So with the little one learning the "kicking" motion and happily putting her face under the water, I wanted to share once again why we love Water Babies.

     

    Why we love Water Babies

  3. Should we be able to share images of our children safely?

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    A few weeks ago, during half term, my eldest daughter got the opportunity to go to see her baby sister in her Water Babies swimming lessons. This was quite a novelty for her, especially as it is usually the little one watching her every week.

    So whilst sitting on the side of the pool playing on her iPod, she decided to take some videos of Nanny and the little fish in the water. It was fantastic for me to get home and watch them enjoying the water and I have loved seeing her start to learn to actually kick her feet in the water.

    I have agonised over sharing these videos, as it is genuinely lovely to see all the little ones enjoying the lesson and I really want to share it with you so you could see what I have been going on about for all these weeks. But unfortunately it is not just Nanny and little fish in the video. There are other babies in the background and I know how I would feel if someone was sharing my daughters images through social networks, without my permission.

    I remember when I was young, my parents took pictures of me in the bath or running through the water sprinkler in the garden for no other reason than for their memories. Unfortunately today, in an age when every aspect of our lives is shared through social media, I am still very reluctant to share images or videos of my children.

    Ultimately, I am not skilled enough with video editing to manage to isolate the little fish and Nanny in the video, so you will just have to take my word for it that is it great. It just makes me a little sad that we are now so cautious and that protection of our children's safety means sharing our memories is no longer acceptable.

  4. Changing the Tide

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    I have always blogged about our Water Babies journey but a few weeks ago, our journey took a little detour. Our fabulous teacher, Kate, left to start her maternity leave. Kate was an amazing teacher and little fish adored her, so much so that Kate frequently used her as the "demonstration" baby for the next technique. So Nanny was extremely apprehensive ( I think she is more of a creature of habit than the little one) so when Lynsey took over the lessons, I had to convince my mum to give her the benefit of the doubt. It wasnt necessary of course, Lynsey is a very natural teacher and Nanny was raving about her after they got home.

    We have already signed up for the next course but due to Lynsey only covering the remainder of the last set due to Kate's departure, it is highly likely that we will have another new teacher for the new course. *insert Mum's renewed apprehension here*  

    Babies and children all react differently to change but my girls have always been creatures of habit! So we will wait will some excitement and trepidation as to who will be taking the new class but if our baby swimming experience so far has been anything to go by, then a change in the tides (or the teacher) is just another opportunity to meet one of the fantastic Water Babies team!