Baby Swimming Lessons With Turtle Tots

You may remember that earlier in the year Nola and I were chosen to be brand ambassadors for Turtle Tots.  I was excited to become an Ambassador for the brand as I am a firm believer that swimming is a life skill, so the earlier you start the better!

We started our lessons in May and did about three weeks worth before Nola was prescribed steroids for Infantile Spasms. Her consultant told us that within a few days her immune system would be suppressed making it easier  for her to pick up bugs. He also told us that if she had contact with anyone who developed chicken pox she would need to be admitted to hospital. Cue paranoid mum syndrome! But in all fairness it was certainly justified! Armed with the info from her consultant I made the decision to avoid public places as much as possible which obviously affected our Turtle Tots lessons. Turtle Tots were understanding of our situation and kindly agreed we could pick up with our lessons again when the steroid treatment finished. 

Back to the start of our lessons in May! We were actually late for our first lesson due to bad traffic, by the time Nola and I were changed the class was 10-15 minutes into the lesson. The class teacher Lyndsey asked if we wanted to watch as we'd missed the beginning but I was keen to get in! As I'd expected Nola was absolutely fine getting into the water. She was very happy to be involved in the activities even though this was the first time she'd been in a swimming pool.

In those first few weeks back in the summer she didn't protest once about being in the pool! She was fine being dunked under the water too, I think it's us parents that worry more about things like that!

It was such a shame we had to postpone the lessons as we were both really getting in to them!

When we returned to our lessons in October Nola was certainly more wary, being that much older and aware made a difference! 

Our lessons begin with the class teacher Lyndsey taking Nola as I get into the water. We then usually bounce around in a circle with the other parents and babies singing a song. It's a nice way to ease the babies into the water and makes it fun.

 On our first lesson back Nola probably cried for half of the lesson but we powered through! We were reassured by Lyndsey, who was understanding and always encourages us parents to go with what our babies want to do. Nola had lots of cuddles throughout the first half of that lesson but fortunately had settled in to the pool for the final half of the lesson.

Each week the lessons follow a similar routine which is obviously important in helping your baby become familiar and relaxed with their swimming lessons. 

Once babies have settled into the pool after some singing and moving around, we get them used to water on their face which helps them prepare for going under the water. The same phrase is said in each lesson to enable babies to understand what is going to happen next. Parents will say 'mummy/daddy ready go' and pour water over their head before saying their babies name and doing the same to them. Nola hasn't minded the water being poured over her which is interesting as she is not a fan of having her hair washed! This activity gets the babies geared up for their 'peek-a-boo' swim. Parents always do the under water activities first, showing their little ones its fine to get your face and hair wet. The 'peek-a-boo' activity begins with the parent saying  'mummy/daddy ready go' before putting their face in the water and then doing the same with their baby. It's easy to the progression throughout the lesson! 

The first week back I didn't put Nola under the water, Lyndsey is always flexible about this and always reassures parents it's ok if we don't want to put our babies under or if they're having an off day.  There has been no pressure that the babies must do every aspect of the lesson, it really has been 'a go with the flow' vibe which has been great.
The lessons normally continue with more singing and fun activities which aim to instill those early basic swimming skills, such as leg kicking and paddling your little ones arm through the water.
The lessons end with a bit of a wind down with the babies floating on their back and singing the end of lesson songs.

It is probably clear from what I've written above that Nola and I have been enjoying our Turtle Tots swimming lessons. Our lessons are in a private school pool which means the class has full use of the pool making it a far more relaxed environment than a busy public pool. The changing room can be a little cramped depending on how may people attend the lesson but thankfully the lack of space hasn't been an issue.
What I'm impressed with most is the progression within the lessons and the activities which promote those important swimming skills.

If you're interested in swimming with Turtle Tots head over to their website to find your nearest class.

 *We are 2018 Ambassadors for Turtle Tots and are receiving lessons in exchange for blog posts. All opinions are my own

Nola's 6, 7, 8 & 9 Month Update!

General/milestones

Nola you are now nine months old, the same amount of time you were growing inside me. I'm sorry I haven't kept up to date with your updates, there wasn't any big changes between five and six months so I thought I'd pick things up again at seven months, then eight months and before I knew it here we are at nine months old!
You have grown a lot, especially your hair it's getting thicker and thicker! You have become more smiley, you 'talk' a lot making an 'aahhh' sound and you have continued to work hard at holding objects and rolling over. You have been rolling all the time these past couple of weeks and you're getting pretty good at it, you did bump your head at the weekend and bruised your head.

Seizure wise they made a come back unfortunately. When you were six months old I noticed when you were sleeping sometimes you eyes would open and then flicker, I was pretty sure they were seizures. So I sent a video over to the epilepsy nurse, I didn't hear back but then received a letter for an appointment at Addenbrookes with the paediatric neurologist, it turned out the epilepsy nurse had forwarded the video to him. He put you on a third medication and told us he would see you again in July.
The next day you began to have infantile spasms again so called I the neuros secretary and explained. The Dr called me that evening and said we'd stick with the plan, which was introducing the third medicine over four weeks and that should hopefully stop the spasms.
 It didn't so our appointment was brought forward and we saw him again a couple of weeks ago and he said the next stop was to put you on steroids. I really didn't want to put you on these as the side effects aren't great. But the with the overall outcome of infantile spasms there really is was no other choice. You have been an absolute trooper on them though Nola, you've just been amazing so so good! Very quiet and dazed at times but you have been smiley at times too. The good news is they stopped the spasms quickly and they have kept away so far! We started to wean you yesterday on your nine month birthday so I'm hoping that will be ok as I know it can be difficult for some little ones.



I don't think your development has gone back, if it has only a little. You wanted to roll for ages and you're doing it consistently now! You also want to sit up by yourself, you're getting there. I know you'll do it, I'm so proud of you! You're still not overly keen to use you hands, although you'll bash things and try to grab them if you're in the mood. A few weekends ago you mastered blowing raspberries and couldn't stop doing it! You haven't done it as much since you started the steroids.
 You cut your first tooth just after you turned six months and the second one followed shortly after!
In April you had your first trip abroad to Disneyland Paris, you were far better behaved than your big brother! It was such a nice getaway, not in anyway relaxing but wonderful to getaway...Disney is magical!
We were chosen to be ambassadors for Turtle Tots which is very exciting! We started our swimming lessons in May but have stopped for now due to your immune system being suppressed whilst on steroids. You love being in the water and did lots of splashing around.
 I moved you up to size 4 nappies at some point but discovered today you still fit in a size 3! 

Wearing purple for world epilepsy awareness day!

Feeding

Nothing has changed about your appetite! You still love milk and of course I started weaning you at six months. I gave you different vegetables first, broccoli, potato, carrot, cauliflower, parsnip, peas, green beans. You liked most of them but broccoli made you heave he first time, you were fine after that though. You definitely prefer sweet though as you can't get enough of fruit and yogurt! You are loving eating solids!
Milk is still very much a favourite, you have three to four bottles a day 5-6oz, I mix a bit with one of your medicines in the morning and at night. I have been putting some of steroid doses in.  

Sleeping

Mostly you sleep through the night but there have been a few times you've woken up very early, to be fair you happily lay there kicking your legs and playing with your feet. Mostly you have been waking around 7am.

 

Weight

I can update your weight this time! You were weighed at the hospital a couple of weeks ago and were 8.16kg = 17lbs9oz which is lighter than I thought you were!

Clothes

You are mainly in 6-9 month clothes but also wearing some 9-12 month bits.
 

More Nicknames

The nicknames keep coming!  Here are what came out last time and below there's more!     

30. Kee Kee
31. Kee-Kai
32. Beauty
33.Beauty Weauty
34. Tutti Fruitti
35. Pumbles
36. Kee-Kai
37.Pooch
38.Poochie
39.Poochie Woochie
40.Poochie Woocha

With big bro at Hampton Court Palace

 

Your Likes

• You still love snuggly cuddles...I do too!
• Milk and food
• Bath time still makes you happy and now swimming does too
• You love being out and about
•  Watching trees, they make you very excited for some reason
• Big brother playing with you (when he's not being too rough!)

Your Dislikes

• Waiting for milk or food
• Still not a fan of being dressed or undressed, although you don't grumble as much
• Still being disturbed

In all honesty there's not a lot you kick up a fuss about right now, you are so chilled!

That's it my darling girl, until next time!

xxx



 

 

We Are A Turtle Tots 2018 Ambassador



If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen last week that I announced Nola and I were chosen to be one of the Turtle Tots ambassadors for 2018. I was thrilled when I received the email to say we had been selected.

 I have swam myself for as long as I can remember, weekly lessons at my local pool throughout my childhood and as part of PE in primary school. It was a hobby that gave me confidence as it was something I was good at. I always knew that when I became a parent I wanted my own children to swim, one of the main reasons being that it is a life skill. I took Eliot to lessons a couple of months before he turned two then had to stop as the parent & toddler lessons were only on weekdays and I was going back to work full time. When he was three he started lessons again and has been going ever since.

When Nola came along I knew that at some point I wanted her to begin lessons and she has a lot sooner than I expected! We've had a our second lessons with Turtle Tots and she is loving being in the water! As well as being a skill that could save your life and a way to exercise, baby swimming offers many more benefits that I hadn't looked into. The physical benefits include building strength and motor skills. The classes also benefit social and emotional development too, you can read more about their benefits here.

We'll let you know how we get on in our lessons over the next few weeks and keep an eye out for a chance to win a £50 voucher for Turtle Tots swim products and a free taster lesson!