pool noodles

we recently tried our neighbourhood indoor pool for the first time and it's great! the eileen daly pool at confederation park is about 8 blocks from our house and it's delightful - a warmish/coolish wade-in pool with a really shallow section, a 3' depth across the board and even a hot tub that kids can go into. coco had such a blast! he floated and kicked around in an inflatable yellow rhino and spent a lot of time jumping in and doing "splashy cannonballs" as he calls them (the fancy moves done in his tacky the penguin book). i'm so glad to see him loving the water as i always have!

sha-na-na-na

with it being about a billion degrees this week, we headed out in search of a cooling dip yesterday at kits pool.  ah - the joys of an outdoor pool.  i would have happily traded my brother and access to candy for a pool when i was a kid. (bryan, you're safe now!) it was a big part of summer for me growing up, finding my way into as many puddles of chlorinated water as possible.

by the time we packed up to head home around noon, it was busier than a hornet's nest at the pool and populated equally by moms & kids, fit older men in speedos and pretty girls - just the place for cole.  he could watch the kids, tell me repeatedly "that man is nude" (his term for anyone not wearing a shirt) and make flirty faces at the cute girls.

it was hot enough outside to negate the very slightly coolish temperature of the water for cole.  we spent ages in the pool, swimming around, doing tricks and jumps and splashing our hearts out.  and we spent an equal amount of time sitting at the pool's edge, coco playing with his pool toys and me being grateful for time spent with any part of my body submerged in that lovely cool water.

water, water, everywhere

today it's rainy and the weekend was too.  after such a lovely stretch of sunny weather, i'm finding it quite a delightful deviation.  i think the ideal ratio of sunny to cloudy days in the summer is something like 5:2.  two days of clouds and rain gives me enough time to catch up on the activities that i feel badly doing when it's blazingly gorgeous out.  it gives me a chance to laze or work, a chance to feel cozy in a sweater and welcome the next batch of lovely weather with new appreciation.

on thursday it was still in sunny, or at least warmish and hazy.  we hustled ourselves down to the second beach pool in stanley park, one of our favourites in the summer.  we brought a blanket and towels, wisely arrived wearing our bathing suits, and had a fine selection of snacks.  also along for the journey: cole's inflatable pool floaty who he refers to as "tarantula turtle" for reasons unknown.

the clouds were a little cloudy and the wind was a tad windy, but the water was nice.  a little cool but not actually cold.  just try telling that to a toddler who is used to the bathtub temperatures of the indoor tot pool!  he didn't protest though, and we went for a lovely paddling floaty swim around the "deep" end, investigating the float line, practicing kicking and checking out the big kid slides and the big kids who slide down them.

we eventually got out to warm up and cole settled down to the business of finding snacks to eat.  for a kid who doesn't necessarily eat a lot of food, he certainly enjoys the concept of snacks.

he also began clambering up the fence behind us, staring wistfully at the playground beyond the beach and lamenting his position pool-side.  i wasn't quite ready to give up on the idea of swimming on such a summer's day (also factored in: drive to get to pool, comfortably seated position surrounded by belongings, wrangling required to leave pool and change) so i convinced him to give the pool another shot.

he was a little reluctant initially, on account of the "freezy water" (it SO was not freezy), so we went to measure him against the "you must be 8 years old to swim by yourself" sign.

i suggested we get our feet wet and make footprints beside the pool.  he loved this and it got him excited to get wet again.  he went on to improvise: hand and knee prints, bum prints, body prints and head prints, each by dipping himself in water first and then pressing himself against the warm concrete.  eventually we went back in for another half hour of splashing and climbing the small slide.  time well spent!

Fun in the water

One of my favourite activities each week is visiting the pool with Cole. We haven't joined a waterbabies group just yet, only because the Aquatic Centre's schedule seems to coincide perfectly with Cole's morning naptime. We're waiting for the next round, to see if they schedule it at a different time or if Cole's sleeping pattern changes by then... If not, maybe we'll head out to a different pool that may have a more convenient schedule? I like the looks of the Eileen Daly one in Burnaby.

Cole's enjoying the water, as far as I can tell! We've been practicing a couple of face dunks each time ever since I had some instruction from the lifeguard. There's just a simple trick. Blowing in a baby's face triggers a breath-holding reflex, apparently. Good to know! Cole's happy to have new things to chew on in the water, likes watching the big kids (2 & 3 year olds), and seems fairly indifferent to the actual water - not a lot as far as splashing goes although he does practice that in the tub.



One of the second-best things about our trips to the pool, other than getting to wear my bathing suit out in public (boo), are the funny conversations with children in the changing room. So far I've been informed that little boys have penises (which they love to tell everyone, evidently - and I never know what to say!) and that I have nipples, which I'm just so glad that one little boy enjoyed pointing out. Lovely! It was decided a while back that Cole looked like Charlie Brown, according to one kid, because he was bald. And on our last visit I had a charming discussion with a little guy who was convinced there was a piece of poop on the floor (it was a leaf), no matter was his mama said. He was really cute. I'm getting better (very slowly!) at understanding kid speak, which is often a little garbled to begin with and then muffled by animal crackers or banana...

Cole takes a dip

On Monday Cole took his first dip in the swimming pool! We put on his swimming diaper and our bathing suits and went to the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, on Beach under the Burrard Street Bridge. Thanks to Sandra for the great tip! The Centre doesn't look too exciting from the outside, but inside... Man alive! It was glorious! They have a massive lengths pool, a high-diving pool and a lovely baby & tot pool that is warmed to a balmy 90 degrees.

It was lots of fun - for him and for me too - and he really enjoyed himself. He laughed, splashed a little and played with all the fun floating toys the pool had bobbing in the water - boats and balls and all sorts of fun things.

I didn't think I'd be able to get a photo of this first, what with being wet and by ourselves and all, but I brought the camera anyway. I'm so glad I did! After we'd been in the water for about 20 minutes or so we waded back out, grabbed the camera and took a couple quick shots for posterity.

The tot pool starts off at a zero depth and goes to 2 or 3 feet. Lifeguard on duty. They even have a family change room complete with a baby-holding table and a (rather odd-looking) plexiglass playpen for the busy Mama who needs two hands to take off her wet suit. Conveniently, I wore my suit there under my clothes but forgot to bring my underclothes, so I had to put the wet suit back on and wear it home... Putting on a wet suit is so complicated! There is stroller parking up at the front desk and .25 lockers too.

I have adored swimming since I was a wee one myself, and I had been eagerly awaiting the chance to take Cole in the pool for his first time. I was so glad that he enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to another dip in the pool with Cole next week and registering us for Aquababies classes. And going back one night solo for a good lengths swim and jump off a board! :-)