Zachary the Waterbaby

Yesterday was Zachary's first swimming lesson! We signed him up for Waterbabies, a children's swim school that friends D and D take N to, among other families that we know.

There are about 7 babies in our class, which started with all of us lined up on the pool deck, dangling our legs in the water. The teacher went over the safe way to enter the pool with kids, then she handed out foam toys to distract them, and we sang and swooshed them around in the water for 30 minutes. Zachary loved it, he just chewed his toy and kicked his feet the whole time, occasionally squealing with delight when I swooshed him.

The teacher has a great sense of humor. My favorite was when she demonstrated how not to do the activities using her small plastic doll. "Sometimes babies get a little upset, and it can help if you rock them a little," she said while rocking her doll in the pool. "Just be careful not to do this," she said as she dreamily dunked the doll underwater, "because that won't help them relax."

A little disappointing is the fact that this is only Zachary's second "class" environment (if you count parent-baby class), and already there's another Zachary. He is about twice our Zachary's size, and half his age. When his mother said he was 4 months old, there was a collective gasp of disbelief from the other parents, even from the lone father snapping photos from the pool deck.

Zachary looked so stylish in his mandatory swim diaper, and Mommy looked killer in her bright yellow bathing cap. We can't wait for next week!