As I mentioned last week, Friday was our first pool trip to my parent's house with our son to take him swimming. It was hot and humid on Friday, much like the rest of the week, and it was a perfect day to hit the water and cool off for a bit. We didn't head down till early afternoon when the temperature was peaking and it was getting a little unbearable at our house. As we had no swim trunks for our son, we decided that he would go swimming in his birthday suit and hoped that he wouldn't decide to go number two while in the water. He had his little floating tropical island complete with palm tree for shade, all air filled mind you, and to top it off, there was even a little blow up frog for him to play with. It was the cutest little thing. So once we got his island blown up and in the water, our son's clothes and diaper off, we headed right in. Seeing our son splash around in the water during his baths, we were hoping that a much larger body of water wouldn't cause him any trepidation or angst. Well, to put it mildly, he loved it. As soon as we got him in his little seat in his island, he leaned forward and started kicking away, slowly propelling himself through the water. The look on his face was one of pure joy and I think if he had his way, he would have stayed in the pool all afternoon. However, that was not the plan for him. After about 20-30 minutes, we noticed him starting to shiver a little and consequently pulled him out to warm up.
It wasn't that the pool was cold, rather it was a balmy 88 degrees, just warm enough to be comfortable and refreshing, yet it was still colder than the surrounding air so after a while, I could see how our son could start shivering. When he was in the water, there was absolutely no fear whatsoever in him. He played with his little frog almost constantly and when it started to float away, he started kicking in an attempt to move himself over so he could get it. The only time he got a little freaked out was when he leaned a little too far forward and got a mouth full of pool water. Neither my wife or I were that far, though, and quickly got him upright and the water out of his mouth. Once he was done coughing the little bit of excess water up, he went right back to kicking and moving around. Hopefully the fact that he is already kicking to move around will help him when it is actually time to learn how to swim. In any case, after warming up for a bit and hanging out on the patio with us and his great grandmother, it was time to head back in. The second time in the water it was just him and myself, my wife opting to lounge on the patio instead. Again, he loved the water and kept moving around the whole time. What we didn't take into consideration was how tiring swimming can be. Friday finished off wonderfully with our son. Saturday, however, was a different story.
Saturday turned out to be a long day for our son. He was a little more tired than usual, presumably due to the swimming on Friday, and consequently a little more cranky. Our son managed to make it to his bedtime on Saturday, but it almost seemed as if he would go to bed an hour earlier. Its a little tricky to figure out when our son is tired and ready for bed. When he starts to get tired, he actually gets more active for some reason. He starts crawling faster, taking more risks while attempting to walk, and gets frustrated a lot more easily. The frustration is our cue that it is time to settle down and start getting ready for bed. It could be any number of things that sets off his frustration from being taken away from playing with delicate things or even just sitting down from a standing position. It takes vigilance on our part when he is tired to make sure that he doesn't push himself too far. Not everyone can tell he is tired unless you know what signs to look for. My parents came over on Saturday to babysit while my wife and I headed out to a party. They came over a little early to see our son before he went to bed. My dad commented that our son didn't look tired and didn't seem to be acting tired either, yet he was. Its the little moments that paint the big picture with him and luckily my wife and I can catch them and whisk him off to bed. In any case, it was a fantastic weekend with my wife and son and I can't wait till the next one.
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