We brought Kendrick for his first baby swim today after I read from a forum about how some mothers have brought their babies to this shop called Hwa Xia International. For more information, refer to http://babyswimming.com.sg/ Here's the gist of these swimming sessions:
"Babies are born swimmer and they love to swim. At birth the baby’s brain has little information about how to move on the floor because he has never had that experience. However, the baby already has seven months of information about how it feels to move in an aqueous environment. In this environment the neonate’s body is buoyant. All the baby’s sensory pathways are developing-vision, hearing, feeling, taste, and smell sensation. If newborns don’t use their natural ability, it may be lost. For this reason it is very important that they have the opportunity to swim from the very first day of life or as soon as possible. Medical research has confirmed that swimming helps to grow and develop the baby’s brain because the brain grows by use. Providing an opportunity for baby to move in the water is an ideal way to develop not only a stronger body, but a better brain."
Anyway, Hwa Xia International has a shop at Punggol Plaza and Harbourfront. We made an appointment for the one at Punggol Plaza and off we went in the morning. I was worried that Kendrick would cry the moment he was put into the tub of warm water. But fortunately, he did not! Here's what happened.... When we reached, we waited for the lady at the shop to fill up the tub with warm water. There are only 3 tubs at the shop and each baby will be placed in their individual tubs. While we waited, another baby boy who was there earlier started to be put in the tub to swim. However, he got a bit scared after a while and cried. They had no choice but to carry him out. Then Kendrick's tub was ready, so the lady told me to undress him. While I did so, Kendrick was lying beside the other baby who was still crying as his mummy dressed him up. The baby was bigger than Kendrick. Anyway, it was quite funny to see both babies staring at each other on the same changing table. I thought Kendrick was going to cry as I saw him look at the baby with a worried look on his face. Luckily, he did not. Soon enough, the lady put the inflatable float around Kendrick's neck and she carried him into the tub.
She put him in slowly and got him to feel the water and its buoyancy. Basically the float around his neck kept him buoyant in the tub of water so he could easily kick and move about. The lady started to show Kendrick how to move about in the water by moving his arms and legs a bit and after about 5 min, she let go of him to allow him to move freely. Kendrick looked a little stressed at first, but soon enough he was moving about by himself in the water. Each time his leg touched the side of the tub, he would push against it. I would say that he was pretty brave and we are proud of his first attempt!
Distracting him with toys
Looks like some swimming pose
Distracting him with toys
I guess this is quite a vigourous activity for the baby as Kendrick was perspiring after about 10mins and we could see his perspiration on his forehead. Well, the lady advised that since it's Kendrick's first time, we should not tire him out too much. He also did not cry until some time later when he became a little tired. The lady then showed us that we can let him have a short rest by supporting his bum so that he is not kicking/threading water. Kendrick seemed happy at that rest point as he smiled at the lady and made some noises. After a while, she let go and he was back to floating and kicking in the tub.
Happy when given a rest
About 20 mins and we were done. Here's a shot with Kendrick before he started to fret again
So that's about it for Kendrick's first swimming session! At this point, we are still considering whether or not to sign up a package of 4 sessions + 1 free. That costs $108. Maybe just for the fun of it, we might let Kendrick continue...Hope that it's beneficial to him in some way!
