Swimming Success

Can't get enough of this smile 

Swimming
Well, Saturday morning was Felix's very first swimming lesson. It started off as a bit of a disaster because he really did not like the swimming nappy I put on him. I think it was another one of his sensory issues, so hopefully his reaction will improve over time. He was so upset over the nappy that he didn't want me to put his wetsuit on either. (I had already decided that we need to practice a bit with the earplugs and headband. He pulls the headband off every time I put it on his head, so if he does that in the pool, the clear plastic earplugs will sink to the bottom of the pool, never to be seen again). It was a bit of a struggle and a wrestle, but after a few minutes I finally got the wetsuit on and he was ready to go. I was hoping the bad start wasn't a sign of things to come.

Felix loves climbing in the toybox

Felix was really happy once we got to the pool. He didn't know where to look first. There were so many new things to see. There were a lot of parents and grandparents sitting around the edge of the pool so Felix crawled over and introduced himself to a few people while we waited for his class to start. I sat there mortified because I had worn bathers (swimsuit) as I had to get into the pool with Felix; and looking around I had noticed that all of the Mums in the pool were wearing board shorts and rash vests! As soon as I got home I ordered some board shorts from Ebay... I felt a little conspicuous!

The pool was a little bit chilly when we first got in; Felix shivered for the first couple of minutes so I kept him moving in the water to warm up. The class ran for half and hour, which was perfect timing because Felix's lips were turning blue by the end. The class was fun for him because there was a lot of singing and actions to the songs. I poured water over his head; we splashed our hands and Felix kicked his feet. He didn't mind gliding through the water on his tummy but he hated being turned on his back. (He doesn't like it when I lay him back in the bath to rinse the shampoo from his hair either). He was a bit better on his back if his head was rested on my shoulder, so we'll work on that and see how he goes. It was a fun morning and I'm looking forward to watching his confidence grow in the water.

And climbing in the drawers

New tricks
Climbing is Felix's favourite thing to do at the moment. If he's not pulling out the drawers and climbing inside them, he will be sitting in the top of his toybox or climbing his playground when we forget to put the steps away. He is getting much more adept at climbing down from things very carefully but, of course, with climbing comes falling. He hasn't worked out yet that climbing the toybox when it is full and heavy is easy because it won't tip over. When all the toys have been thrown onto the floor and the toybox is empty, it is too light and tips very easily. There was a crash, a pause and then some loud crying this morning when Felix learnt that one the hard way. It didn't slow him down though. He was back in action shortly after the shock had worn off.

I was excited the other day because Felix had stood himself up and then stayed standing for about ten seconds. This afternoon he stood for 25 seconds without holding onto anything (Isaiah was counting!) He is consistently trying to stand all the time now and thinks it's the best thing when he stands for a few seconds and everybody claps. His eyes widen and he applauds himself. It really is the cutest thing!!

Just waking up and peeking out of the cot

Verbal speech isn't really Felix's forte just yet, but today he made some speech sounds which made me pretty excited. Every time we handed him something and said, 'Ta', he would respond with a definite 'Ah' sound. Tonight when he had his dinner, he occasionally held out his fork to us and said, 'Ah' because he wanted us to share with him. I am a very proud Mummy!  I'm sure the day will come when I'll be saying to Felix, "Would you please stop talking", but for now I'm encouraging all of his attempts to speak to us and looking forward to what sounds he will make next. Since having Felix I always go to bed excited about what tomorrow will bring.