Swimming on Her Own (Kinda)

Elina has never been that fond of water. I guess we didn't spend enough time splashing water in her face when she was younger. It used to be SO hard to wash her hair. She'd be upset whenever we got her hair wet and rinsed her hair afterwards. It was frustrating.


After a few of these episodes, we were determined to get her more comfortable in the water. Last year we enrolled Elina and Eli in the same introductory swimming class. It was fun because the parents had to go into the water as well, so it was something all 4 of us did together. Elina definitely wasn't super comfortable in the water, but she did well.


After that we enrolled Elina in the next level up. In the next level, the parents do not go into the water. It's just the instructor and a handful of kids. She did fine in the beginning, but she still wasn't interested in getting her face wet. Then the instructor dunked her without telling us about it. After he did this, she wouldn't get into the water anymore. She would just cry and sit on the side. It was frustrating, but we could understand why she was scared. I switched Elina to another class at another location where I could get into the water with her again. After some time (and some tears and screaming), she was ok in the water again--but only with a parent.


The lessons ended this past spring, so we backed off the swimming for the summer. Instead I would try to get her to do things in our bathtub. She would actually blow bubbles with her mouth and with her nose in the tub, so I knew she was making progress.


We went to a pool the last few weeks and I couldn't believe how brave Elina had become...all on her own. First, she swam around the pool with her lifejacket on and holding a noodle all by herself. I know this doesn't sound like much, but that is amazing for Elina. Then she started to doggy paddle by herself with just the lifejacket on. Then she started kicking off the side wall and swimming across the pool by herself (still with the lifejacket on). Before I knew it, she would just calmly float in the middle of the pool with her lifejacket on. Now when water splashes into her face, she doesn't freak out about it. She just keeps swimming. If she accidentally swallows water, she just coughs it out and tells us, "I didn't have my mouth closed."


I know it doesn't sound like much to most of you, but we are SO proud of her. We have come such a looooooooooooooooooong way...lots of tears, whining, screaming, kicking...it's been an ugly road, but we can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel! We're so proud of Elina!