Waterbaby!

Well, I'm officially a water baby!  Momma and I joined our yoga friends for a 2 hour workshop called Bathtub Babies put on by the Waterbabies organization.  Even though the pictures don't show it, I loved (almost) every minute!   We started out on land, having lots of fun doing different movement activities.  I loved being on my tummy, flying on Momma's legs, being swung in the blanket, getting a little massage, being sung to, and rolling atop the exercise ball!   Then, it was time for the water....   I put on my new swim diaper (not pictured but super cute: little dolphins!) and the Waterbabies wetsuit and Momma changed into the only bathing suit she found that actually fit her (all stretched out from HS swim team... yikes) and in we went!  The air was HOT - it felt like a greenhouse in there, and the water temperature was 90 degrees... so I was pretty comfortable the whole time. 

Here we are beforehand and entering the pool.  Momma is demonstrating the "safety hold" as we enter.  

Here we are exploring how the whole water thing feels.  Momma & me, Sydney & Connor, and Trudi & Anders...

After free swim time we were led by our instructor to try different sensations in the water.  First we bounced, then we did some floating on our tummies (holding our heads over the water).  I loved it and was all smiles.  I did "explore" a teeny bit of the water with my mouth, but the teacher said that was to be expected.  Then we tried laying on our backs.  I wasn't a huge fan of laying backwards in one of the positions, so we waited a while and tried again.  I liked it better when we started floating on our sides (while singing) and ending up on our backs.  

Here I am enjoying playing with my new "sensory ball" in the pool.  I also had fun chomping on an octopus toy while in the water. 

The final thing we did was head over to the hot tub (the temperature was turned down) where the mommas blew bubbles at us and the instructor talked about how to submerge us (say "Ready, Elliott", then blow up our noses - it triggers a reflex at this age for us to take a quick inhale - then dunk us forward a little bit underwater... not up and down).  We didn't do that this time (if we take classes, they do it in the third class), but we might consider it later on in the future.  They recommended submerging us before we were 8 mos because that reflex goes away. We'll see if I'm up for that in future swimming endeavors.  

Here I am ready to be changed out of my little wetsuit.  I did not want to be changed! 

And here I am promptly 3 seconds after being changed.  Momma tried to feed me, but I was too conked out to suck more than a minute!  I napped while Momma drove to downtown Kirkland where the yoga mommas and babies had a nice lunch at Cactus, followed by a stroll through the waterfront area (there was a nice farmer's market on).  We came home and told Daddy all about our adventures.  He was jealous, but we promised to go to a family swim night at a local pool sometime soon as well as spend some time in the bathtub to show him all that we learned.  Then, we went back to Kirkland to see Uncle Andy and other friends at "The Airlock," where they played some video games for his birthday while Momma and Daddy alternated trying to keep me away from the screens.  It was a fun and exhausting day!