Saturday, July 24, 2010

Swim Lessons

Miss E has finally started swim lessons, this was something that she has been looking forward to for a long time and something that I have been anticipating with much hope and a little bit of anxiety...you see, I have heard crazy stories about how swimming impacts blood sugar levels.


Now, Miss E is not swimming laps around the pool...she's only five. Yep, she turned five this summer...my little girl is growing up sooooooo fast and kindergarten is just around the corner. So Miss E has taken to swimming and is loving her class, she has been doing so good. I love watching her, there are only five girls in her class so I am able to watch each little personality as they spend 35 minutes in the water splashing and jumping their little hearts out. It's just too cute!


One of the girls is a die hard doggie paddler...this kid just paddles her heart out doing little circles in the pool, and she rarely listens to her swim instructor! In fact the other girls will be doing an activity and this one is off heading in the other direction, it's as if she is in her own little world. Then there's the little girl who is always fearless, she will jump off any ledge, dunk her head over and over or fly down a water slide head first!!! So many personalities...my Miss E, well she is the cautious one. She is always within a few feet of her instructor listening intently and hanging on to every word. She follows his direction well, but if it's something that scares her she immediately goes into negotiation mode...he wanted the girls to jump into a hula hoop looking thing off the side of the pool, all the girls did it but Miss E made him hold her hands while she jumped and she was very careful not to let her head go under the water.


Then there was the day when the girls were supposed to dip their heads under the water, well Miss E would only put her face down while holding her nose and she wouldn't let her ears go under water...like I said, she's very cautious. It was funny, on the first day of swim class her instructor told the girls "If something is too scary for you, you don't have to do it." So later that day I was asking her why she wouldn't dunk her head in the water, you know what she said? Word for word..."My teacher said if something is too scary for me then I don't have to do it mommy" She's a smart one!


I love that she is cautious...it makes me feel good that she won't try anything too dangerous, she is my timid one and she takes her time with everything, always asking lots of questions. Every child has their very own unique personality, I try to help hers blossom and not force anything on her...although after her first class was over she did say she didn't want to swim anymore. All that I asked was that she finish her week out and give it some time and guess what...after day two she was IN LOVE WITH SWIMMING!!!


So far her numbers have been great, I don't think she is in the water long enough or excerpting too much energy for it to have a big impact on her blood sugar...thank goodness! We have been very careful before each class, I check her blood sugar right before class starts and I make sure we have plenty of snacks on hand...but so far it has gone great without any problems, no lows and no major high bg's. She only has one more week of lessons and she is already asking when she will be taking more classes...UH OH, what have I just started here :) I may have a future swimmer on my hands!

7 comments:

  1. LOVE SWIMMING and HOORAY for Miss E. She sounds like a natural. My daughter, Bridget was the same way (she is now almost 9)..she swims a beautiful free-style and back-stroke...and loves jumping off the high dive.

    Good luck with the future lessons and that is great that her BGs hold steady for you.

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  2. Good for miss e and she will do things when she feels comfortable doing them god bless her and your family .

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  3. My children all love swimming -
    Yay for Ms. E - so proud of her!!

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  4. Hi Connie! Your daughter sounds adorable! And it sounds like she is so smart....bet she won't give in to peer pressure one day. : )

    I'm glad you're enjoying your summer and I'm glad you're back to blogging. You've been missed!

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  5. Little E sounds like such a cutie. The way you describe her reminds me of my Emma. Good for her for sticking with it and being so brave!

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  6. YEAH FOR MISS E! And congrats to mom for staying the course and encouraging her wings to grow just a tad more :)

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  7. must be great to have a cautious child, at least at the pool :) I'm looking forward to hearing more about how school goes...I am so anxious about that.

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