Friday, June 12, 2009

Summertime and A Few Safety Links

Ella is officially, as of today, a fish. She is amazing! She has been working towards swimming on her own, without her swimmies, since the pool opened in May. She is getting it... going under, diving for things on the bottom of the pool, jumping off the side, trying to glide, and almost truly swimming. The key word there is almost, and now that she is so fearless I'm a little more concerned about her safety in and around the water than ever before.


I have a very healthy fear where the girls and water are concerned to begin with. Back in May Jen at Amazing Trips posted a great message about water safety and children much more eloquently that I will here, so please head over there and check it out.

I always strive to be very vigilant about keeping the girls safe. The pool is completely fenced, and when we're out there I make all the girls wear swimmies unless I am working with them one on one.




However, all my safety and precautions did not prevent us from having an incident this week that made me realize just how quickly and easily things can go wrong.... and it also made me sick to my stomach.

At the end of a long afternoon of swimming and fun I was giving each of the little girls the opportunity to play in the water for a minute with me without their swimmies before calling it a day. Ella had been without hers for the last half hour, and they are quick to want to be like their super cool big sis!

So I removed Maggie's swimmies first and was playing with her in the water. Sarah was pretty upset that she didn't get to take the first turn, so I sent her out of the water to have Mimi take hers off so that she could be next. Maggie was doing some really great swimming for a beginner, and somehow while Maggie had all of our attention, right between myself (out in the middle of the shallow end) and Mimi (near the edge by the steps) Sarah got back in the pool without her swimmies. I turned around and saw her completely under water with her arms flailing about, eyes wide open begging for help... but she really didn't make a sound. I have no idea how long she was out there?!? I drug Maggie for an eternity through a very thick feeling 6 feet of water to scoop Sarah up.

After some patting on the back, lots of water belches, and some tears, Sarah was okay. I wrapped her in a towel and had her sit with Mimi while Maggie finished her turn. I then made Sarah take her turn as planned. I didn't want her to be afraid of the water, and I didn't want any of them to know how freaked out, sickened, and scared I was!! There she had been, right between two of the people who love and care for her most in the whole world, and well.... I am hoping and praying that incident was the wake up call that we needed and that it will last for a lifetime!

In other news, the girls love, love, love playing on their inflatable water slide, and when they aren't in the pool they are on the slide.



I love that it wears them out. They climb up, slide down, run through the pool at the bottom, and repeat about 1000 times in a row before climbing out with purple lips and freezing cold little bodies.

The sleeping around our house is great these days because the girls are so tired... and our sunscreen usage is through the roof! Until I read another blogger buddy's post recently, I had no idea there were so few sunscreens out there that are actually safe to use. So check out Jennifer's post if you want to read about making safer choices where sunscreen is concerned.



Enjoy your summer and BE SAFE!!



7 comments:

Diana said...

What a scary event, but hopefully a lesson all your girls will remember. It happens to a lot of us mommies, and most of us don't have hands as nearly full! Don't be hard on yourself. I'm glad the Lord was watching over your precious family!

Kim said...

Great point on the sunscreen! For daily use I've used California Baby and Jasons Naturals because they are organic. Dermalogica makes a good one too and contain fewer chemicals and won't clog pores. The only thing is that they can be less "spreadable" because those harsh chemicals are great ingredient binders and preservatives. (I must admit though, I still use coppertone sprays when in a hurry-nobody's perfect! Just don't use the other kinds everyday.)

The Amazing Trips said...

Yowzer - that is so scary and what makes it so dangerous is that it happens SO fast.

I've seen it happen even with ours where they step off a step and are over their head. Just like that, they are drowning. As you describe, it's totally silent because they are submerged and you can't hear their cries for help.

I feel a lot more comfortable with our triplets near the water now since if they fall in, they can at least get to the side. But last summer - and even now with Henry - whenever we are ANYWHERE near the water, they're in a life jacket.

Your water slide is the bomb. I might have to break my promise of no more big toy purchases until Christmas...

Kimberly and the GA Guinn Triplets said...

Thanks girl, I needed this reminder. I have my girls in Infant Swim Resource and I have been struggling with how hard these lessons are on the girls. But your story reminds me how much these girls need the lessons.

I am SO glad everyone is okay.

Kimberly

Laura S. said...

What a scary moment and you are so right how quickly things can get out of control. Glad to hear that everything turned out just fine though. Congrats to Ella on being a full fledged little fish!

Denise said...

Wow! That is scary and we had a similar incident this weekend. I am glad she is ok and hopefully isn't afraid of the water now. Great pictures and thanks for the links.

Stephanie said...

That inflatable water slide is something else! Our 2-year-old would LOVE that. She is positively fearless! :) Is that your backyard...? It's so green and beautiful.