So have I ever mentioned that we have family members living in our city? Oh, I have? Yes, Jeff (Kevin's cousin), Amy, and 4 month-old baby Macy live here and we consider it a HUGE blessing to have them with us on this side of the ocean.
And have I ever mentioned anything about the "baby swimming" cultural phenomenon that takes place here? Oh, I haven't? Well, let me fix that.
First, let me explain how these two things are related.
Yesterday was Jeff's birthday. And for his birthday, he had one request. Apparently since Amy was a few months pregnant, he's been excited about taking baby Macy to experience a swim-time just like the locals give to their babies. So, for his birthday he figured it would be a fun thing to do. And he invited Trinity and the rest of us to come along and experience baby swimming, Asian-style.
Confused? Pictures will help.
Welcome to the baby swim store!
As you can see, each baby gets their own little pool. And it's hygienic: every baby gets a new plastic liner. Because there are no swim diapers and the baby will be, in fact, naked. This kind lady explained to us the thinking behind baby swimming. She said "little babies are usually being held or in their strollers and don't get much exercise, so this is good for them. Also, the swimming is good for their brain development." So there you have it. (BTW, you can see these little tubs sold in stores here for baby to swim at home as well.)
You can pay for a single trip, or if you want to buy a 10-time, 30-time, or 60-time card you can do that as well. The swim lady said coming every 2-3 days is best! As you can see from the little boy in the picture, the swim floaty is placed around their necks. There's nothing else to inhibit you in the water, so the baby can float around and kick and move to her heart's content.
But before we stripped the babies down to swim, they had a little warm-up exercise. Here's Macy loving her baby stretches. (This really made me smile! I mean, gotta warm up those muscles!) After this, she bathed Macy before she got in the little pool.
I was thinking Grace might want to get in a pool, too, and that I'd have to explain to her it was just for the babies, but she was totally fine with being a bystander on this one. She thought it was all pretty amusing.
Here's Macy's turn. At first she wasn't too sure about it...
but after a little reassurance from Mommy and Daddy,
and after a little playtime in the water without the cumbersome floaty ring around her neck,
she decided baby swimming was great! It was fun to watch her just hanging out and being cute in her pool.
Next up was Trinity's turn. She thought the warm-ups were great...
but when it came to swimming my normally go-with-the-flow 7 month-old was NOT happy about it! After we tried dangling her in there a few times to no avail, the lady told us that usually babies don't enjoy it after 6 months of age because they get scared. (I guess having a ring around your neck and being dangled in a pool is only fun for so long...) She didn't seem too surprised that Trinity didn't like it. So, word up, if you want to try this at home, start them early. The swim lady said its best to start them out swimming as newborns.
But even though Trinity didn't want to swim, the whole experience made us smile! Happy Birthday Jeff! This will definitely be a story for Macy's baby book.
As you can see, each baby gets their own little pool. And it's hygienic: every baby gets a new plastic liner. Because there are no swim diapers and the baby will be, in fact, naked. This kind lady explained to us the thinking behind baby swimming. She said "little babies are usually being held or in their strollers and don't get much exercise, so this is good for them. Also, the swimming is good for their brain development." So there you have it. (BTW, you can see these little tubs sold in stores here for baby to swim at home as well.)
You can pay for a single trip, or if you want to buy a 10-time, 30-time, or 60-time card you can do that as well. The swim lady said coming every 2-3 days is best! As you can see from the little boy in the picture, the swim floaty is placed around their necks. There's nothing else to inhibit you in the water, so the baby can float around and kick and move to her heart's content.
But before we stripped the babies down to swim, they had a little warm-up exercise. Here's Macy loving her baby stretches. (This really made me smile! I mean, gotta warm up those muscles!) After this, she bathed Macy before she got in the little pool.
I was thinking Grace might want to get in a pool, too, and that I'd have to explain to her it was just for the babies, but she was totally fine with being a bystander on this one. She thought it was all pretty amusing.
Here's Macy's turn. At first she wasn't too sure about it...
but after a little reassurance from Mommy and Daddy, 
and after a little playtime in the water without the cumbersome floaty ring around her neck,
she decided baby swimming was great! It was fun to watch her just hanging out and being cute in her pool.
Next up was Trinity's turn. She thought the warm-ups were great...
but when it came to swimming my normally go-with-the-flow 7 month-old was NOT happy about it! After we tried dangling her in there a few times to no avail, the lady told us that usually babies don't enjoy it after 6 months of age because they get scared. (I guess having a ring around your neck and being dangled in a pool is only fun for so long...) She didn't seem too surprised that Trinity didn't like it. So, word up, if you want to try this at home, start them early. The swim lady said its best to start them out swimming as newborns.
But even though Trinity didn't want to swim, the whole experience made us smile! Happy Birthday Jeff! This will definitely be a story for Macy's baby book.
9 comments:
Ah man, looks like we just missed the window with Kendal as well. And to think, we were just talking about how we should dangle her in her in water with something around her neck. LOL It's amazing how much we miss out on living in the boring ol' US. BTW, that is a beautiful pic of Grace! We miss you guys and love reading about your lives! So, keep the stories posting.
That is hilarious. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us -- keep the stories like these coming!
Leave it up to Jeff to come up with a creative birthday idea. I am glad that Macy at least enjoyed it. That was a fun story. Love you guys. Nana
I never actually did this with any of my kids... I think with Elizabeth I was just too weirded out... and with Anna & Nate I just never had the opportunity.
Glad you had a good time swimming!
LOL! I love your stories! They are fascinating! Your kiddos are so cute and changing so quickly! We miss you guys!
We took our little guy to the baby spa once because it was right beside the hospital where he had his check-up and it just looked like so much fun. I remember he was crawling away from the lady who was trying to massage him. So cute.
fun! too bad you didn't start Trinity on spa treatents right out of the womb! even so, i'm sure we can teach her the finer things in life! looking forward to foot massages and manicures in our distant future! :)
Trinity must take after her maternal grandfather. I wasn't allowed into the water until I was grown. But then, swimming in a muddy farm pond with snakes and who-knows-what never was very appealing to me. I wonder if I'm too old to begin with the dangling and ring around my neck (as opposed to ring around the collar).
Papa Jim
Brigitte, this made me smile too:) It's so much fun to see what the in thing is in another culture and you are a great story teller!
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