Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Hello Sunshine! or A Gentle Approach to Pools

Finally, summer is here in Northwest Ohio! After being thoroughly jealous of everyone else's warm and sunny weather, we finally got our turn. For one day, anyway. Yes, sandwiched between the cool, rainy, gloomy 50 F weather, we had one sunny day this week that was 75 F! On days like this, a very dear friend comes out to play. I'd like to introduce you to Max:I bought Max last week, on sale at Target. I had originally wanted to get a water table. I had used them at the day care that I worked at, and then saw that Target carried them. I didn't buy it right away of course, I had to sleep on it before purchasing. Well, it turns out that they are very popular around here. Every Target in the Toledo area is sold out of them! The reason that I was more keen on the idea of the water table rather than the pool, is because this is how Jonah feels about being in water:I decided to turn of the spout squirting from Max's head, and try a gentler approach to introducing Jonah to the benefits of making friends with Max. First, I sat him next to Max, and splashed in the water myself. I encouraged him to put his hands in with mine. I added toys that I knew he would want to reach in and get. Slowly but surely, he started to get used to the water.

Next, I held him as he sat on the edge of the pool, dipping his feet in. I encouraged him to splash with his feet, but he did not like that, so we stopped and sat next to the pool, splashing with our hands again. After a few more minutes I sat him back on the edge, dipping his feet in. He seemed okay with it this time, so I moved forward and sat him in the pool. He sat and played with his toys this time, and towards the end he even seemed like he was having fun!
I am hoping that this same approach will help us with bathtime.

"But wait!" you say! "What is that adorable piece of cloth on Jonah's bottom?" I thought you'd never ask! This is Jonah's swim diaper, a Swimmi, made by Bummis. It is a size medium, in the turtle print.A swim diaper was one of those baby items that I've been dreading for a long time. Disposable diapers and water literally make me nauseous. The plain disposable diapers absorb so much water that they pop, and all the absorbant jelly chemical comes out. That is what makes me ill. I don't know why; it has always grossed me out. The disposable swim diapers are a little less nauseating, but I've still always just found them gross. When I found summer getting closer and closer, I knew we would have to find a way to use cloth diapers in water. Little did I know that the cloth diaper companies have ALREADY found a way for me! I love this diaper. It is a simple waterproof cover, lined with what looks like the inner net-like lining of male swim trunks. You don't add an insert or prefold or fitted, just put it on as-is, and it contains everything. I was leary about it containing the pee at first, but I allowed Jonah to pee in it and it didn't soak through. The only drawback to this particular swim diaper brand, is that it has aplix instead of snaps. There is a brand called motherease that has snap closures, preventing the child from streaking (and dumping possible diaper contents into the pool... ewww) and also I've heard that the aplix tabs get stuck on parents' bathing suits as they hold their child. I may get a motherease swim diaper in the future, but for his first swim diaper of course I had to go with the cute turtle print! I'm wondering now if I wasted money on his cute monkey swim trunks, since I just want to show off his cute turtle tush!

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