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There are now quite a lot of articles about teaching your baby to swim on the Website. I've put together some diagrams, which you may find useful to reference as you read the articles.
By Dad
I've spent all Weekend drawing the Baby Swim Shorts and you can't really see them in the pictures. What you can see though is the exact positions that we use in the lessons. I think being able to see under the water helps too.
I'll add more of the swimming routines and positions, in part 2, possibly even get some animations up if I have time. I've mixed in real life pictures of myself and Amélie, although my body doesn't quite measure up to the computer version.
| Swim Position | |
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This is one of the most basic positions and is used for many routines. Keep yourself low in the water, and try to allow
your baby to float rather than supporting them too much with your hands. Click for more on Swim Position |
| Neutral Position | |
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This position is used for many routines. Your baby is vertical, held by your hands under their armpits. The position
doesn't really have a name, I just called it neutral position as it is how we hold our babies most of the time. Click for more on Neutral Position |
| Back Floating | |
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The first back floating position (there are others) we were shown was how I naturally held our baby during bathtime. Supported with your hand under their head. I'm left handed, right handers will want to switch hands. When your baby is small
you can have their feet pointing towards your tummy. As they grow you will need to have them slightly to the side. Click for more on Back Floating Position |
| More Examples Of Swim Position | |
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| More Examples Of Neutral Position | |
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| More Examples Of Back Floating | |
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Any Swimming article on our Website is only our experience, and what we have learned from our Swimming Lessons with Water Babies, and other baby swimming courses. It's up to you to use your own discretion, and at your own risk. We are not responsible for what you choose to do with your own baby.
I was curious at what age you started the lessons and how long did you spend, on average, in each "phase".
We started the lessons at 6 weeks old with our daughter. Our son wasn't able to start that early as they introduced a new rule that they need to weigh 14lbs at that particular company. We have started him with another company that do baby swimming but will transfer him back as soon as he is 14lbs.
The lessons lasted about 30 minutes and we flew through the different routines. No more than a few minutes on each.
Outside of the lessons we spend about 20-40 minutes in the local pool, and spend more time on each routine. I hope that answers your question.
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