Swimming

It has been a very long time since I took Sarah to our local pool. Possibly as much as a couple years. My reason? The last time we went, she only wanted to sit in the hot tub because she was so cold. She had no desire to play in the water and due to her balance issues, it wasn't a relaxing time for me anyhow. Add to that she is so quickly overstimulated by crowds and loud noises, she's often in a distressed state of mind.

Today I had the opportunity to go to the pool again. It was with some hesitancy but I decided to give it a try anyhow. After she got used to the water, she really enjoyed herself. She used a pool noodle and then after a bit, I put a lifejacket on her. I helped her float and get used to the feel of the buoyancy of the water. She was then able to walk around and enjoy the pool with her friend and releasing me from a "small amount" of nervousness. She only had one incident which resulted in breathing in a bunch of water, causing a few moments of stress for her and I as she struggled to breath again. After a quick hug, she was good to go again. We took off the lifejacket near the end of our time and she enjoyed walking around figuring out how to manage the feeling of water.
I'm pretty sure I'll be doing it again- it went much better than I anticipated and I'm so glad I went.