Swimming Lessons, 2009

I have posted a bit about Hadley's success with waterproof hearing aids and previous swimming instructors. We've had an interesting summer with swimming to date. This June, Hadley resumed swimming lessons at a local swimming club. This place has been a great match for her because all of the instructors are actually adults! Previously, she had had fun in the water with her college aged instructors, but for the last year, she has actually been swimming. This is a HUGE deal to Hadley, as several of her friends swim on real swim teams and are concerned with time as opposed to actually swimming on their own!

We've tried something new this summer, which seems to be working so far. Rayovac has a new "Extreme Performance" line of hearing aid batteries that are supposed to withstand exposure to moisture, sweat and water...and, guess what? They kind of do! (ok, it's not perfect, but it is BETTER). After a 30 minute lesson (where her aids are consistently submerged), Hadley still can hear out of at least one water aid, sometimes two. In the past, she was lucky to get 10 minutes out of each aid. Not only can she hear the instructor, but she can chat with the other kids in the class, too. (Great for her, and me, too-- I've met another parent with twins the same age as mine!).

Instructionally, it's been a great summer for Hadley. She is swimming at what I would consider age level. I don't worry any longer about her swimming abillity when she is invited to a pool party. She feels so confident in her swimming skills and-- other than jumping off the diving board-- she's happy with what she can do in the water. She can easily switch from her regular aids to her water aids all by herself.

Are things perfect? No. But both Hadley and I feel a lot better about pool and swimming safety this summer-- and I'll take that over perfect any day!