Pool Time, Part 2

Just when you think you've got it all figured out...

Hadley's summer of swimming has gone great in this first week, but there's always bound to be a hitch when you least expect it. Hadley and her cousins were swimming at a family party a few nights ago, and all was going well: her aids were out, but Hadley was able to lip read and modulate her voice just fine. She's able to swim well enough that I could relax (somewhat) and talk with my family while I kept an eye on her. All was great...until it became dark, too dark to see faces to lip read. Night time swimming is a new thing for us! I took Hadley out of the pool so we could decide what to do. She really wanted to get back in the water, so we agreed that I would sit near a tiki torch so she could see my face. By now the darkness and bugs had driven most of my relatives inside, but a few of the bravest kept me company for another hour. Other than trying to get her attention in the dark (a noodle to the head worked well), things were fine. While I don't expect nighttime swims to be a common thing for us this summer, I might have to add a flashlight and bug spray to our car bag!

Pool Time!

Summer is here and we are back in daily swimming lessons. Hadley's lesson takes place during open swim, so a portion of the pool is closed off for lessons while the rest is open for pool fun. This would not have worked for us when Hadley was younger-- far too many distractions-- but it's fine now. In fact, it's pretty nice because Hadley can arrive early for lessons, swim a bit, then get a little more practice in afterward.

After her last lesson, Hadley realized that some girls she knew were in the pool and went over to join them. Her waterproof hearing aids were long gone (they don't last after constant submersion), and I wondered how she was going to handle communicating, especially since these were not girls who knew Hadley extremely well. I chatted with the mom and stayed close by the pool but, in the 30 minutes they swam together, Hadley never once needed my intervention. Hadley organized most of the games, which allowed her to always know what was going on. Since there were only two other girls, Hadley was able to pretty quickly figure out who was talking. Hadley even modulated her voice, so she was neither talking too loudly nor softly. It was all just right.

Later on that night, when I was saying goodnight to Hadley, she said to me, "Isn't it great that I can do normal things, like playing in the pool with my friends?" While I'd like to think that Hadley is nonplussed by the differences in her life versus her friends, it's also great to know that she's as aware and thrilled with her accomplishments as we are.

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!