Serafina's first swim lesson

Serafina had her very first swimming lesson today.  We talked it up and tried to get her excited about it.  I was so tense driving there, I thought I was going to throw up.  Why, you ask.  Well, Serafina has gone through major bouts of hydrophobic behavior.  Baths and showers were torture and the screaming was so bad I was afraid the neighbors would call the police.  She even was resistant to our pool on occasion, and she only goes in with a floatie (sometimes with a swim ring too).  I hired one of their babysitters last summer to get in the pool with her and try to get her swimming.  I thought the one-on-one instruction would help.  Serafina wouldn't even put her face in the water.  

But now she's older and use to taking classes because of dance.  Plus, we can't put it off any longer; girlfriend needs to learn to swim.  We have a giant drowning hazard in our backyard and even with the fence and watchful adults, nothing beats having kids that know how to swim.  

Serafina asked all day if was time for her swim lesson yet.  She tried on her bathing suit hours in advance.  I took these as good signs but I was worried despite.  The lessons are at an international swim center, well know for the elite swimmers it has trained.  They have an Olympic size outdoor pool and a smaller, shallow pool under a dome.  It was drizzling rain so I was glad her lesson was in the dome.  Serafina's enthusiastic mood changed once we entered the dome (of doom) and she began to cry.  Here she is looking anxious.  

 Worst fake smile ever, complete with tear.

But then we headed to the office and bought her a swim cap.  That cheered her up and she turned into a sassy little swimmer.  

Her instructor seemed nice and strapped her into some flippers.  

She went into the water with ease. 

 And there they go.

 And then things took a dramatic turn.  She was away from the wall and let out a blood-curling scream that echoed through the dome.  She spent most of the lesson crying and screaming and calling out "mommy, where are you?".  It was brutal for me.  The pool deck supervisor went and checked on her.  She told me not to worry because Serafina is tall enough to touch the bottom, and it was better if I just stayed on the bench and let the teacher deal with it.

Here she is doing some swimming through her tears.

What she really didn't like was having to put her head under the water, but I was happy they were pushing her limits and I'm confident she will gain some good skills with this school.  The teacher seemed unfazed by Serafina's drama.  I rewarded her for making it through the lesson with some chocolate Easter eggs.  She seems okay with the fact that she has to go again on Thursday.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that it goes a bit smoother; my nerves can't take it.