Tag Archives: swimming

The Health Benefits of a Consistent Swimming Routine

Today, I’m happy to bring you a FANTASTIC guest-post, written by the author and creator of An Apple Per Day, Kaitlin Gardner. Enjoy!

Like any exercise regimen or practice, consistency is essential to long-term benefits to your health. Swimming is no exception, but the health benefits of a swimming routine are special, if for no other reason that the environment in which it takes place. Additionally, with the growing popularity of indoor swim centers, along with traditional gyms and YMCA facilities, swimming can now be enjoyed year-round in nearly every region of the country.

Why Swimming?

The benefits are plentiful, and if you ask ten people, you might get ten different answers. There are reasons why I think swimming is one of the very best overall healthy exercises a person can participate in. Here are a few links with even more great ideas and reasons working swimming into your routine:

The Health Benefits of a Consistent Swimming Routine - Baby DoodahContinue Reading

Favorite way to cool off – {August NaBloPoMo}

I hate being hot, so knowing how to cool off is of prime importance in my world.

Being hot is one of my least favorite feelings in the world, feeling the sweat form and drip down my forehead and back just skeeves me out and makes me super uncomfortable. I accept it when I’m working out, it’s expected then, but when you’re just sitting outside, in the sun, trying to relax, I hate it!

I think my number 1 favorite way to cool off in the summer time is to jump in a great big pool or lake. When we were kids, my parents lived exactly 2 blocks from Lake Erie, so a huge portion of our summers were spent down at the beach and splashing in the lake. Our city also had a public pool that was pretty well kept (at the time) and offered swim lessons, most of our summer mornings were spent at the pool learning each new swim stroke. As a side note, it’s because of those lessons that I’m such a good swimmer today. Anyhow, while growing up we never had A/C so we would head to the swimming pool every chance we got. But when it was closed and STILL hot, we’d set up a sprinkler or a baby pool outside, that wasn’t the greatest but at least it allowed us to stay cool.

My sister also had a friend down the street that had an above ground pool, she was invited over often but on occasion I’d also be invited to join. I LOVED those days! It gave us more opportunity to be in a pool and keep cool and not need to deal with only having a sprinkler or baby pool.

Another favorite of mine, are ice cold beverages. Specifically, iced coffee and even more specifically, Starbucks iced venti coffee with vanilla and cream. Just sitting here thinking about that cool, delicious beverage trickling down my throat can illicit a chilly response. Pure love!

There are the obvious ways to stay cool, sitting in a beautifully icy air conditioned room, or in front of a fan blowing wildly but my absolute favorite is sitting in a cool (unheated) pool. Sure you might jump in and be shocked by the coldness but once you’re in, you adjust and soon it just feels like heaven on earth.

Your turn!

What are your favorite ways to cool off?

If you’ve missed any of my previous August BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo posts, you can see them here.

Or if you want to join into the NaBloPoMo yourself, check out the August prompts here.

Weekend Fun and a Couple Videos!

We had a lot of weekend fun in the Baby Doodah! household this weekend. It was one of those weekends that we’ll all look back on and think, “remember that weekend when…”

Almost every Saturday, after the morning has passed me by, I regret not getting out of bed sooner and getting the day started. I mean, I get out of bed early for work, why wouldn’t I want to get up early so that I can enjoy the day the way that I want to. This Saturday (and Sunday, but we’ll get to that in a second), I did exactly that.

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I had a really hard time wrangling myself in from buying all the fruit at the farmer’s market. It all looked so so good, bright, colorful and delicious (I wish I had gotten pictures, bad blogger!). We ended up with plums, peaches, cherries, garlic and dill chevre (from my favorite dairy, First Light Farm & Creamery) and fresh garlic and herb sausage. The plums and peaches are out of this world and you all know how I feel about First Light and their products.

The rest of the afternoon was spent napping, playing and cuddling until dinner time. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner because Seamus was in the mood for beef and I really didn’t care where we went. Sadly, the meal was pretty disappointing on all fronts. Seamus’ steak was bland, Emmett wasn’t a fan of his mashed potatoes and my salad was nothing fancy (it tasted decent though).

After dinner we spent some time at Party City shopping for party decorations! Emmett’s first birthday party is this coming Saturday, I can’t wait! I’ll share his theme and everything else birthday party related after the party happens. 😉

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I worked hard to keep the same attitude about getting up early, as I did on Saturday and it worked. We did spend some time in bed cuddling but not quite as long as normal. Emmett ate breakfast and I showered and we both headed to Wegmans for some groceries. It was one of the most pleasant shopping experiences I’ve ever had. There weren’t many people there and all of the shelves were full and neat. I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this a Sunday morning ritual!

Once home, we unpacked the groceries and let Emmett roam free while we did. He started to act tired so I attempted to put him down for his late morning/early afternoon nap, but it didn’t work. He fought it and started throwing a tantrum so I decided to can the idea, at least for now. Instead, I grabbed Seamus and we started cleaning up our dining room.

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Emmett helping momma sweep.

We have decided that we want to turn the dining room into a playroom for Emmett, that way he will have a place where all of his toys can live (I will kind of get my living room back) and it will be a safe place for him to play. At the time we were just using it to store boxes and items that hadn’t yet made it to the basement, but the cleaning needed to be done. I don’t think there are many people who enjoy cleaning or organizing but we sucked it up and went to work. Within about an hour everything was stored and the room was swept, perfect for playing (or rearranging furniture).

Emmett started showing his fatigue again by getting mad at everything, so I knew it was imperative that he get his little bootie to sleep. With just a few snuggles and a bunch of hugs, he fell fast asleep for nearly 3 hours. Woohoo!! Free momma time! I actually used that time to make some updates to the blog, I added some new widgets and plug-ins, so if things are looking different to you, you’re not crazy, a few things have changed.

He woke up in a fantastic mood, which is always a wonderful thing. We got him up and changed and ready to play some more. Seamus and I both wanted to get out of the house but didn’t want to spend a lot of money, we decided a trip to Anderson’s would be perfect. Seriously, could my day get any better!? I wasn’t in the mood for any big ice cream dish so I settled on a vanilla milkshake and it really hit the spot.

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A few weeks ago I had purchased Emmett a baby pool but had yet to fill it up, I decided since the day had been so perfect so far, I’d do it before we left for ice cream. Seamus stayed in to make us dinner (I am so lucky!), while E and I went out to play. At first he wasn’t happy about it but once he got used to the water he kept splashing and chasing his toys. I had so much fun watching him and got a great video of him being simply adorable.

I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful, perfect, special, lovely day!

Question of the Day:

What kind of weekend fun did you have?

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy fourth of July everyone!! I hope you had as great of a day as we did!

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Dear Emmett

11 months!

Looking at you and watching you move about, I know you’ve grown but in my mind, you are still my tiny baby. Since we’re nearing your first birthday, I’ve become very nostalgic. I have spent a lot of time looking at pictures of you when you were first born and when you nurse it makes me reminisce about the small struggles we had when we first started nursing but how it has absolutely been worth it.

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I actually have to share a story, I’d like to try and nurse you past a year, my goal is 18 months but I will take it a week at a time after your first birthday. Anyhow, I went to the doctor’s last week and he had to put me on some antibiotics and the PA that I saw said I shouldn’t nurse you while on the antibiotic, I panicked! I was not ready to stop nursing you, in my mind I still had at least 4 weeks left. I was so heartbroken, I called your dad and was talking to him and started getting worked up. We got off the phone and I sobbed, I just wasn’t ready! So I called your pediatrician and they checked their prescription book and confirmed that it was perfectly safe to continue nursing you while on the antibiotic as long as you were older than 2 months, which you are (of course). I was so relieved!! So my sweet boy, we continue on with the breast milk.

What a busy month we’ve had. You are a crawling machine! Last month you had a nice leisurely crawl, you’d stop and look around then move a couple more feet but now you crawl like you’re in a race. You are SO fast!! I like when I put you down on the floor and go into another room, you chase after me. When you get to the new room, you peer around the doorway, looking for me and then motor on over. I just adore you.

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You’re still not walking, but its close. Right now, you will pull yourself up on nearly everything and if you have strong, steady footing you will let go and stand there independently for a while. There have even been several occasions where you stood on your own for at least 30 seconds. It is really just a matter of time before you let go and take a step in my direction.

Grass!! Oh my goodness did grass freak you out. At the beginning of the month, we went outside to hang out with your dad while he was doing the grilling. I put you down on the grass so I could unfold my chair and you started crying so hard. At the time I had no idea what happened, I thought maybe you got stung or bitten by a bug. I put you down a second time and you did the exact same thing, I finally determined what was bothering you. So for the next few weeks after that, I slowly got you used to the grass. I’d sit on the ground with you and let it tickle your toes or let you reach for it. We slowly worked up to you sitting independently and now you’ll stand on it. However, if you want to move around you will put yourself into a downward dog position and then move your hands and feet like a bear crawl. It’s so silly but you must not like the way the grass feels on your knees. Silly boy!

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Speaking of the outdoors, I’ve been trying to make sure you get outside everyday unless it is raining. The summer months can be hot in WNY but I want you to like summer and the heat so I’m hoping by taking you out in it, you’ll grow up liking it.

At the beginning of this month you went through a very finicky phase in regards to food. You’d really only eat a few things here and there and then refuse to eat any more. Your dad and I kept on offering you everything that we normally would and with a week or so you were back to your old self, eating full meals. Now you’re a champ when it comes to eating, I can’t think of a single thing that we’ve given you that you didn’t like. One of your favorites this month was corn on the cob. We tried giving it to you cut off the cob and you’d have nothing to do with it so then we just gave you the cob and you went to town. Such a big boy! I hope you continue like this for the rest of your life, it will make you a much healthier person.

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Up until last week, you had been using a sleep sack for naps and nighttime. We decided that maybe we should start moving you from the sleep sacks to blankets, so now for all of your naps you use a blanket. One day I got to day care early and you were still asleep, it was the cutest thing seeing you all curled up in your “blankie,” it warmed my heart.

Exploring is a huge deal to you right now. You love sitting down with a new toy or a toy you haven’t played with in a while and staring at it, turning it over and over in your hands, trying to figure out just how it works. I wish I could have a little window into your mind so that I could know exactly what it is you are thinking or what you are learning. One major thing that fascinates you right now are holes. For instance, my hair brush has a hole at the base, so it can be hung up. You love looking at it and sticking your finger in it, trying to understand what’s going on with it. I could sit and watch you play for hours.

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We also took you to your first playground this month, you can read about it here. You had fun swinging back and forth and bouncing around on the different activities around the park. I think your dad and I had as much fun as you. We love watching how curious you get when you are somewhere new.

Do you have any idea how much your father and I love you?? It is so hard on a daily basis to leave you at school and not bring you with me to work. Every little thing you do amazes me and just makes me so proud to be your mother. Next month, we’ll be celebrating a year of life, I cannot wait!

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Dear Emmett,

Do you realize that there is only 3 more months until you are a year old? This blows my mind! At this time last year, your father and I were anxiously awaiting your birth and here we are a year later, having the time our lives.

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We celebrated your first Easter this month. Your dad and I didn’t decorate, dye eggs or get you an Easter basket because we knew you’d probably be getting one from your Grammy, we weren’t wrong. You got the cutest basket from her, it is a monkey’s head and inside of it was a stuffed peep (since you can’t eat the marshmallow ones yet), a VERY cute barn with 4 different farm animals in it that make noise and a chicky bird sippy bottle. I think there might have been one more thing in there but I’m drawing a complete blank. It was really cute stuff and I really love the barn, I can’t wait until your a little bit older and can play with the animals with me.

You are so SO mobile! I remember when we used to be able to put you down on the floor to play and you would stay there, now, no way! The second you hit the floor you move, move, move. You continue to do your army crawl, where your right arm is straight out, pulling, your left is bent underneath your chest pushing you forward and your legs every once in awhile will give a good push but mainly it is your arms doing the work. You still get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth but you haven’t yet done any “formal” crawling, who cares, though!? You are able to get around perfectly well the way you do it now. You’ve become really really good at doing planks and downward dog, obviously you have no idea they’re called that but you have inspired me to start planking or doing downward dog when you are doing them. So thanks for the motivation! 🙂

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Going along with your crawling, you’ve also become really good at standing. Your dad or I can stand you up, holding onto your crib or pack ‘n play and you stand there all on your own for long stretches of time. You actually love it quite a bit because now you can watch your daddy cook. At the start of the month, you were just standing there for a little bit and then falling down, now you like coasting along the side. So if I am in my bedroom and you want to see what I’m doing you’ll slowly inch your way around to the other side so you can see me. You’ve also pretty much mastered sitting down from standing. Initially you’d just let go and fall, sometimes you’d land on your back other times on your butt but at this point, most of the time you land your on your bottom in a sitting up position.

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We’ve even experimented with your toy motorcycle that you can use as a walking prop. When we set it up so that you can hold on and walk behind it, you’re pretty good at taking 3 or 4 steps before you stop and sit down. You seem to get tired or bored of doing this because you’ll only do it once or twice but you’re getting better and better. Sooner or later, you will be walking and then, everybody better watch out!

In your classroom at school they have short plie bar attached to a mirror and then attached to the wall. You love that thing! The second your teacher puts you up on it and you start looking at yourself in the mirror you start talking. You yell and smile, babble and grunt, you just adore it. Your teacher also tells us that you are very talkative, that all day you are making some sort of noises. I have a feeling your dad and I are in for it. But I’m pretty sure I was a talkative toddler, so it only makes sense.

Midway through the month, your dad and I started to get a little nervous that maybe you weren’t getting enough solid foods down. You were definitely getting enough breast milk but at around 9 months you start needing the nutrients from whole foods. We considered starting to give you more pureed food and we even pureed some sweet potatoes for you, but in the end our worries were for nothing. You are a champion eater! You are now eating and swallowing pretty much everything without any trouble, this includes meats like chicken, pork or steak. Vegetables and fruit are no match for you, you grab them tight and chomp away. It has been quite the experience watching your eating abilities grow with each passing week.

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You love to play with everything but mostly with items you shouldn’t be playing with. Your favorites tend to be the outlet that is strangely in the floor, that we’ve put an outlet cover over but you still want to crawl on over and take it out. You also love grabbing for the cable box and Blu-ray player, which gives your dad a heart attack nearly every time (understandably). I’m personally, not looking forward to when you can reach the TV because that is one expensive piece of equipment and it would be very sad if it got damaged. We’ll just need to be extra vigilant when we get to that point.

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We continue to teach you the signs for different words so that it makes it easier for us all to communicate before you are able to speak. Last month you conquered milk and continue to do a great job with that, this month, we’re pretty sure that you’ve mastered “more.” We use it mostly to ask if you want more food, or for you to ask us for more food. We’re still working on “diaper” and “all done.” I have no doubt you will get both of those very soon.

You and I are doing swimming lessons and you are having a blast! When the other babies are bothered by the chilly water or even just being in the water, there you are, happy as a clam, splashing and smiling. I’m so happy we can experience this together. Since before you were born I knew I wanted to do a mommy and me class but couldn’t find one that was the right fit for us, swimming is perfect and something I’m good at. My hope is to continue doing these classes together until you’re 24 months, when you’ll have to start doing the classes on your own with a swim teacher.

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Speaking of water, bath time is a blast! Getting you squeaky clean isn’t the easiest because you like to move and squirm but once that part is done, playing with your toys is the best. I’m not sure how it got started, but one day I started calling your toes vinegar toes, now every time I wash them I say that, it’s pretty funny. You have started moving around in the tub to reach your toys or the hose and sometimes you’ll turn your little self around and moon your daddy and I, thank goodness it is such a cute dupa. You like when I lay you back and let you float with my hand underneath your back, it seems like you find it so relaxing. I think if your dad and I let you, you’d stay in the tub forever.

Your 9 month doctor’s appointment is on May first, so I don’t have any of your weight or height information to share this month, but I’ll make sure I include them next month. I am anxious to see what you weigh and how tall you are because you just seem so ginormous.

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Well Emmett, my happy beautiful boy, I love every precious moment I get to spend with you and can’t wait to see what is on the horizon this go round.

XO

Emmett’s First Swim Class

A few months back I received a flyer from my gym advertising all the classes they offer, this included all of their swim classes. I had heard in the past that places offered mommy (daddy) & me type classes but wasn’t sure if my gym did. I was thrilled when I flipped through and found that there were indeed classes that Emmett and I could take together. I immediately signed-up! We went to our first class last weekend (and daddy came along to see another Emmett first and take pictures)…

swim-class-5When I was a kid my mom forced my sister and I to go swim lessons every single summer. I hated it, well, maybe I didn’t hate the classes, I hated the instructors. They were cold, nasty and forced you to do things before you were really comfortable doing them. However, it is because of them and my mom’s insistence that I am such a strong swimmer. I LOVE swimming and I’m really good at it, so it only makes sense that I would want the same for my son (minus the nasty swim coaches).

swim-class-6Last week was so fun! They had us get into the pool with the babies and just kind of bopped around to make sure they were used to the water and weren’t going to be scared. I was so proud of my boy, we got in and he was as happy as a clam, kicking his legs and splashing around. Not once did all that water, or even the temperature (it was pretty chilly at first) of the water scare him. Then we moved into some group songs, which believe it or not, were a lot of fun. Singing the songs and using Emmett’s arms/legs for the motions was just THE best (I know I’m a total mommy cheeseball).  After the songs they broke us into two groups because the “Water babies” class goes from ages 6 month – 24 months, so they split us into the older and younger baby groups.

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He was this relaxed the entire time!

In the younger baby group we played with a pinwheel, blowing on it and letting the babies catch it or try to blow on it themselves. Emmett didn’t quite understand that he was supposed to blow on it, so I blew and he caught it. Then they taught us how to properly lay baby back in the water so that their ears went under. They explained that many children hate the way it feels when their ears go under water so it’s important to get them used to it early.  I’m totally bragging, but Emmett had absolutely no problem with this and I’m going  to take credit for that because ever since he’s been big enough to take a bath in the big boy tub (around 6 1/2 months), I’ve laid him back and let him feel what it’s like to float (obviously with my hands underneath him), so his ears would go under then. I’m telling you, I want him to be as comfortable in water as I am, it’s such a great feeling!

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The rest of the class we spent playing with little water toys and talking with the other babies and mommas.  We ended the class singing, Happy and You Know It, but with a twist, instead of clapping or shouting Hurray! we would blow bubbles in the water or splash each other, so much fun!

 

swim-class-7I had so much fun and cannot wait for today’s class!!

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