Trip to Herold's Park

On Sunday we took Monster for his first picnic to Herold's Park. In the past family picnics were a weekly occurrence for my husbands family but since all the "kids" are grown ups and have kids of their own, they are less often, but just as special.

Packing for a trip to the beach is like packing for a over night vacation when it comes to an infant. That might be dramatic, but I'm somewhat of an over packer. I'd really rather have too much stuff with me, then be without something I really need. Herold's Park is right on the Shuswap lake, so I knew there would be a swimming adventure involved in the picnic. I had to pack all the necessary items for the family (My family of three, not my husbands massive family) to eat, go swimming, dry off, change, hike (we didn't end up hiking), and be in the sun.

An hour of packing and checking off the lists in my head, we finally left our house, and only had to turn around once because I had forgotten something. Luckily it was only after driving for a minute, and not after getting to Herold's (which is about 20 minutes from our house). Only once? I'm impressed too! :)

We spent all afternoon playing in the water and at the beach with Monster, my 4 nieces and

nephew. Monster only enjoyed looking at the water, he wasn't a big fan of the cooler

temperature (Despite that adorable smile above). I guess for now, we'll have to stick to the temperature regulated pool at the recreation center! Once he got dried off and set up in his stroller with his toys, he really loved the beach!

Auntie TgM and Uncle CgM brought their Kayaks and took the older kids for a spin on the lake, which they thought was tres cool! The event came to an end when Hubbs found patches of incredibly itchy bug bites all over his body, so unfortunately we didn't get the chance to hike over to Margaret Falls. That will be an adventure for a different day, maybe one when I have a jogger stroller that can conquer the mighty mounts of the forested path!

A Monster's Reaction to the Swimming Pool

On Thursday, desperate to find an activity to keep my Monster happily engaged we decided to test out the waters at our local swimming pool.

(I'm just getting back to blogging his reaction now, 4 days later. See previous post here).

HE LOVED IT! I knew he would, deep down, I had to have known he would. Every single evening, no matter how fussy he is, he calms down as soon as he hears the tub running. I can hardly keep him still long enough to get his clothes off. We place him in his bouncy chair on our bathroom counter to get his clothes off, all the while fighting the urge to play with this smiling, laughing baby who is kicking his legs, and stretched out arms.

We bath him in the big tub, using his mesh baby bath support thing because his infant tub was such a hassle, and so darn messy! Wow, I've really gotten off topic here, long story short, Monster kicks and splashes and has the most fun during his bath time. No toys, no friends, just Mommy (or daddy) and a little water!

Once we got to the recreation center, we stepped into the warm kiddie pool and sat down. Monster was the perfect height to stand, without being able to dip his head for a drink. He didn't spend much time kicking or splashing at the pool this trip, he was too busy marveling at everyone who was in this huge bath tub with him. We had invited his Uncle Slim, Auntie Tg, and our family friends The Taylors to enjoy this milestone with us.

Looking into Infant fun at the public pool!

Monster has a girlfriend. Ok, so he's a little young, but we like to play pretend.

Tomorrow we have a date with friends of ours, the same friends who have a beautiful little girl born only 10 hours after my Monster. We're planning to visit the local swimming pool for the toonie swim.

Now to begin the checklist in order to take our infants swimming. The recreation center is equipped with a warm enough "kiddie" pool. Check. We have swimmer diapers, and little baby (adorable) board shorts!

As for professional health approval or advice, there really isn't any. After speaking with two public health nurses that openly admitted they just couldn't find any written rules or regulations regarding the chemicals and their effects on infant skin, they suggested I "use my best judgement". According to my schooling, I do not have a PhD, so I don't really consider my judgement the best possible judgement on the subject.

Alas, I turn to Dr.Google who could offer me nothing more then random (possibly completely uneducated, therefor having possibly less sense on the subject then myself) peoples opinions ranging from Earth-Mother "A baby was meant to be free in the water", to the uptight "The chemicals are far to harsh for a babies skin before they are at least one".

Where do I stand? Some place in the middle. When speaking to my family doctor at Monster's last appointment he said all is well as long as he is completely supervised. I should hope a mother would completely supervise her 4 month old whilst enjoying the pool.

It took a lot of preparation for this one evening of fun, I hope now that Monster enjoys the pool as much as he enjoys his nightly bath!