Mommiedom

We have a pool and my now 5 year old always stayed clear of it when she was little. We never left her alone out there and she had a natural fear to it which took a few years to overcome. My 17 month old is a complete different story- there is no fear and recently as I was standing right there, slipped into the pool. He was face down for a moment, as I jumped in to get him out. In a second, our lives could have changed forever. I was pretty shaken up about it.

The thing is we are a family that are doing the right things to ensure safety of our kids with the pool. We have the kids in swimming lessons and made a investment in a pool fence that surrounds the pool. Our fence which is a wonderful thing, can be removed, which at the time of the incident was down so that the kids could enjoy the pool. I was watching my son like a hawk, and I turned my head for a second, when I heard a splash and looked down to see him in the water. He was only in there for a moment and he did hold his breath but still it was terrifying to go through that. I can't even imagine what it feels like for a parent when the unthinkable happens.

My cautionary tale is one to remind people that even when you do all the right things, that things still happen. I never leave my children unattended in or around the pool even with the fence up. Both kids are told constantly about how dangerous the pool and water is. As parents we need to make sure we are always watching our kids when in the pool and remember that even if our kids are good swimmers that something could go wrong in a heartbeat.

So remind your kids about pool safety, and freshen up on pool safety as well. Make sure that you are doing all the things you need to do to ensure that your kids are safe if you have a pool. Kids can drown in just enough water to cover their faces.

I am doing all the right things and my kid still fell into the pool as I was standing right there. It only made me feel that I need to continue with what we are doing and never turn my head for a moment until my son is a strong swimmer.

So fast forward to now and his hair has gotten long. I knew it needed to be cut when the woman at the sub shop asked it the baby was a boy or girl. I told her a boy and sort of laughed it off with a witty comment about his long eye lashes. Though I knew that it was time for a cut. Grandpa also commented on the need for the haircut to so, I found one of those places, far from my house to try because I figured if I had a reenactment of last time, I wouldn't run the risk of having to go there or see them again.

The stylist took his info and asked me how I wanted it cut and suggested we shave it. I thought that was a great idea but inside was terrified at how it was going to go. We put lumpy in the seat alone and the brilliant stylist asked if he could have a lollipop- it was the perfect thing to distract him for the ten minutes of the haircut.

She was able to shave his head and use the scissors without one peep. The only time someone got upset was when the sucker was done. I will always use this method now with him until he gets big enough to understand more that he needs to sit. This small amount of sugar helped both him and me through what I thought was going to be a nightmare.

I usually don't like to bribe my kids in to doing things but once in awhile especially in situations that cause anxiety with them, I am willing. So now I have a kid who looks like a boy actually he looks like a boy who really looks like his Daddy now.