Splish Splash

William, Freddie and I had one of those perfect family days yesterday. We took Freddie to the Commonwealth Pool here in Edinburgh so he could go for a swim. Earlier in the week we bought him a swim outfit (see the pic below!), swim diaper cover and swim diapers. These items, plus his lunch, towel and change of clothes meant we hauled even more stuff with us than usual (a baby swim cap wasn't required). Not to mention the layers of clothes we were all wearing since the temperature here has now dropped considerably.

When we got to the pool, and delayered a bit, we discovered that we weren't the only ones with the great idea to go swimming on a Saturday morning. It was PACKED. We were admiring all the cute kids while we were in line and couldn't wait to get Freddie in the pool. Unfortunately, when we got to the front of the line we were told we'd have to go on the waiting list for the teaching (kiddie) pool. We peered through the glass windows into the pool and, sure enough, it was body to body in the 31 degree (87.8 Fahrenheit!!) teaching pool. A bit deflated, we put our names on the list and sat down to wait....about five minutes. Then we decided enough was enough and we'd just take Freddie in the big pool. Sure, it was a little cooler but he's durable. He can handle it.

We paid (silver lining- I think the adult pool was a little cheaper) and headed to the family changing rooms. What a facility! Tons of big changing rooms, changing tables, warm showers, lockers and bathrooms. They even give you little booties to put over your shoes so there's no trail of mud to walk through. We got changed and hit the pool. Freddie loved splashing the water with his hands and immediately started kicking his legs when we pulled him around. And- it wasn't even that cold! Take that teaching pool....or so we thought. After about fifteen minutes, a lifeguard came over to us and asked us if we wanted to take the "wee one" into the teaching pool. He said the wee ones usually enjoy the warmer water better and it was no problem at all for us to just head in there. What a kind soul, we thought. Deciding we might as well try it, we made our way there.

And it was practically a hot tub! Well, maybe not a hot tub but definitely as warm as a bath. What a fantastic idea it was to make a pool that warm. We had a great time swimming around for another half hour then got out, got changed and went upstairs to have lunch. Freddie sat in a high chair and had tubs of applesauce, sweet potato and butternut squash. Swimming definitely worked up an appetite! He even gnawed on my apple for awhile. All in all, a fabulous day.