Swim Class
4247 Maplewood Dr.
Monday, June 15, 1989
8:30 AM
“I thought you were supposed to be coming home this morning,” Lee paced the length of the family room, phone clutched in his hand. “What happened?”
“Well, Aunt Edna and Aunt Lillian want us to have lunch at the Grey Goose Tea Rooms,” Amanda said. “So we probably won’t be back until later this evening.”
“You’re doing a terrible job, dorkbreath,” Phillip said. “She’s got more food on her than in her.”
“Only because she keeps spitting it back up,” Jamie shot back. “And I don’t blame her—I bet this stuff tastes like sand”
“Meep Meep!” The sounds of Road Runner filled the room. Jenna let out a high-pitched squeal and pumped her little legs excitedly, making her ‘bouncy seat’ squeak as it moved up and down.
“Guys, could you keep it down and turn that set down—I’m trying to talk to your mother.” Lee said.
“Sorry, Lee.” Phillip grabbed the remote and turned the volume down.
“Sounds like it’s pretty busy there.” Amanda said.
Lee ran a hand through his hair. “That’s about the gist of it.”
“Actually that’s pretty typical,” Amanda replied. “How’s Jenna?”
“She’s fine—the boys are trying to feed her –you know—some of that rice cereal the Doc said we can start her out on.” Lee had mixed it up with some formula, making sure it was mushy and soft.
“The boys are feeding her?”
“Well, they’re trying,” Lee told her.
“This is frustrating,” Jamie brought up the spoon to Jenna’s mouth—she pressed her lips together and turned her head away. He put the spoon back in the bowl. “I give up.”
“That’s because you’re doing it all wrong—watch me. Hey Jenna look—I’m an airplane.” Dipping the spoon into the milky cereal Phillip made airplane noises. Dark eyes wide, Jenna followed the spoon as it whirled around in front of her—letting out another squeal of excitement as the spoon moved closer—
“Open wide,” Phillip said. “Coming in for a landing—” Jenna’s mouth opened and Phillip gave her a spoonful of cereal. “See—that’s how you do it—oh no.” The food dribbled out of Jenna’s mouth and onto her bib.
Jamie snorted. “Yeah, smooth move, ex-lax.”
“I think I should probably go, Amanda—take control of this situation,” Lee said. “Give your Mother and your Aunts my love.”
“Wait—there’s just one more thing I need to tell you. Remember Jenna’s swim class?”
“Of course I remember—I did buy her that swimsuit.” Lee was starting to get a feeling about where the conversation was heading—it was giving him an uneasy feeling in his gut.
“Did you remember the class is this morning at eleven?” Amanda asked. “And since I won’t be able to be there, I was wondering –”
“Amanda, no,” Lee said. “Now, in the first place you said this class was for mothers and daughters—I am not a mother.”
“I never said mothers and daughters—it’s a parent-child class. I’m sure there’ll be other fathers there. Jenna will get to swim—it’ll be fun for both of you.”
“But isn’t she just a little young for this?” Lee asked. “I mean, swimming could be dangerous—she can’t even crawl yet.”
“These classes start at four months. Anyway, she won’t actually be swimming—you’ll just be getting her used to the water, let her splash, kick her legs a little— she’ll enjoy it—you know how much fun she has when you give her a bath.”
“I know that, I’m just not sure—”
“The special swim diapers are in the bathroom—trust me, you’ll be fine.”
“What about sunscreen lotion? We don’t have that, do we?”
“It’s an indoor pool.”
Lee sighed. “All right— I’ll do it.” .
“You’ll have a great time, Stetson—give everyone my love—I love you.”
Lee smiled. “I love you too, Mrs. Stetson.”
SMK SMK SMK SMK
IFF
10:00 AM
“And how’s my Goddaughter this morning?” Billy took Jenna from Lee as soon as he walked into the office. “Hmm? How are you?” He bounced Jenna lightly in his arms as he spoke, making her laugh. Lee was unable to suppress a smile—watching the section chief with Jenna was nothing short of priceless.
“She’s just fine,” Lee said. “Listen, I just came to turn in my report and then I’m taking her to swim class.”
“I thought Amanda was taking her,” Francine remarked as she took the folder that Lee offered.
“Well she was,” Lee said. “But she’s still out of town.”
“Are you going swimming with your Daddy?” Billy asked Jenna. “Yeah?” Jenna just smiled and babbled at him, her fingers jammed into her mouth.
“Did you get her a suit?” Francine asked. “You know Amanda and I saw the most adorable little pink bikini in the store earlier—it had ruffles and all these little red strawberries along the—”
“No!” Lee spoke a little more vehemently than he’d intended— both Francine and Billy looked at him in surprise. “I mean, yeah—I bought her a suit—but it was a one-piece—I don’t think she’s ready for a bikini just yet.”
“It wasn’t exactly risqué, Scarecrow,” Francine said drily.
“Even so.”
“Don’t worry, Jenna,” Francine told the baby. “We’ll make you fashionable despite your Daddy—won’t we?”
Lee took Jenna. “Can it, Francine.” Francine smiled and wrinkled her nose at Jenna, who laughed again in response—these days it didn’t take much to make Jenna laugh—Amanda said she was at that stage. Lee kissed the top of Jenna’s head. “Let’s go, munchkin.”
“You two have a wonderful time,” Billy called out.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
YMCA
10:45 AM
Luckily the ‘Y’ had a family changing area—Lee definitely hadn’t wanted to take Jenna into the men’s locker room. Unluckily for him, the rest of the class seemed to be composed of women—no other dads to speak of. He found a quiet cubicle and placed Jenna on the changing table while he quickly changed into his trunks. He took off Jenna’s regular diaper—not messy or wet, thank God—he’d already dealt with one messy diaper earlier today—and put her swim diaper on. Her swimsuit came next—Jenna wriggled and kicked out her legs.
“Come on, munchkin— hold still, okay? Daddy needs to get you changed so you can swim,” he told her. “Wouldn’t you like to swim? You would?” Jenna smiled and gurgled, her dark eyes shining. Lee smiled back—he could never resist those eyes.
She was still a bit wiggly, but but he finally managed to get legs into the suit, pulling it up over the diaper. A knock on the cubicle startled him.
“Yoohoo!” a woman’s voice said.
Lee finished pulling up Jenna’s straps. “Just a minute,” he called. He put their street clothes into the diaper bag, shouldered it and lifted Jenna into his arms as he slid open the curtain for the cubicle. A very blond woman wearing a bikini and balancing a baby boy on her hip smiled at him.
“Well I wondered who was behind the curtain,” she murmured, pink lips turning upwards in a slow smile. Slowly she moved closer. “Now I know.”
Her gaze slid up and down his body—checking him out, Lee realized.heat rose in his cheeks—he took a step back. “Yeah, now you know.”
“How big is yours?”
Lee stared at the woman. “I’m sorry?”
The woman’s smile widened. “I meant how old—my Nicholas here is five months now.”
“Jenna’s four and a half months,” Lee replied.
“Bababababa,” Jenna replied the moment her name was mentioned.
“She’s adorable,” the woman said. “And she really likes Nicholas here—I can tell.”
Lee realized with horror that Jenna’s chubby hands were reaching out towards the baby boy—hastily he pulled her back. “Well, she’s just curious—you know—about other babies.”
“Oh I think it’s more than that,” the woman said. “There’s definitely fireworks here.”
‘Over my dead body there is.’ Lee held Jenna against him protectively—keeping her distance from Nicholas. “I—ah—I think we need to get going,” he said out loud.
“Catch you out at the pool, then—I’m Tawnia, by the way. And you are?”
“I’m Lee.”
Tawnia’s smile widened. “Nice to meet you—Lee. See you in the pool. Okay?”
‘Not if I see you first,’ Lee thought. “Come on, munchkin,” he said out loud. A small group of women stood by the lockers near the exit.
“Whoa check that out,” one of the woman said— while another let out an appreciative wolf whistle.
Lee tried not to look at them—he was sure his face was bright red at this point.
This was not going to be an easy class.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
Thank goodness the pool was heated. The class hadn’t
actually started yet—the instructor was running late. Lee walked around the pool, Jenna held firmly in his arms—which was difficult because she was slippery—just letting her get used to the feel of the water. After all, this
was a lot bigger than the washtub where she took her baths.
“Splash the water, Jenna—see? Look how Daddy’s doing
it.” He little splashes with the flat of his hand, careful not to get any water in her eyes. After a few moments Jenna made little splashes of her own, squealing with delight as she saw the ripples in the water.
“Good job, munchkin,” Lee said.
Most of the women stood around in little groups, chatting with one another—Lee guessed they probably knew each other—PTA, playgroups—most of them probably knew his wife. He spotted Tawnia and Nicholas but thankfully she
wasn’t paying attention to him at the moment—
Not that he was short of attention—
“Hello there, handsome,” a woman murmured as he walked past.
“Cute swim trunks.”
Lee muttered a brief ‘Hello’ before turning away. What was
with these women? He was beginning to feel like a piece of meat on a stick. He’d caught more than a few stares and appreciative looks—at some point he probably would’ve been flattered—but now—
“What do you do about stretch marks, Gail?”
The woman named Gail snorted. “Live with them—It’s been four months now and I swear I’ve tried every cream on the market—nothing works—I’ve got them on my thighs—my stomach—even my breasts.”
“Oh don’t even talk to me about breasts,” the other woman
said. “I swear—my boobs are practically at my waist now—not to mention, you know—down there. Sometimes I really wished I’d gotten a C-Section.”
“No you don’t—the recovery from that is a real—”
Some things he just didn’t want to know, Lee thought as he
quickly moved away from the two women. Jenna certainly didn’t need to know any of this stuff— thankfully his daughter seemed more engrossed with her attempts
to grab at the yellow plastic fish that bobbed on the surface of the water—one of the many water toys scattered throughout the pool. Lee picked it up for her.
“Look at this, Jenna—” he squeezed the toy, making water
squirt out. Jenna laughed.
The sound of clapping startled him. Lee turned to face a petite woman wearing a blue swimsuit.
“Sorry I’m a little late,” the woman said.. “My name is
Michelle and I’m your instructor for Introductory Baby Swim. Since this is the first class, I’d like us all to introduce ourselves and our babies—starting
with you, sir.”
She was talking to him, Lee realized—of course she was—there weren’t any other men in the room. All of the women were looking at him expectantly—waiting for him to speak. “I’m Lee Stetson,” he said. “And this is my daughter, Jenna.”
“It’s good to see a father in this class,” Michelle replied. “Hopefully we’ll see more as the class progresses. Next?”
“I’m Tawnia—this is my son, Nicholas.”
“I’m Ashley—this is my daughter Brianna.”
“Theresa—this is my son Joshua.”
“I’m Sovra and this is Justina—like I’ve been telling
everyone—she’s very advanced for her age.”
“Yes, I’m sure she is,” the instructor said. Lee heard several snickers—the woman next to him rolled her eyes. Held tightly against him Jenna began to squirm and
fuss—Lee bobbed her gently in and out of the water to distract her.
“Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves, let me begin,” Michelle said. “Now this class is not designed to get your baby actually swimming yet, but to get him or her
accustomed to the water and to moving in the water. However, we will be going over some basic swimming positions and helping to develop some basic motor skills. The first thing I’d like to address is water safety. I’m sure you’ve already noticed how slippery your baby becomes when they’re wet. That’s why it’s very important to hold them firmly—it also can help them feel secure. Also, babies have smaller bodies and less ability to regulate their body temperature. Luckily this pool is heated, but if you ever notice your baby shivering, please get them out of the water immediately. I’m sure we all want our babies to have a safe and fun experience in the water. Are their any questions?”
The women shook their heads, and Michelle smiled.
“Great,” she said. “Now while this class is beneficial for baby—there can also be a benefit for Moms in terms of fitness. I’m sure you’ve all noticed how your bodies have
changed after pregnancy—”
“Hear hear,” one woman called out while the others laughed.
“Aqua fitness can be a big benefit to new Moms,” Michelle said. “It’s very low impact—just walking around the
pool can work your muscles. Another good exercise is a basic squat—you move up and down, bending the knees slightly, raising and lowering your babies as you do. Remember to hold your stomach in, keep your back straight and don’t overextend your knees.” She demonstrated as
she spoke. “This exercise works your quads, your glutes—even your abs. We’ll do a set of ten.”
Lee squatted with Jenna as he raised and lowered her as she babbled away—trying to ignore the other women’s stares as he did.
“Another area I’d like to address are the pelvic muscles,” Michelle said. “Giving birth tends to make
those muscles very lose—Kegel exercises can help to tighten up that area.”
"Your love muscles,”one woman added.
“Very true,” Michelle replied. “And believe me, when the time comes your husbands will definitely appreciate it—now the best way to do these is to find your baseline—squeeze your PC muscles, hold for three to five seconds and release. Once you become skilled at this, you’ll be able to do this exercise anywhere. Mr. Stetson?”
“Yes?” Lee said.
“Holding your hands over your daughter’s ears really won’t
do any good.”
SMK SMK SMK SMK
“The wheels on the bus go round and round—all around the
town…” Lee’s deeper voice stood out among the chorus of female voices as he moved Jenna from side to side in time
to the melody. He definitely was not the best singer in the world but Jenna seemed to enjoy the song despite that—she smiled and laughed at him—he could never tire of listening to her laugh.
“Okay,” Michelle called out. “I need you to line up by the
side of the pool—hold your babies against you—that’s right. Now I want you to move your child’s legs in a kicking motion—the same way they would do if they
were swimming. This helps to get their legs used to moving that way in the water.”
Lee pulled Jenna back against him and moved her legs up and down, the water splashing gently while Jenna chewed on her thumb.
“This class is way too easy for Justina,” the woman—what was her name—Sovra, that was it—told him. “I mean, she’s already starting to crawl and she just turned four months. How old is yours?”
“Four and a half months,” Lee said.
“Crawling yet?”
“Not yet.” Jenna had just mastered rolling over—she could prop herself up on her elbows and hold her head up and she had started to attempt a slow creep that was similar to a crawl.
“Such a shame,” Sovra shook her head and clucked sympathetically. “But I suppose some babies are slower than others.”
“Actually her doctor said she’s right on schedule,” Lee replied frostily. Sovra just continued talking, apparently oblivious to the ice in his tone.
“Also she’s a little small compared to my Justina—she still has that ‘limp noodle’ look to her.”
Limp noodle? Lee opened his mouth to tell this woman what he thought when Michelle clapped her hands again.
“If you’ll all move to the center of the pool—we’re going to practice taking your baby underwater.”
SMK SMK SMK SMK
4247 Maplewood Dr.
6:30 PM
“So Jenna actually went underwater?” Amanda asked. They stood in the nursery, looking down at the crib where Jenna lay in her pajamas, her foot in her mouth—everything went in her mouth these days.
“Yeah.”
“How’d she do?” Amanda asked.
“Just fine.” Lee thought back—how nervous he’d been—even though the instructor had assured him that Jenna would automatically hold her breath—all babies instinctively
did. He’d lowered her into the water—slowly and carefully, and then under the water—and then back out again. Jenna had blinked several times as she came back up, chubby hands wiping at her nose—but otherwise just fine. “Actually she did really well—we had a fun time—she really took to the water.”
“I remember Phillip did at her age,” Amanda said. “He was like a little fish—Jamie was a little more nervous but he got to where he enjoyed it.” She paused. “It must have been kind of hard for you though—being the only father there.”
“It was—a little,” Lee admitted—not wanting to go into
details about the ogling. He took his wife’s hand in his, running his thumb over the top as he spoke. “I definitely stood out.”
Amanda smiled. “I can imagine. But I agree with the
instructor—you didn’t have to cover her ears for the pregnancy talk.”
“Maybe, but you never know what they could pick up.” Lee
said. Amanda’s smile widened as she just shook her head. “And then there was that woman—what she said
about Jenna—the ‘limp noodle’ remark—can you believe that?”
“With Sovra I can,” Amanda replied. “I’ve met her before at charity functions –I’m familiar with how she operates.” Her other hand ran up and down his bare arm—the touch sending tingles down his spine. “Don’t let it get to you, okay?”
Lee wrapped his arms around his wife, pulling her
close. “I won’t. So, Mrs. Stetson—any plans for tonight?”
“Well—I was planning on going into our bedroom, slipping into something a little more comfortable—and then after that—” her lips pressed against him briefly—soft and inviting—her mouth slightly open—promising more to come. “After that, we’ll just go with the flow.”
Lee smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“Well, then meet me there, big fella.” Amanda broke the embrace and leaned over the crib, brushing the curve of Jenna’s cheek with her finger. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” She left the room.
Lee leaned over his daughter’s crib. “Good night, munchkin,” he said. “Don’t listen to that woman, okay? You’re perfect just the way you are.”
Jenna smiled at him, her dark eyes bright. “Dada.”
The End
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