Yesterday, four-month-old Rada swam for the first time. Contrary to what many people imagine, newborn-swimming is different from adult-swimming. No, you can’t throw a baby in a pool and expect that she will stay afloat for 10 minutes or swim a couple of laps before getting tired.

The assumption that babies can swim because they have more or less done so in the amniotic sac for nine months is only half-true. Yes, they have a way of moving naturally in water, but in utero they receive a steady supply of oxygen from the mother. For many babies, coming in contact with water is the first time for them to be deprived of oxygen. So when they first experience the holding of breath, they react naturally by coughing and gasping, eyes wide open. Fear not.

The baby has not inhaled water. She would react in much the same way if you pour water over her face (try inhaling water while standing upright with water running down your face – it’s not easy), put your hand over her mouth or blow in her face.

What babies can do, however, from the moment they are born, is to hold their breath when they feel water on their face. That means you can dive them under for a couple of seconds at first, and in time, if you help them maintain and develop this reflex, they can stay underwater for seven to eight seconds or more. Eventually, they are able to dive to retrieve a toy on the bottom of the tub. Babies lose the reflex to hold their breath on contact with water sometime between the third and sixth month of their lives.

I learn all this and much more in the bathroom of my friend Boriana, mother of three-month-old Elina. After acquiring a 60l plastic tub from Metro (a close second to a full-sized bathtub when it comes to infant swimming), we called Alexandra Nikolova, a mother of three who, for the past 11 years, has taught parents to help their babies swim.

When she arrived, Alexandra took off her socks, rolled her pants and sleeves, and slowly lowered Rada into the tub. For the next half an hour, she deftly held her in the water, moving her back and forth, sideways, drawing figure eights, helping her dive and holding her as Rada pushed herself off the wall of the tub, much like an adult would do off the swimming pool wall.

When on her back, Rada held Alexandra’s finger and let her body float, keeping only her mouth, nose and eyes above the surface. (Note to parents: it is very hard to get water out of a baby’s ears unless you use a syringe.) At one moment, it looked like Rada might just fall asleep. Her comfort and pleasure were visible and amazing.
Needless to say, we’re off to Metro to buy our own tub, so that Alexandra can come another five or six times, until she has taught us how to swim with Rada.

And if you have an infant and would like to try it out, e-mail Alexandra at al.nikolova@mail.ru.