Drowing Prevention and Water Safety Tips with Goldfish Swim School

Sunday, March 31, 2019

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Thank you Goldfish for sponsoring this post. As always, content is 100% honest and my own.

If you're looking for something fun to do this Spring Break without the crowds or having to travel too far, I've got you covered!  Why not spend your time at Goldfish Swim School?!

Goldfish will be open during Spring Break with fun jumpstart clinics (learn more here) to help your kiddos get a little refresh course on swimming basics and safety, which is so important with the warmer weather approaching and Summer just around the corner.

Here are some water safety tips to keep with you as you take your kiddos to the pool and beach.

W - Wear your Life Jacket: This is one of the easiest ways to increase safety in the water. There are plenty of different types of life jackets to fit all sizes – pay attention to proper fit.

 A– Act. Throw! Don’t go: Do your kids know what to do in a swimming emergency? They should ACT! Their first instinct may be to go towards the person having trouble in the water. Instead, they should throw a life preserver – and don’t go! That way, they aren’t putting themselves in jeopardy as well and are truly able to help. 

 T– Take Swim Lessons: You can start your child in swim lessons as early as four months old where they can begin learning swim and safety skills while building character through guided play. 

E– Educate. Learn Swim Safety Skills: Key water safety skills can go a long way – such as the crab walk, properly getting in and out of the pool, going under water, rolling on their back, treading water, learning different strokes. 

R– Respect. Play it Cool and Follow the Rules: Rules are there for a reason, especially when it comes to rules for the pool. Walk, don’t run; make sure an adult is watching; no horseplay. Review rules together as a family before setting your kids loose to enjoy the water. 


Did you know that drowning is the single leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 4 and it remains the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5-19 years.  That is so scary to think about, especially when it can be prevented.  

Do you also know that Goldfish has an outstanding W.A.T.E.R. Safety Program that they LOVE to share with local schools, preschools and groups! They take Goldfish on the road and arrive ready to present their FREE 20 minute safety program in a FUN and engaging way! Students go home with water safety knowledge and a goodie bag full of lots of fun! Sound great? Give them a call or send them an email and they will get you on their 2019 calendar! This is definitely an opportunity that you don't want to miss out and and did I mention it's FREE.  You've got nothing to lose!

American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that:
 
Parents and caregivers never leave children alone or in the care of another child while in or near bathtubs, pools, spas, or other open water.

Adults should empty water from buckets and other containers immediately after use.

Do not leave young children alone in the bathroom. Toilet locks can prevent drowning of toddlers.

When infants or toddlers are in or around the water, a supervising adult with swimming skills should be within an arm's length, providing constant "touch supervision."

Even with older children and better swimmers, the supervising adult should focus on the child and not be engaged with other distracting activities.
 
 
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I thought I was dying | Postpartum Preeclampsia (Part 1)

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

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It's no surprise that being pregnant with one child can be difficult, but throw another baby in there and it's a completely different ballgame.  For me, being pregnant with twins was actually not as challenging as I thought it would.  It was a fairly "easy" and uneventful twin pregnancy and up until the last month, no complications.  I did have a little scare very early on where I thought we were having another miscarriage, but turned out it was just twins!



The last month of my pregnancy was nothing out of the norm.  I had the usual swelling and some weight gain.  We had a lot going on with not only two kids to take care of but a huge move from Florida to Indiana at 30 weeks pregnant.  I didn't feel stressed, but I'm sure I was a little not to mention very exhausted.  


The Tuesday before I was induced, I was having a pain in my right leg I couldn't get rid of.  I went to my doctor, who checked me out and everything seemed fine.  My blood pressure was perfect and had been my entire pregnancy.  My swelling was nothing to be concerned about either.  He sent me over to the hospital to be on the safe side and to be checked out for a blood clot.  Again, everything seemed fine.  My doctor scheduled my induction for Friday morning because he would be heading out of town for the weekend and I wanted to make sure it was him who delivered.  He also let me know that he would be on call the next two days if I needed him and that he wouldn't send me home if I ended up in triage.

I was having mild contractions, but decided I was fine to wait until Friday.  I have yet to write about my birth story and I promise that is coming.  Four kids under four years of age has been a lot, so my blog has taken a back seat over the last 6 months.

Without going into too much detail, my blood pressure was high when I arrived at the hospital.  The nurse asked me if I was nervous and I assured her that I wasn't.  I was definitely anxious because we had been waiting a few hours to get checked in, but not nervous and 

I felt fine.

My delivery went crazy fast.  They started me on Pitocin and within one hour, I was being rushed to the OR to deliver Molly first.  Being sent to the OR is standard routine for multiples.  My epidural hadn't even set in and here she was, being pushed out in two short pushes.

Kathryn came via c-section due to some complications that I will share at another time.  Other than being terrified of the surgery, after giving birth to the twins, 

I felt fine. 

I found out my blood pressure dropped pretty low during delivery, but came back up without any problems.  After being sent to recovery and getting to love on our girls, I found out that my blood pressure was back up again.  I was having some more swelling in my legs, but felt fine for just giving birth two different ways in two hours.

At one point, it got pretty high and they decided to give me some blood pressure meds to help bring it down.

It didn't work but I felt fine.  No headaches, no blurred vision, nothing.

Maybe it was the adrenaline.  Maybe it was the exhaustion.  Maybe it was the overwhelming amount of emotions I was going through, but there was nothing that screamed "you're getting close to dying" to me.

It turns out that I was not ok and after the blood pressure meds weren't working, I was immediately sent to the high risk unit to be monitored and be put on magnesium.

I found out that I was having Preeclampsia AFTER delivery and some of the scariest moments of my life were to follow.

Part 2 coming soon.
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