A big step today! I got Connor in the pool. Next step is getting him in our boat.

When Connor was younger, I took him in the pool with me several times and he always enjoyed it. He would splash around and laugh. Then there was the pond incident.
I don't know if Connor remembers that whole thing or not. If it is just an unconcious thing or what, but ever since that incident I have not been able to get him into a pool. He has never had problems with his bath and will splash and play in there for a long time.
Yesterday, I decided to just bite the bullet and see if I could get him back in and get him to enjoy it. When we pulled up to my parents community pool and started walking toward the gate leading to the pool, he knew immediately where we were and started to cry and writhe out of my arms. I thought "this isn't going to be fun or go well" but I was going to do my best to work with him.
For the first 10-15 minutes or so, I just sat with him on a chair and sang or talked softly to him and fed him his lunch. He watched the kids playing in the pool and even laughed at them a few times. We started making our way over to the steps leading to the pool and he was so tense and just fussed softly. I kept both arms wrapped securely around his body and sang his favorite songs into his ear. We got all the way in to the water up to chest level, and he watched the kids playing with a ball and would alternate between laughing at them and the ball and fussing, but eventually he stopped fussing. Held the ball for awhile and began to relax.
I even got him on a raft with me and he leaned back away from me and onto the raft for awhile. I am thrilled that we got to this step, because I enjoy taking him with me to places and want him to be able to get used to it and enjoy it himself.
Now I look forward to taking him more and getting him comfortable enough being in the pool that he will really enjoy going often and eventually will be able to show him how to kick and paddle, at least to the edge of the pool, if he were to fall in again.
The picture above was taken the day after he got out of the hospital from his near drowning experience. Those pictures taken that day always bring me to tears knowing what could have been. I love my little guy and think he is so very special and I couldn't handle life without him.