Lake McBride

Last Saturday we took a family trip to Lake McBride with some friends. Ellie loved playing in the water and the sand. She helped make a sand castle and a moat with Sophia and another little boy that was there, and then they all stomped on it and destroyed it!

She was playing on the shore, and she'd go a few feet out in the water, where it would go about up to her waste. I was SUPER PARANOID that she would fall and her head would go under and she'd drown, so I was staying within a few feet of her, in case that happened. Everyone kept telling me to stop being so paranoid, and that she'd be fine. But I couldn't shake the feeling, so I didn't go out and swim like everyone else was doing. I had a friend there on the shore that swore she was watching Ellie, and to just go out and swim. But I didn't want to leave Ellie.
After a little while, my fears were confirmed-- I was standing 2 feet from Ellie, and she lost her footing and her head went under, and she couldn't regain her balance. I lunged at her and pulled her up-- she wasn't under for more than 2 seconds. But she coughed and sputtered a bit. The friend who was on the shore watching her had not seen her as quickly as I had, and had not reacted. That's when I said enough-- and went to the dock to ask them for a life jacket for her. Only then could I relax a little bit, though my eyes still never strayed from her little body for more than 10 seconds!

The moral of the story is--- Mommies know best! Mommies out there--- trust your instincts for YOUR child. Don't let other people tell you "it's okay" when you think it's not!

Anyway, later with her life jacket on, she also went pretty far out in the water, being held by Mommy of course. I was letting her float through the water, holding her arms, and she was being very still and quiet-- that's when I noticed that some water was coming up through the neck of the life jacket, and she was DRINKING IT! Blecch!!!!

All in all-- a fun trip :)