Hyperbaric and Squid School

Our home hyperbaric chamber arrived in four boxes in the mail. A few weeks later, one of the main guys from the clinic we visited in New Orleans came on a Saturday to install it for us and teach us to use it. 

It's pretty simple to use and extremely safe. We don't have to take any of the precautions we did at the clinic in New Orleans - fiber content of clothing doesn't matter, you can have your cell phone or a tablet inside with you, paper/books are allowed, etc. The one thing they stressed is the going "down" and "up", aka the pressure change. It takes time for the chamber to build up pressure. When your time is up inside, it takes 10min or so to decrease pressure to unzip. 

The first couple times we used it, G dove with Jaron. 

The first day, Jaron got hot and hated his wet diaper and got hungry. The second day we fed and changed him right before he went in; he still hollered. Bored perhaps? Third day, we added a bunch of books to keep Jaron entertained. All is good until Jaron notices where he is. Then comes the crying and screaming. We actually cut our #4 dove short because he was so upset.

G's theory is that it's still too boring in the chamber, even with the books. I think that's part of it. I think he misses me or wants to eat for comfort or sleep. I also think he is bored (the car seat is also a not desirable place these days). And I think the pressure is getting to his ears, especially these past three days. 

This week was also infant survival swim lessons for Jaron. They'll take babies as young as 2 months old. The infant class is done with parents in the water with their babies, and the skills they focus on are mostly to get them used to being horizontal in the water. They learn to float on their back, spend a little time on their tummies (too easy to gulp water there), practice their head going under water, and practice "falling" into the pool/flipping to their backs right away (this is done by sitting them on the edge of the pool, counting to three, and guiding them off the ledge sideways/backways into the water. 

Poor Jaron is not a fan of the cold water. He wants 90 degrees! (apparently the perfect pool temp). It was so bad, you could see his teeth chattering. His teacher let him use a baby wetsuit for the last two days of class. That helped, but he still didn't like putting his bare legs in the water (held them in the air like a dead bug) or his ears. Maybe that's why he hasn't liked diving in the chamber this week... Too much water in his ears.