My name is Melissa, I‘m a proud veteran and I’ve been married to my husband since 2001. We have three wonderful children and I’m blessed to be a stay at home mom. I’m thrilled to bring Infant Aquatics to Gulf Breeze, Navarre, and the surrounding areas! I am a certified Infant Aquatics instructor specializing in self-rescue swim lessons for infants, toddlers, and young children, using the swim-float-swim method. I have over 150 hours of training and I am First Aid/CPR/AED certified through the American Red Cross.
Life-guarding, teaching basic swim lessons to all ages, and working as a summer camp counselor in the aquatics program started my passion for water safety early on as a teenager. I also swam competitively for many years and now I’m blessed to be on the other side as a proud swim mom!
I first learned about survival lessons when we moved to Florida in 2005, and it’s been a long time dream of mine to become certified. My two youngest children have completed survival swim lessons along with refreshers each summer since they were infants. My niece and nephew have also completed the training. Having the opportunity to watch my children, niece and nephew, and 18 other children, before getting certified has given me insight on how to connect with the parents of the children I teach on a deeper level. As a mother, I completely understand what’s it’s like to watch your child complete lessons, and I’m also here to support you though the process.
Baby Sharks Infant Aquatics is located on the beautiful Emerald Coast in Gulf Breeze, Florida, near Tiger Point Park. Lessons are 10 minutes a day, 4 days per week and it takes 4-6 weeks to learn the swim-float-swim method. Children 6-12 months can learn to roll from a face-down position to a face up unassisted back float. Children 1-6 years of age can swim with their face's in the water and roll over onto their back when they need to breath. Then they learn to flip back onto their tummy to continue swimming, until reaching their destination, or roll to their back, should they need to breathe again.
I want nothing more than to help prevent drowning accidents in our community, and to give each child confidence in the water! Feel free to contact me with any questions and check out my Facebook page here. I look forward to providing you and your children with the valuable life skill of swimming!
My name is Chris, and I've been married to Melissa for 20 years. We have two boys and one girl. I am an Air Force Veteran with an Intelligence Analyst background, and I completed eight deployments in the middle east. I also have a bachelor's in Resource and Technology Management from Troy University. Our oldest started competing in Triathlons at a young age. After watching him compete in several races, he asked me why I had not participated in any Triathlons—having no reason not to, I participated in my first Triathlon in 2012 and haven't stopped. This is where my passion for swimming started! I had watched survival swim lessons at my house for the last seven years, starting when our two youngest children were infants, so I’ve seen the process work firsthand over and over for children of all ages.
I attended intensive 6-week training in Longmont, Colorado, with the founder of Infant Aquatics, Judy Heumann. It was all hands-on training where I learned how to teach babies and children 6 months and up how to self-rescue and teach older children the swim-float-swim method. The program integrates child development, child behavior, anatomy and physiology, and sensory integration into teaching safe and effective swim lessons for all children. I am excited to be a part of Baby Sharks Infant Aquatics as a Certified Infant Aquatics Instructor and look forward to making a difference in drowning prevention in Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, Navarre, Ft. Walton, Milton, and surrounding areas!