Twin Babies Nearly Drown in Pool : Close call: The boys’ mother is able to revive them with CPR, and they are recovering. She warns other parents of hazards.

A woman whose family had moved into their “dream home” with a swimming pool just three months ago and who was saving to buy a pool cover described Wednesday how she discovered her 1-year-old twin boys floating listlessly in the water and frantically administered CPR.

Jonathan and Mychal Caldwell were recovering Wednesday at Children’s Hospital of Orange County after their mother pulled them from the family swimming pool a day earlier. Susan Caldwell, 32, called 911 and was able to revive the infants following a dispatcher’s instructions.

“I’ll never, ever forget the horrible sight of seeing my babies floating in the pool,” said Susan Caldwell, 32. “I prayed to God and said to myself that if anything happened to those babies, I would never forgive myself.”

Caldwell said on Wednesday that she wanted to put the “tremendous guilt and shame” she felt aside to warn other parents about potential swimming pool hazards.

“I used to think that inattentiveness was the reason for drowning,” Caldwell said. “But now I realize that it’s not a matter of how good of a mom you are. It’s just a matter of curious children and water not mixing at all.”

Caldwell said the family, including her husband William, 36, an 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, moved into their “dream home” in Placentia just three months ago.

She said all of the children, including the twins, had taken swimming lessons this summer and she was scheduled to take a CPR class next week.

The couple also were in the process of saving money to buy a state-of-the-art pool covering which Caldwell said would cost about $5,000.

“We knew we needed to get the cover, but we thought we had taken every safety precaution possible,” Caldwell said. “I thought not having a cover temporarily wouldn’t be a problem since I keep such a close watch on my kids. But, I was wrong.”

Caldwell said the children had just finished their lunch around noon on Tuesday and were in the living room playing with their older brother when she went into her bedroom to put away laundry. A little more than a minute later, she went to check on the youngsters and saw them floating listlessly in the pool.

“When I checked the screen door earlier it was in the locked position, but they somehow managed to get out the door and into the pool,” Caldwell said. “This all happened in about two minutes.”

The twins spent two days at CHOC for observation and tests. They are reported in good condition and are not expected to suffer any lasting effects from the near-drowning, said hospital spokeswoman Maureen Williams.

Julie Caldwell said the family still plans to hold a birthday party for Jonathan and Mychal planned for this Sunday. She said the family is busy planning and counting their blessings.

“It’s a miracle,” she said.