Swimsuit shopping.
Ugh. It's not pretty. It's not fun. And most of the time, it's left me in tears.
Now add in having some extra squishiness from carrying an eight pound baby girl?
A million times worse.
I made the official switch this summer from bikinis to one piece swimsuits for a multitude of reasons, the first being that squishiness mentioned above. I've also gotten a wee bit more modest in my older age and not everyone needs to be seeing me parading around in teeny tiny pieces of fabric. And then there's the practicality of the situation - Natalie is bigger and more active in the water and I have to be comfortable to move quickly and easily when playing with her.
So one pieces it is. Once I had made my decision the hard work began - finding a swimsuit that flattered my figure and wasn't a gazillion dollars.
As with everything else in life, when in doubt.....GO TO TARGET.
I was pleasantly surprised at the selection and quality of the swimsuits. I honestly thought that I would be quickly going down the one-piece swimsuit rabbit hole and would wind up spending my summer sitting by the pool in a swimsuit a la the Duggars.
But instead I found lots of great fashionable styles that fit my body well and still made me feel "cute" but covered up as well. Without further ado, here is what I'll be sporting in the sun this summer.
I have the top (which also comes with a attachable halter style strap) but not these bottoms. I bought bikini style bottoms in the same horizontal black and white stripe. I mostly wear this swimsuit around our pool in the backyard and I rarely use the strap so that I can get a nice even tan on my shoulders and neck area.
This swimsuit kind of caught me off guard because it's totally out of my fashion comfort zone with all the hot pinkness and blingity bling. BUT...it looks and fits fabulous and again, I can lay out in the backyard with the neck straps down and not get any tan lines.
Alright. You're going to need to use your imagination on this one. I found this swimsuit HERE but this is not the swimsuit I actually own. Picture this style but with a turquoise top and black bottom - keep the ruching though. Got it? Okay. The reason I couldn't find the link on the Target website is because I actually bought this particular swimsuit LAST summer and therefore any sort of link to it has disappeared into internet oblivion. This is probably the most flattering swimsuit on me because it sucks in my belly the most and then the ruching covers up any remaining jiggle.
And the wee one? It's much easier finding a swimsuit for an adorable toddler. Never mind the fact that she has absolutely no clue that she can't swim. We have certainly evolved past the cruise around in the baby float stage and she is squirming all over the place - learning to kick, stroke and blow bubbles in the water. The best part of having a daughter that just might be part fish? The water WEARS. HER. OUT. And the second best thing.......she's inherited my Italian-olive-easy-to-tan skin and there's nothing more adorable than tan lines on a little baby butt.
Natalie hates being dried off with towels so I can throw this over her body and get her dry without the tears and fighting.
Here are Natalie's two main swimsuits - one serious swimming suit up above in the pink and then a fun and frivolous girly suit complete with ruffles. I'm not big on two piece bikinis on little girls; I'd like to hold off on that battle as long as possible and plus, with all the running around and hard core PLAYING that she does in the water, she needs something that will stay on her body and not interfere with her activity.
I know. Toddler sunglasses. But they're turquoise and they match her ruffly swimsuit. And she's only little once. And they were really only $5.99. And believe it or not - she does wear and keep them on her face about 65% of the time.
Best swimming purchase ever. The concrete is hot and the pool deck is rough. By putting these on Natalie's feet, she can confidently play in and around the pool without fear of burning or scraping her precious little feet and toes.
So that's what we're sporting this summer. I love that my girl loves the water and shows absolutely NO fear when it comes to getting in and splashing around. Swimming has always been a summer staple with my grandma, my mother and myself and I've been loving watching Natalie find the same enjoyment in water as I do.
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