Swimsuit Review after 4 kids

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I won a free Lime Ricki Swimsuit from 30 Days back in May. I’m not an easy fit for swimsuits so I knew I couldn’t just pick one off the website. Luckily they recently opened up a storefront in SLC so I asked if I could come by and try some on. They were great and said Yes. But I’m a flake and didn’t make it to the store until last month. Have you seen their stuff???? Could they make cuter suits? But my fear was that none of what I saw looked like it would fit my… unusual body.

Let me back up a bit and explain my problem with swimsuits. I’ve had 4 kids. I gained 60 lbs with the first one and got almost 5 feet around (really I measured, 58 inches). The 3 next pregnancies didn’t get quite as large, but having all 4 in the space of 6 years didn’t help my skin bounce back at all. So let’s just say I have lots of extra stretched out skin in the mid section.

(This is 8 months pregnant with number 2, so still a month to go!)
Then there are my breasts. I know, not a pretty topic, but they are a major issue when it comes to swimsuits. I started out with larger beasts, 34D. THEN I got pregnant. They just wouldn’t stop growing! When I was 4 months along my uncle asked my mom if I had gotten an enhancement of some kind! EMBARRASSING! Anyway, by the time my milk came in I was up to 34K. Yup, K. Nope, they don’t make it, I had to have my nursing bra’s specially made. Well again, after nursing 4 kids a total of 60 month and there is NO going back to before. They are stretched out, droppy, and when I fold them up into my bra I’m still a 34F (more like roll them up…). But they need a ton of support. My normal bra’s are like feat of engineering to get them up and in normal breast shape!!

(This is 10 months into nursing, so WAY small for me, but still Ginormica! I never let ANY pictures be take at FULL size)
So there are my issues. Major breast and stomach support needed. Now I’m cheap. Even after the kids I still bought cheap suits. But they looked SO terrible, and I felt so uncomfortable. Someone told me I should try out Land’s End’s swimsuits. But they were SO expensive I just couldn’t. After #4 though we moved to TX and we were spending 3-4 days a week at the pool. So I took the (expensive) plunge and got one! They have suits made for larger breast’s with great support and it totally sucks in my belly. I found the ONE and fell in love! I not only bought that first one, but the next year I bought two more of the same suit in different colors/patterns. Now I don’t have to worry about different swimsuit lines. ANYWAY!

(7 months along with number 3)
So back to the swimsuit I won! And while I have 3 swimsuits I love the Lime Ricki suits are just SO cute/pretty/gorgeous I was excited to get a new suit! But looking at the site I was concerned that none of the suits looked like they could “handle” me! So I opted to go to the store and try things. I tried on EVERY style they had. EVERY style. Not one swimsuit had stomach support. Not ONE had good enough breast support. And the shoulder straps were all to thin/weak to hold up the Breasts! Now just because they don’t fit my body doesn’t mean they aren’t great. Just not great for me. Basically they are just not made for my body issues. Now my body isn’t the norm, so basically I’m just not their audience. But MOST people would be able to wear these without issue! The are super cute, modest swimsuits. High quality fabric and construction. The tankini’s are nice and LONG. They have great options for bottoms. Totally original designs, and lots of options! Really VERY cute. They are made for a more normal body. They would be PERFECT for either of my sisters (even AFTER 5 kids!). So if you have an adorable body check them out!

(this is the swimsuit I picked out- it does NOT look like this on me. Imagine a big ole belly- around 5 months pregnant looking, and droopy breasts hanging down. NOT pretty!)
Of course I picked one out anyway. This one seemed the best out of all the options. It seemed okay when I was trying them all on, but after wearing my perfect suits for a few days I decided to try it out one day at bear lake. It drove me nuts. I felt like I was HANGING out there the whole time. I kept tugging the top up, and didn’t feel great. BUT I did get compliments on it, other people thought I looked okay, I just didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel confident and didn’t feel safe (I thought I would fall out!). My breasts, my gut, just all out for the world to see. I lasted a good 2 hours before I went in and changed. I feel guilty having this brand new swimsuit I’ll never wear again though. I should have just let my sister pick out one and gotten her size! Anyone want an XL, WORN ONCE, Lime Ricki Suit?

(this is a cruel joke of genetics. Me and my baby sister both around 8 months along, number 4 for me. She was due 2 weeks after me! No wonder she’s all cute and small when not preggo, right? Side note: Now you can ALL see why I have SHORT hair! Long hair is not for me. I was growing it out for my sweet patient husband. Eeewwww! No mocking please!)

Feel free to share my projects!