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I cannot believe I am posting photos of myself on the internet in a swimming costume! But I only gave birth 17 weeks ago, so I’m still working on turning my postpartum body into something that feels more like mine. I am slowly losing the weight, but my postpartum weightloss journey belongs in a different blog post, not this one.

I don’t actually mind how I look, I carried a healthy baby for 41 weeks. He was a massive 9lbs 1oz as well, so it had quite a large impact on my body.

The pandemic has robbed me and my baby boy quite a few things. Those precious moments of sharing my newborn with my family are something I’ll never get back. Going to baby groups hasn’t been an option for us either. Apart from his grandparents, my baby doesn’t really know any other humans exist other than doctors and nurses! He also doesn’t know other places exist.

One thing I was keen to do was to take Leo to a baby swim class. But lockdown meant I haven’t been able to. But there is light at the end of the tunnel,  swimming pools will be opening soon so I can get signed up for a class!

When I was younger, I didn’t learn to swim until I was around 8 years old. I really struggled when we went to school, so my Mum took me to a swim club for lessons. Eventually, I learned to swim and loved it. I used to go to the swim club about 3 times a week and would compete in swimming galas on a weekend. But I wish I had learnt earlier though, I was always a bit scared to dive and think if I had learnt to swim when I was younger (when I was still a fearless child!) I would be been better at diving.

So it’s really important for me that Leo is confident in the water and able to swim from an early age.

My extra baby pounds mean that I’m a little too big for my old swimming costumes, but luckily for me, Halocline have come to the rescue.  They’ve sent me two new swimsuits. Now we are ready to go!

I’ve never heard of Halocline before they contacted me. A bit of a shame as they offer a wide range of swimwear for the whole family. They have lovely colours, prints and their swimsuits have some great features.

Two features I really like are:

Environmentally friendly swimwear

Some of their styles are made with Econyl® recycled nylon yarn for a more sustainable swimwear option. I always try to opt for an eco-friendly option when necessary as I believe a lot of small, easy swaps are a fantastic way to do our part in being kind to the environment.

Chlorine proof

They also have some styles that are chlorine proof which is great for those who regularly swim in pools!

When I was in swim club, I used to go through so many swimsuits as the colours would fade, the fabric would start to get thin and the threading would wear away – all thanks to chlorine. Everyone knows it’s bad for your hair but it’s not really common knowledge how it damages your swimwear!

The first item I picked was this teal longer length swimsuit. This ticks four boxes for what I look for in a swimming costume:

• It has ruffled material on the stomach panel – I’ve got a few costumes like this already and find that it’s more flattering
• Has tummy control which I need, not just because of my weight gain but my baby bump was really big so I still have a bit of excess skin around my lower stomach that really needs a bit of extra support
• It’s longer length – some styles on Halocline are longer length (5cm/2inch) longer than a standard swimsuit which I really need as I have quite a long torso and a lot of swimming costumes are too short and usually end up pulling down and I feel like my boobs are going to be on show!
• It’s teal – which as you can tell by the colour scheme of my blog – it’s one of my favourite colours!

This costume is also chlorine proof and eco-friendly!

The second item was the Stella longer clip back swimsuit.

This piece is also longer in length, made out of recycled fabrics and has tummy control.

Both of the items are really soft to touch, which sounds strange to say when talking about swimming costumes. The material feels really thick and doesn’t appear to thin out when stretched. Both costumes have UV 50+ protection and are oil and sun cream resistant which is great if you are wanting to wear this on holiday.

I really like the logo embroidered on the costume too, there’s just something about embroidered detail that makes a product seem to be of higher quality than one that have printed logos.

These really do feel great quality and I can’t wait to get in the pool with them. Leo is excited, too!

You can check out Halocline for yourself. I particularly like their girls’ section where they have some lovely printed costumes – even Halloween and Christmas prints! Their goggle and towel robes look fabulous too.

I was debating whether to pick one of the towel ponchos. They would be great to throw on after getting out of the pool while you are faffing about in your getting your things ready for the shower. I always find wrapping a towel around me annoying as it always falls down!

It would be really good to use for showing at the gym, too. When I start going the gym again, I’ll be visiting Halocline for sure!