I have to confess, I’m not much of a beach-swimmer. You know those people who judge you by how many swims you’ve squeezed in of a summer? I wouldn’t rate highly on their list. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to the beach… I just don’t care too much these days for lying in the sun and going swimming. I’m more of a pool swimmer.

Thus – I don’t have the need to wear togs all that often. No more than a handful of times a year.

Since I’ve been pumping, the only swims I’ve really had are quick dips, where I take my pump off and jump in. I have a pretty tired old bikini which needed replacing.

If you’re on a pump, you’ll know what I mean by “the days of having a clean stomach are over”. Every time you take a site out you are left with a reasonably red looking hole in your tummy, and invariably a few marks where you’ve not been able to scrape the tape off (although olive oil does the trick nicely I’m told). With all the disasters with sites I’ve had over the last week though my stomach looks like I’ve had suction caps all over it.

So – I decided the bikini-wearing days are over for me. (I’d love to say I have a stomach just like the woman’s in the pic above, but alas that would be a lie as well). Hence, this year I’ve invested in a tankini – the perfect pump-wearing woman’s swimming costume. It covers up your tummy and discarded pump sites, yet because it’s a singlet over some bikini bottoms, there is space for your tubing to come out of it discreetly. Nice!