S/O swimsuits- period swimwear

[AdaraMarie]

Hey all, I know this topic has come up before but my question is, now that some of us have had kids using period swimsuits for a while, what do you think? What brands have you used and how long did they last?

I bought knix teen swimsuits for my kids last summer after dd2 started her period at age 10. I got the 1 piece ones that cost a little over $80.

The kids only wore them a couple times last year because it took a while for shipping and getting the right size.So we have physically had them for 8 months.

Dd2 has been wearing hers about twice a week for swim team for around 3 months. The fabric that makes the racerback is almost totally worn out. I feel that it should have lasted longer. Is this unreasonable? I am used to getting them a suit every year but until now they have gotten $20 ones so I expected them to get destroyed. This one is not going to make it to summer.

As far as the period function it seems to be working fine but DD2 won't talk about it and DD1 hasn't worn her enough to have an opinion.

[quesyrah]

Apr 10, 2024 18:57:20 GMT -5 AdaraMarie said:

Hey all, I know this topic has come up before but my question is, now that some of us have had kids using period swimsuits for a while, what do you think? What brands have you used and how long did they last?

I bought knix teen swimsuits for my kids last summer after dd2 started her period at age 10. I got the 1 piece ones that cost a little over $80.

The kids only wore them a couple times last year because it took a while for shipping and getting the right size.So we have physically had them for 8 months.

Dd2 has been wearing hers about twice a week for swim team for around 3 months. The fabric that makes the racerback is almost totally worn out. I feel that it should have lasted longer. Is this unreasonable? I am used to getting them a suit every year but until now they have gotten $20 ones so I expected them to get destroyed. This one is not going to make it to summer.

As far as the period function it seems to be working fine but DD2 won't talk about it and DD1 hasn't worn her enough to have an opinion.

We have a pool so last year I finally invested in knix swim bottoms. I love them!!

[sonrisa]

I haven’t tried Knox, but the team suits around here cost more like $70 and need replaced annually - but my kid grows like a weed.

[redpenmama]

My daughter started her period last summer, so we bought a pair of black swim bottoms (I think from the Period Company) to mix and match with different tops. She only wore them a couple of times because she had a 7-month break between periods, but they seemed to do the job. I may get a pair for myself too just as a second layer of protection on heavy days. On a related note, she's been attempting tampons this week with zero success thus far, so any suggestions are welcome.

For $80, I would hope your suit held up better than it has, too!

[SusanBAnthony]

DD has bottoms and she wears them under her speedo. They have lasted.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Apr 11, 2024 6:47:10 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

DD has bottoms and she wears them under her speedo. They have lasted.

My dd is 12 and hasn't started yet, but does swim team, and this is our plan if she starts this summer...to buy bottoms only to wear under her team swimsuit and practice suits.  

[huskymom]

We got the knix bottoms and we’ve only been on vacation for 2 days but they seem to be working! I had to send them back a few times - DD is an XL in kids/XS in women’s (maybe 5’1/95 lbs?) and the medium knixteen bottoms were the right size. We just went with the black bottoms.

But I also got her using tampons the first period bc she’s a gymnast and while they can now wear shorts for meets, only the little kids seem too so she didn’t want that as her backup plan. They can’t wear anything under their leos unfortunately.

[redpenmama]

Apr 11, 2024 6:57:39 GMT -5 huskymom said:

We got the knix bottoms and we’ve only been on vacation for 2 days but they seem to be working! I had to send them back a few times - DD is an XL in kids/XS in women’s (maybe 5’1/95 lbs?) and the medium knixteen bottoms were the right size. We just went with the black bottoms.

But I also got her using tampons the first period bc she’s a gymnast and while they can now wear shorts for meets, only the little kids seem too so she didn’t want that as her backup plan. They can’t wear anything under their leos unfortunately.

We're working on tampons for a similar reason—my daughter is a dancer, so she's in a leo almost daily. She can wear black shorts with her leo (with period underwear/pad) to class but when she has a competition, she's obviously got to wear her costumes. I'm hoping she figures them out today (we're on day 3 of trying...) because she has a competition this weekend. I'm encouraged to hear your daughter figured them out, haha. I'm about to give up.

[huskymom]

Apr 11, 2024 8:26:15 GMT -5 redpenmama said:

Apr 11, 2024 6:57:39 GMT -5 huskymom said:

We got the knix bottoms and we’ve only been on vacation for 2 days but they seem to be working! I had to send them back a few times - DD is an XL in kids/XS in women’s (maybe 5’1/95 lbs?) and the medium knixteen bottoms were the right size. We just went with the black bottoms.

But I also got her using tampons the first period bc she’s a gymnast and while they can now wear shorts for meets, only the little kids seem too so she didn’t want that as her backup plan. They can’t wear anything under their leos unfortunately.

We're working on tampons for a similar reason—my daughter is a dancer, so she's in a leo almost daily. She can wear black shorts with her leo (with period underwear/pad) to class but when she has a competition, she's obviously got to wear her costumes. I'm hoping she figures them out today (we're on day 3 of trying...) because she has a competition this weekend. I'm encouraged to hear your daughter figured them out, haha. I'm about to give up.

It definitely took a few days but she seems good with it now! We have just tried the light ones so far.

[redpenmama]

huskymom, that's good to hear! We're trying the light ones too. She's very willing to try so I know she'll get the hang of it eventually.

[Jalapeñomel]

I have no idea how it's possible to keep all the blood contained, and it freaks me out that people are swimming without proper protection (I feel this way about diapers too, if that matters lol).

[dexteroni]

Apr 11, 2024 9:32:09 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I have no idea how it's possible to keep all the blood contained, and it freaks me out that people are swimming without proper protection (I feel this way about diapers too, if that matters lol).

Ok I am reading this post and wondering the same. How does blood not seep into the pool water?

[AdaraMarie]

Apr 11, 2024 9:35:31 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Apr 11, 2024 9:32:09 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I have no idea how it's possible to keep all the blood contained, and it freaks me out that people are swimming without proper protection (I feel this way about diapers too, if that matters lol).

Ok I am reading this post and wondering the same. How does blood not seep into the pool water?

I also have no idea and I didn't think I would ever buy them. DD1 got her period between 6th and 7th grade and I encouraged her to use tampons and it worked fine. But DD2 got hers between 4th and 5th and was a hard no on trying but was also on the swim team so I decided to pay the money. She seemed too little to try to force the issue when there was an alternative available.

[quesyrah]

Apr 11, 2024 9:35:31 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Apr 11, 2024 9:32:09 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I have no idea how it's possible to keep all the blood contained, and it freaks me out that people are swimming without proper protection (I feel this way about diapers too, if that matters lol).

Ok I am reading this post and wondering the same. How does blood not seep into the pool water?

Personally I wouldn’t use it alone on very heavy days or wear one pair for more than a couple of hours.

But we are in our pool every day during summer and I’ve never seen blood.

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 11, 2024 9:38:59 GMT -5 AdaraMarie said:

Apr 11, 2024 9:35:31 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Ok I am reading this post and wondering the same. How does blood not seep into the pool water?

I also have no idea and I didn't think I would ever buy them. DD1 got her period between 6th and 7th grade and I encouraged her to use tampons and it worked fine. But DD2 got hers between 4th and 5th and was a hard no on trying but was also on the swim team so I decided to pay the money. She seemed too little to try to force the issue when there was an alternative available.

I'm sure I'll be facing this one day, and you are right, forcing tampons on people who aren't ready seems...ill advised at best. 

[Susie]

Apr 11, 2024 9:32:09 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I have no idea how it's possible to keep all the blood contained, and it freaks me out that people are swimming without proper protection (I feel this way about diapers too, if that matters lol).

This weirds me out too.  I'm a former age group, college, and masters swimmer, and I'm not squeamish about pee in the pool, but blood and little kid feces are much more of an infection risk.  How is period blood not working the same way as pee in a little kid swim diaper?  Those are just for solids.  Not seeing it in the water doesn't make me feel any better, because you probably wouldn't see it even if free bleeding in the pool because it would disperse first, at the rate of flow.

Is the chlorine level in the pool sufficient to kill any potential bloodborne pathogens?  IDK.  (this isn't directed at OP's kid, or any pp, it's more of a general/policy question)

That said, agreed completely that pushing tampons on a kid who isn't ready is not a good plan.  I learned how on day 1 because I had swim practice and that was what needed to happen, but I was also 14 by then, and didn't have good alternatives.  At a younger age I might have had a harder time.

[SusanBAnthony]

I also thought they were gross.

Then we ended up in the ER twice when we were trying to get her using tampons.

Now she is going to get an IUD with anesthesia to hopefully stop the periods all together (at 14). So that's another option. #Mirena4lyfe

[raleighnc]

From what I've read, the bottom of the suit has a waterproof layer with gussets that are supposed to keep the water away from the absorbent part. The menstrual fluid gets absorbed by the suit and doesn't get released until you use detergent on it. I have no idea how well this works though.

As far as sanitation, I think the chlorine levels are high enough to handle small amounts of whatever fluid is being dispersed.

[1confused1]

My daughter has three suits from Modibodi and they have held up well. She does diving and has had them for about 4 years.

us.modibodi.com/collections/teens

[icedcoffee]

Apr 10, 2024 18:57:20 GMT -5 AdaraMarie said:

Dd2 has been wearing hers about twice a week for swim team for around 3 months. The fabric that makes the racerback is almost totally worn out. I feel that it should have lasted longer. Is this unreasonable?

On this question.  While it does feel short, so much has to do with the pool.  I've had bathing suits last years and others last no time at all.  No matter the suit though if I wear it on a cruise in the hot tub it's unwearable at the end of the trip.  Same with pools at kid friendly resorts.  They add so many chemicals to those pools.

If you repurchase I'd probably tell her to only wear it when she has her period, otherwise wear a cheaper one.

[livinitup]

redpenmama Have her try a bit of something on the applicator that makes it slippery like Vaseline (if that’s safe) or a personal gel. When I was young, I had the most success when I had the most moisture.

And say to point to the low part of her back. It’s odd but effective.

[nicolewi]

I am kind of horrified that girls have to wear ONLY a leotard and tampon!! Argh! Seems like a huge stressor/leak risk.

[magma]

Apr 11, 2024 6:51:30 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

Apr 11, 2024 6:47:10 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

DD has bottoms and she wears them under her speedo. They have lasted.

My dd is 12 and hasn't started yet, but does swim team, and this is our plan if she starts this summer...to buy bottoms only to wear under her team swimsuit and practice suits.  

DD is 11, on swim team, hasn’t started yet, but I feel it’s imminent. Black bottoms she can wear under her team suit seem like the best option to me, but I can’t wrap my brain around how this works visually. You can’t see them? I feel like it would look like she is wearing undies under her swimsuit.