I'm gonna warn you right now, if you don't want to read about periods and menstrual products, do not read this post. Even if you don't really mind reading about it, I love talking about this stuff, so be prepared for geeking out and blathering on.
So, for the past, I don't know, 6 or 7 years I have been using cloth pads during my period. If you've never tried them, you need to. Before cloth pads, I had only ever used disposable, plastic pads. I can't even tell you how amazing it felt when I started wearing cloth pads...to go from the plastic, diapery feeling, the wet feeling from butt sweat, and how they hung down away from my body (okay, maybe I needed better-fitting underwear? But we all know we've got some granny-panties for our periods), to the comfortable, soft-not-sticky, fits-to-my-body feel of cloth pads was like an "ah-ha" moment. And the shape of them prevents the diaper feeling. If yr in the market for some cloth pads, I got a bunch of mine from Hag Rag, and I love them, the pads and the company. The pads are great and they always sent me free gifts or extra pads. Their website seems to be having some problems right now, though. Most of the pads you find elsewhere, and most of the patterns you'll find are for pads that are shaped very similarly to disposable pads, but I really like Hag Rags because they have a more diamond shape, so that the ends of the pad come to a point. I love it because then you don't have any lumps showing in yr pants/skirt/dress/leggings/whatever. With disposable pads, because it wasn't up against my body, I ended up with blood from end to end of my pad (and sometimes beyond--not good), but with cloth pads up against my body, the blood pretty much all goes to the middle of the pad, so I don't need the extra coverage (and I should say that I have pretty heavy periods). I also have an overnight pad from Glad Rags. I think I actually have the Extra Overnight pad, and that one is pretty diapery. But, I must say, since I've been wearing cloth pads, I haven't had any leaks, night-time or otherwise. I do have to change my cloth pads more often than a disposable one, but that's not much of an inconvenience. I also have a number of hand-made pads, I made a few, and a friend made a few for me. I didn't use a pattern, I just went off of the Hag Rag ones I had because I liked the shape, but if you're interested in looking at some patterns, there are some here, here and here.
Okay, I needed to sing those praises, so lets move on to the cup! I wanted to get a menstrual cup when I started teaching, and couldn't always change my cloth pad every 3-4 hours (and I was using the student bathroom---lets not even talk about having to rinse it out in the sink which was outside the bathroom/open to the whole hall of my middle school--yikes!) so I started wearing tampons and disposable pads when I worked. And I was not happy about this! So, I put the Keeper on my list.
If you aren't familiar with menstrual cups, there's basically two main ones, the Diva Cup which is made of plastic/silicone I believe? And the Keeper, which is made of rubber. As far as I can tell, I don't think there's much of a difference between them in terms of use or how well they work. I went with the Keeper, I don't remember why, or if I even had a reason. You can find both on-line, or in your local food co-op or any natural food store. I got mine from the Marquette Food Co-op when I still lived in the U.P. I don't know about the Diva Cup, but the Keeper comes in two different sizes, depending on whether or not you've given birth.
So, I've had my cup for over a year now. And. I. Love. It. Basically in one day now I can just wear my cup and a cloth pad, but I only go through one pad a day now. During heavier flow you should empty it every 3-4 hours, but towards the end of my period I just empty it once or twice a day. Used properly, there shouldn't be any leakage, but my cervix is a bit off-center, so I can never get a perfect seal. But even with a bit of leakage, I still love it! And it's better than a tampon because on light days, I can leave it in all day long and not even think about it. And I can wear it for a couple days leading up to my period, so I'm not as paranoid or anxious about it starting and being stuck without any menstrual products. Hooray!
What are all of your thoughts? What do you like to use? I'm also interested in menstrual sponges, but I've never used one, do any of you have experience with them that you could share?
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