Dear Girls,
Period.
Menstruation.
Moon cycle.
Monthly flow.
(And then there's all the awful ones - like referring to it as a being. "Aunt Flow", "Monthly Friend"... Ew!)
What do you use? What works? What have you tried? What will you give your daughter/s when their bodies answer the call of Nature and become women?
I started when I was 12 and used god-awful pads for years! Gah! They're big, clumsy, messy, feel like diapers and can we just say leakage????????? Is this the best I'll have to offer my daughter? She is 11, btw, so her time is coming - way sooner than I'd like! So, I've recently started searching for alternative products to use. Alternative to pads & tampons.
I'll admit, although I am an avid recycling/reusing freak I fall back to tampons. (I know, I know. I am cringing at myself right now!) I have tried the Diva Cup, but, after 3 good sized babies, my pelvic floor needs some - ahem - 'personal' training. So that is being taken care of! *wink* Because of weakened muscles I cannot get the cup to stay in place. I'm not giving up on it yet!
I recently got a package of 'Instead'. These are a menstrual cup that can be reusable. They seem very prone to leaking, as there is not suction involved. They are supposed to be inserted to your cervix, down under the rim of the cervix and 'hook' around the back to stay in place. If you're like me, trying to picture when it is to the cervix, when it is around the cervix & actually in place is like blindly trying to find your way out of a maze! Possibly leading other blind people! Also being coached by blind people! Yeah. You get the point! How am I supposed to tell? I know when it isn't around the cervix, because it shifts & leaks! I've watched several videos on youtube giving very descriptive directions on how to insert, feel when it's in place & 'retrieve' it to empty. I'm sorry but a 'bulge' in a glass tube does NOT tell me where my very own cervix is & how to tell when the cup is near it/under it/around it correctly!
So, to sum up... Research still under way! he he he
The benefits of finding & using feminine products that are reusable is massive! Bottom line, it means each one of us girls is putting little-to-no waste into the environment each month. And passing that consciousness on to our daughters... Massiveness amplified!
Here's why we need to be aware of tossing what may seem like "little", "harmless" products into traditional waste removal systems:
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/dc.htm
80 million women (in 2007) potentially using disposable products. *gulp*
With an approximate 41 year span of menstruating it is about high time that we women start demanding products that work, that aren't harmful to our bodies or the environment.
I've asked the wise women, that I'm wise enough to surround myself with!, to point me in any direction that they know of!
Here is what I've come across so far:
http://menstrualcupinfo.wordpress.com/lunette-review/
(This site is run by a woman who personally tries different menstrual cups & such and then blogs about her experience. She sells them, too. I'm still weeding my way through all her reviews & personal story!)
http://menstrualcups.friendhood.net/
(This is a discussion site to get/give pointers, tips, advice on all things menstruation & products. I made a screen name today & still have to get on & find my way through the vast amount of threads & info! Whew!)
As women we owe our Mother Earth the respect of finding ways to not have our Moon Blood poison her, clutter her! Our cycles ebb & flow with the natural rhythms of the Earth. Enabling us to procreate, bring new life onto this Planet. I wish to honour her with these rhythms and, having brought forth daughters, I wish to teach them to honour her in the same way.
Girls, we are at least 80 million strong! With those numbers, if enough of us turn from what's become mainstream & traditional, we can force manufacturers to put some time/energy/funding behind making & marketing reliable alternatives! Let's hear it for the girls! *wink*
