I am sure the title of this post alone is a little uncomfortable, especially for my male readers (all 2 of you, one being my husband). It was probably inevitable, since I don’t like disposable diapers, that the products I use for my lady needs bother me just as much from an environmental standpoint.
At BlogHer 2010, I received a good supply of Lunapads from the Lunapads ladies, but I failed to adopt using them regularly because I only had enough for 1-2 days. While I wash my diaper laundry every-other-day, I do not wash my own laundry that often. Maybe once a week? I bought more, but after investing almost $50 I still didn’t have enough to go between washes. I slipped back into using disposable liners, but I did have the decency to feel bad about it.
This year at BlogHer 2011, I received more “mama cloth”, as cloth menstrual pads are often called (although you don’t have to be a mother to use it, so I feel like that is discriminatory and I don’t use that phrase much), and I decided to give it another try. The Charlie Banana and The Willow Store liners that I got this year are significantly easier to use because they don’t have multiple pieces like the Lunapads.
I ended up with about 8 extra Lunapads inserts and decided to buy some flannel myself and make backings and some very light liners. I don’t have a serger so I just had to do a good zigzag and allow the edges to fray on their own somewhat.
The hardest part was attaching the snaps with a hammer and this little blue tool thingy I got from the fabric store…
But I did finally get it figured out.
So, I’m going to give it a try on a day-to-day basis and see how it goes…
How about you? Have you made the switch or are you thinking about it? Any advice or questions?
I have used a Diva Cup for the last couple years and it’s been great. Haven’t switched over to cloth liners, but my liner/pad use is pretty minimal, so the cup has been fine for me. Plus, I can go for longer intervals between changes, so that’s been nice.
Oh, and once I see them IRL I’ll want to play around with making my own, for sure!
I’ve flirted with the idea many times, hate the fact that disposable is toxic waste and what it means to the landfills AND to my health. The diva cup I tried was not for me, so pads were my next step. Thanks for the advice that Willow Pads and Charlie Banana are easier than Luna. I ordered a sample from both and can’t wait to see how I fare! Good timing, I needed a ‘review’.
I’ve used the Diva Cup for about a year. It took some time getting used to how to put it in (in fact, it was very frustrating at first)…but I finally got the hang of it after about 3-4 cycles. I also bought two pantyliners from Luna and really like them for protection on those heavy days when I forget to empty the cup often enough (and that usually means two is enough for a cycle). I was thrilled to find out that these were options and haven’t gone back to disposable ever since. Glad you wrote about this!
I am definitely going to try Divacup next, whenever I start ovulating again! I haven’t heard of anyone having issues with it so far so it sounds great. How often do you get a new one? Once a year?
So glad to help!! Hope it works out!
I can’t wait to try DivaCup next as soon as I start ovulating again! I used Instead years ago (now called SoftCup) so I am hoping DivaCup will fit about the same!
I highly recommend tracing the outline of the Lunapad to make a template for making your own 🙂 That’s what I did and it seems to work well!
I switched last year, I use Domino Pads. I had tried the MoonCup a few years ago, but it didn’t work well for me. I’m a little abnormal, and it just didn’t fit right and was uncomfortable. I’m glad I found cloth pads, as the disposables also gave me issues. As for washing, I rinse after use, put them in a wet bag, and wash them with DD’s diapers.