I enjoy saving money using cloth diapers and I love the fact that there aren't any chemicals, like dioxin, a carcinogen, on my child's skin. I also love how cute his cloth diapers are and how soft they are. He seems to enjoy them very much and I enjoy changing his diapers.
I recently realized that I have been putting harsh chemicals on my own skin and IN my body. I came across a few articles that dioxin (and other icky chemicals) are also in disposable pads and in tampons. I never usually used disposable pads, only liners, not including after I had my children. I usually used tampons during my menstrual cycle and I was noticing some heavy side effects from my last two cycles. For the last 4+ years, I was either pregnant or breastfeeding so I hadn't experienced my period in that time. My youngest son quit nursing in January and I had received my first cycle the following month. I purchased some tampons and some liners like I had used to and not even a day after using them I noticed I was VERY crampy. I was also nauseous (reminded me A LOT like morning sickness), VERY tired, moody..I've never experienced menstrual cramps or symptoms like these before. They were intense! I was also beginning to get bumpy skin down there and I was even getting swollen. The skin inside my vagina was even swollen and I could NOT wear a tampon any longer. It was just too painful. That is when I began researching about other alternatives to tampons and disposable liners. I remember reading on cloth pads many years previous (and I had thought about switching before I got pregnant the first time). That is when I learned about the chemicals in disposables. I was putting these inside my body all my menstrual years-- it was truly shocking. I was disgusted and I knew why I was suddenly feeling all of these side effects more so then I was when I was a teenager. It was SO long since I had used any of those products...when I did...it was chemical over-load and my body said no thank you.
My last cycle I had used a giveaway sample from Party in my Pant's Cloth Pad Curious. All you have to pay is $3.99 for the shipping and you can pick from any 1 of 4 size liners in flannel or cotton. It's a great deal because these liners usually run at $9.99 WITHOUT shipping if you order them online.
They send you a random fabric design so I was very excited on not only trying out cloth but also on what it looked like. ;]
I also researched a few brands of cloth pads to get a starter kit. I was tossing between Glad Rags and Luna Pads. Both of the brands had great revie
ws and I couldn't really decide-- I did end up purchasing the Luna Pad Starter Kit with a small mesh laundry bag and a stain remover stick (LOVE!) though because I thought their way to adjust absorbency was interesting and I seen more (easier) changes this way with their unique design.This kit includes two mini pads and two maxi pads-- each pad includes a basic liner and a wing liner. The way I se
e it, that's 12 changes depending on your cycle! With my cycle...that's how many times I can use these.You can also see the white mesh laundry bag in the photo-- very nice to keep the pads together in your laundry. =]
Here is another shot on the design-- you can see it more clearly on the back of the pad. I decided to get random fabrics because I didn't want to decide. I loved the surprise, anyway. =]
After using the Party in my Pants liner I received in the mail-- I ordered a couple more because I did like it. I haven't tried any of the pads from Party in my Pants yet-- only the liners
(so far!) so I can't comment on those YET. The demi liner on the far left is the sample I received in the mail. Love! The center one was from their sale section because the fabric wasn't to their satisfaction (not very "flannely". It does feel "cottonly" but it is nice. =]) I love the monkeys on the far right-- the flannel material is very soft on my skin.I love how with the cloth pads-- they have the snaps so no "riiiiiiip" sound while i'm in a public bathroom or sticky tabs to wrap around my panties... I also experienced the sticky part sometimes getting on my skin-- ouch!
You can also see on the far left liner in the Party in my Pants photo-- I have their "extender" connected to the right snap. Depending on the type of panty you're wearing (wider or skinnier gussets)-- you can choose to add the extender to better fit on your panties. This helps prevent "crinkling up" if you're wearing a wider gusseted panty. But if you're wearing the extender while wearing thinner gusseted panties-- you'll experience sliding..so be careful.
Here is my choice in storage while out-and-about. I wanted something wh
ere I could easily carry my pads around in my purse without being so "obvious"...and I wanted it to be simple because I'm a college student and a mommy so I didn't want to carry a couple different containers. I went with Planet Wise's mini wet bag (LOVE!).I can carry both my clean pads and my used pads in the same bag! You can see a couple of my clean pads in there now-- on the top zipper is where you put the used pads-- it is like a cloth diaper wet bag so the "mess" stays in without leaking (if you have rinsed the pads first). Everything stays in their own little area-- so convenient and the bag is just so cute! And like Planet Wise's bigger wet bags-- you can choose from a long list of designs.
And the AWESOME part...I haven't had ANY cramps while using these cloth liners and pads. A few days ago I received my body's "signal" cramp letting me know it was coming in the next day or two... but that is always short and very tolerable. It's not even a "cramp"-- more like a "nudge" on my woman parts inside my body. =D
No nausea...no moodiness...no cramps...no bumpy skin...no swelling on the inside OR the outside...the list can go on and I am very happy that I'm actually having a "happy period". I think it's Kotex or some other disposable pad brand that has that line. A "happy period" using THOSE??? Yeah right..... ;p
Just put on Party in my Pant's "peace sign design" liner or pad and think about having a "peace-ful" period hehehe, ;].
