Green Living
xstarx05x
member
"Here we stand from two distant lands, brought together by His hand"
my Aussie <BR>
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
menstrual cups
in Green Living
I'd heard of these before, but recently saw a thread about them and now I'm actually considering using one. I used to use Nuvaring so I'm not totally grossed out by it! Was a little concerned with the process of emptying it, but apparently there's less menstruation than most of us think (due to the mess you see on your pads and tampons... sorry that was gross).
It seems like the Diva Cup is most favored, according to my Googling (they're reusable right?). And it looks like you don't need to be fitted cuz I only see 2 sizes... young/pre-baby and old/post-baby!
Someone told me that there are some girls on this board who use them. Which brand do you recommend? Thanks!
"Here we stand from two distant lands, brought together by His hand"
my Aussie <BR>
Re: menstrual cups
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Diva cup is available in stores here; since it's easier to get, more people have them and more people like them. I have one and it is great. I had one of the smaller size, but lost it, and since we're planning to have a baby soonish i opted for the larger size (age-wise it makes sense, too). The smaller size is easier to insert and get to pop open, but neither is more or less comfortable than the other. I trimmed the stem on both (that's what made it uncomfortable).
I bet if you were to try several brands you would have a favorite, but since they are reusable (packaging says a year, but most people get years and years out of theirs) and the cost would add up, it doesn't seem worth it.
Regarding emptying it, if you empty it before it's really full it's a lot less messy and easier to do. It will also help you avoid leaks.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
After a rocky first few months, I really love my Diva cup. But I take issue with 30 being labeled "old" haha. I bought mine when I was almost 29, and we aren't having children, so I just went with the smaller one. Evidently I haven't magically ballooned or anything in my "old" age because the smaller one still works just fine, even at the ripe "old" age of 30.
If you struggle with it at first, don't worry, it comes with practice. I found that none of the instructions here or elsewhere online were really helpful to me. Mine rides up and sits very high, making it seem "stuck" at first. I spent the second month constantly in the bathroom tugging the thing down to ride low like everyone else describes, but finally realized my body just doesn't work that way. There's no way I'd be able to get the thing out if I cut the stem. Also, mine doesn't seem to pop open like everyone else always describes. It stays sort of squished.
It's much easier to start out changing it in the shower. I can go for 12 hours between changes, so I never have to worry about it at work, which I love. I've had to change it away from my house only a handful of times.
I got a Diva cup when I was 24. I tried it off and on for a couple years, then decided to try a Lunette. I'm 5'10 and 160lbs, so larger than the average woman, so I decided to try the 'post baby' size. The Lunette has bigger holes, so I don't have as much of a problem with suction. I have been using the Lunette since 2008 and I love it.
I have to empty every hour on the hour my first three days. That's obviously not the norm, but it's worth pointing out that not every woman can go 8 hours without emptying. At work or in a shared restroom, you can dump it, wipe it with TP, pop it back in. When I'm home, I can rinse it out each time I use it. I did have one horrendous accident at work last year when I had a client in my office for almost two hours and I didn't excuse myself to use the restroom. By the time he left and I went to handle my business, the cup was so full that when I tried to remove it, I spilled blood on the back of my uniform pants. Fortunately it was the end of the day and I had workout clothes with me, so I was able to change and nobody saw the mess. Now I'm way more assertive about leaving when I need to and I'm exteremely careful when removing the cup.
I wear cloth pads for backup. They're so much more comfortable than the plastic and adhesive components of a disposable. My husband doesn't even mind handling cloth pads when he does laundry.
Thanks for all the input!
oops! I didn't know that was the age! sorry :-X (I'm not that far from 30 anyway) I just knew that the larger size was for if you've had a baby or if you're older, as hips widen as we age. but I was thinking like 40s (which isn't old anyway, I was joking).
"Here we stand from two distant lands, brought together by His hand"
This. Pretty much exactly. I used a Keeper for 10 years and then got a Lunette. I picked it over Diva based on the size measurements. I think the Lunette holds slightly more and is slightly shorter than the Diva. And I need it to hold all it can because some of us bleed more than you'd think was even possible. But I've never gotten it on my clothes, that would suck.
MrsOjoButtons & Jen5/03
ooh at first I thought this was the UK one (I think it's Mooncup). The fact that Lunette is shorter than Diva sounds nicer.
"Here we stand from two distant lands, brought together by His hand"
I was about to point out the same thing as 30 is hardly "old". If you are around 30 (I was about 7-8 months away from 30 when I bought my Diva Cup), they recommend that you buy the bigger size even if you haven't had a baby. I have had no issues with the bigger size and as PP mentioned, love it.
This thread is a few days old now, but I just wanted to add my little opinion
I just got the Diva Cup after going back and forth about it for months. I didn't get it because I was concerned about my "environmental impact", or even because I wanted something cheaper than tampons (don't get me wrong, we live pretty green, but tampons weren't high on my list of things that needed improvement). My reason for getting one is that I had been getting sooooo busy at work and was forgetting to change my tampon... and I absolutely DESPISED having to change it every time I peed (which was much more often than it needed to be changed). Ok, am I oversharing a little too much here?
Anyway, I finally broke down and got it, and I LOVE it. I was terrified at first.... I had heard it was hard to use, had a big learning curve, could leak, could get stuck, etc... but none of that happened to me. It took me a few tries, but I had it down by the end of my first cycle with it. I love that I only really have to change it twice a day, and once is in the shower, so it's not at all messy. I've never had an issue with it spilling, either. I love my DivaCup, and would recommend it to anyone I know. Hope you try it and love it!