Never mind mooncups -

[shakingmyfattybumbum]

What about these? Eek?? www.moonrabbits.co.uk/

birthdoula, cutting the stem is so that it doesn't hang outside of you, if it's too long it can rub you on the outside and make you sore so it doesn't sound like that was your problem.

I couldn't go without anything, like I said earlier I lose quite a lot and can leak even with a mooncup which hold quite a lot.

(nice name, btw, me too, new NB trainee)

What an exciting thread! I had a few visits to my shop from the link for my cloth tampons on here, so I thought I'd read through and answer any questions I could.

For menstrual cups, look at www.femininewear.co.uk where you'll find a wonderful selection and good advice.

About cloth pads - well I use a wash bag to chuck them in after use and I don't bother rinsing. Then I put them in the wash with everything else.

When I'm out I fold my pads in on themselves and do up the popper and this way I can put a used one in my pocket if need be, or certainly in my bag till I get home.

Pads stay in place with poppers on the wings, and you wear snug fitting knickers with them to stop them slipping about.

I have heard many many many women explain how their periods are lighter and less painful since using cloth pads. Also that the thrush symptoms some of us get with our periods just never come back.

I sell cloth tampons as well as pads and wash bags.

www.honouryourflow.co.uk

You can also find some of my products in the following specialist shops:

www.femininewear.co.uk
earthwisegirls.co.uk

and I'll soon be stocking

luxurymoon.co.uk

These are the leading online stores for all things menstrual. They all have excellent customer service as well as advice and experience.

Let's Honour Our Flow

The ones you linked too looked awful.

These however.
www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=washable+pads&filter%5B0%5D=handmade&filter%5B 1%5D=bathandbeauty
Pretty cool!

I'll be honest I have never used washables but have gone through the etsy offerings and considered it. MY periods are so irregular it never seemed worth it long term!

Edit. talking about the OP's link.

Moonrabbit indeed.... [horror]
It takes all kinds I suppose, I'm all for antiques and collect nice pieces but medieval sanitary products are beyond ridiculous.
What's wrong with a tampon???
The statement about "Disposable products [...] often wick more fluid away than necessary, and can lead to heavier periods." is idiotic beyond belief.
Happy Easter moonrabbit.....

I started using sea pearls when I was having painful sex (not during the painful sex, because of). Tampons DO dry you more than anything else.

I have used the pearls, mooncup, instead soft cups and fairy hammocks over time.

I will always choose something like that over tampons or disposable pads. They just feel better.

I use a mooncup plus washable san pro as backup. I was very bleurgh about it before I read about mooncups reducing your flow and not needn't to be emptied very often. Been using them for over a year and would never go back. I have endometriosis and had very heavy long periods but now have 3-4 days with very little pain and no stressful leaking.

I use the weenotions pads and keep a small very pretty monkeyfoot wetbag with the mooncup and a spare pad in my bag. Use the wetbag to store any used pads. When I'm not out and just rinse them until they are practically clean then put the in the wash.

I would never go back, the thought of sweaty plastic backed towels and squeaky chemical filled tampons is now what makes me think bleurgh!

"medieval sanitary products" are cloth nappies medieval too?

I use washable San pro as I have a tendancy to get eczema flare ups with disposable pads and I can't use tampons. I thought I would find it gross but it doesn't bother me at all and feels much comfier, I just put the used ones in a monkeyfoot wet bag and then throw the whole lot in the washing machine, a cold rinse then add dd4's nappies and wash, no stains and no fuss.

I use washable san pro. I started soon after I started using cloth nappies, and so all of mine are white as that meant that they could be thrown in the wash easily with the white nappies.

I tried a mooncup but didn't really get on with it.

I find washable san pro comfier, and you never get that OMG-I've-got-my-period-and-forgotten-to-buy-any-tampons-and-its-Easter-Sunday-and-the-shops-are-shut kind of emergency

I like washable sanpro too, and don't find it medieval (specially not with the C20 press-studs). I find them comfortable and indeed cosy - they sit very nicely in my knickers, don't move around much, and and actually feel quite comforting in a way. They are bulkier than disposable sanpro but to me that's why they stay where they're put better - you don't need to glue them down because they adapt to the shape of your body.

I give them a rinse then soak in plain cold water overnight, and in the morning they're either ready for reuse once dried, or can be popped into the washing machine. I wouldn't personally pop them in the machine without rinsing but I suppose if I had a load of nappies it might work fine. When I was working in the US I bought a few in plain dark colours (from Whole Foods), just from the shop itself. Great stuff.

I really dont know how using reusable sanitary protection can make your periods lighter and less painful Surley what has to come out will whether you are wearing disposable or reusable pads.

BertieBotts, there is absolutely no way I would use reusable nappies so in my very un-green view, they are truly a thing of the past.

That's fine, Rollmops, but they're not a thing of the past to many people.

Why are you so un-keen on them - is it just the idea? Have you given them a go at all - sounds like not? I know there are ones with disposable liners for instance, so they're not all wholly reusable if it's the scraping poo aspect that you don't like the idea of. (Though I still have to try them in real life - am prepared to give them a go at least!)

Rollmops, in several cultures round the world, cloth nappies and cloth san-pro are the norm, even among the middle classes and upper classes (I'm thinking of Asian cultures in particular as I have lived there, but it is also popular in America and Scandinavia)

Definitely not a thing of the past, except in your very limited world view.

I would use them a few days into my period when its a bit lighter and less heavy as it just goes everywhere and i just want to use a disposable pad that i can bin straight away with all the blood and goo on .

LOL at anything Rollmops wouldn't use being a thing of the past
egocentric much?

Really interesting thread. I started using a mooncup a while back and found it geat for the first couple of days, but not so good on days 3-5 when my flow is very light. I found it dry and uncomfortable and have been using panty liners, so I'm very interested in some washable pads.

However, I'm pregnant (due early september) and wondering how cloth san pro might cope with lochia. anyone tried them, or would that just be too much to cope with do you think?

Disposable sanitary pads do give some people problems - they're filled with a gel to make them super absorbent but slim. Anyone noticed how much slimmer disposables have become over the last 15 years or so? That's because of what's now inside them. The gel sucks the blood into the pad, but also sucks the mositure out of your skin. And if you've got sensitive skin, it can give you real problems. And the plasticky backing can give you thrush or worsen it, if you're inclined that way.

Rollmops, it does indeed take all sorts, and if disposables work best for you, then nobody's criticising you for using them. But sOme people have sensitive skin or allergies. Some people have persistant problems with thrush. Or vaginal dryness. Some people have very heavy periods, and find they are alleviated by using washables. Some people have severe endometriosis or fibroids or some other gynaecological condition and will do anything to make their period easier to deal with. SOme people have most of the above, and are very experienced in coping with them, and have tried every drug available (almost) and had extensive surgery as well, and yet still find that washable pads make their lives much more pleasant - if that is the case, do you really think you're justified in using phrases like 'beyond ridiculous' and 'idiotic beyond belief'?

How about fussybutt's for people who are interested - I have some and they're super slim and so comfy and sooooooooo pretty. These are the pads I want to be wearing if I get hit by a car and rushed to hospital.

the rabbit, like the moon is fertility symbol in a lot of cultures. to answer a v early question.

Swordfishtrombones (nice name ), several places advertise their pads as suitable for postpartum loss. You could look at the big ones from fussybutt's with the boosters underneath. Or look at these. I have some and they are good for heavy loss - have also used them for stress incontinence when I was on medication that had that as a side effect, if that isn't tmi. There are reviews at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for this i'll definitely try those fairy hammocks

I'm oddly freaked out by washable sanitary products, but love my mooncup. Hmm, so for all I know, I might like it if I ever tried, but can't get myself so far. I was itching to spread the mooncup word to all my female relatives, but thought that might be a bit much considering that I see most of them only once a year!

However, I can guarantee now that I would never ever ever join the whole freebleeding thing.

What's freebleeding?