In Which I Discuss Periods and Alienate Male Readers
Fair warning: I’m going to write about my period. Stop now if you don’t want to read about my period.
Want to know my favorite thing about breastfeeding? I haven’t had my period since September, 2008. Yes. Two years. For a girl who’s had a period since fourth grade, this is a wonderful and well-earned vacation.
Until recently, when it ended. I suspect this was because Miles twice slept 11 consecutive hours and I had a bunch of evening activities last week, thus we were nursing a lot less. My body must have thought, “Hey! Who’s ready to make another baby? Let’s shed our uterine lining!”
I was kind of startled when I realized I had my period. The concept of keeping tampons in my purse had long ceased to be part of my routine. I still have some tampons at home, thankfully, but I pretty much had to set my phone alarm to remind me to change them. That is how accustomed I was to not menstruating. I promise I have an alternate point.
A few issues ago, Mothering magazine did a big feature about cloth pads and keeper cups. What is a keeper cup, you ask, nervously? It’s pretty much a plastic cup you insert in lieu of a tampon. The keeper cup collects the menses, which you then discard. Afterward, you wash the cup and re-insert. I like many things about this concept.
I can tell you are already worried about several things, so let me walk you through my own fears about the keeper.
First, my dear friend P used one and found there to be a great deal of…suction. Removal was a bit challenging for her. This would probably happen to me, because I’m unfortunate. I can just imagine the public restroom: me, grunting in futile yanking while Miles waits outside the stall in his blue car stroller-thing, beeping the horn at me.
Next, I thought for a long time about public restroom removal in general. There are a great many obstacles between that keeper cup and the sink/soap, namely the pulling up of pants, the stall handle, and faucet knobs. Gross.
Luckily, the Mothering article made me feel more comfortable about all these ideas. The author suggests keeping wet cloths in your purse and getting them ready pre-removal. I’m thinking Cottonelle moist, flushable wipes (while the author meant tea tree oil-soaked washcloths) would be a wonderful solution until I can get myself to a sink for a proper wash.
At any rate, I’m curious enough to give it a shot. I have about 80 tampons left at our house, so when those are exhausted, or maybe before, I’m going to take the plunge, so to speak. My only remaining question is whether I need the one for before or after you’ve had a baby (since I didn’t deliver vaginally). So much to think about when I go to the grocery store!
Tags: keeper cup, mothering, period
August 30th, 2010 at 9:48 am
I’ve been using the DivaCup since last fall. It took me a while to figure out how to insert it properly, and I still use a cloth liner just in case, but I’m a fan.
August 30th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Whenever I leave a response here, I never see it, but I’ll give this shot again.
And, well, you’ve gone to TMI mode- which is where I feel most comfortable.
I use the Diva Cup. I never use it in public- mostly because I usually have the babe ON my back when Im using the public restroom and that is waaay too complex to orchestrate the whole process.
A couple good points on using a cup- you bleed less and “it’s greener.” I soak mine in white vinegar each cycle.
Get the diva cup for post-childbirth because your uterus has enlarged. On the diva, there is a little “tug” handle- you cut this to your own fitting.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Katy,
I’ve been using Diva Cup (like the Keeper) since January ’05. LOVE IT. Also, am not shy about talking about the gross details. I am more of an evangelical for Diva than Jesus (ha!).
For public restrooms, I find keeping a small 6oz bottle of water in my purse to be super-helpful. As far as what size – I think that depends on flow as well as age and baby-ness.
Tee hee – just helping you alienate those male readers.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:33 am
There’s no way you’re going to bleed less using a cup… it’s not in your uterus preventing mensis from growing.
I don’t think I could do this. I like tampons. I like that they’re sterile…
August 30th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I’m still period-less over here! After the 1st two kids it was 11 months on the nose, and here we are at 13 months and counting. Anyway! I can’t wrap my brain around the cup. Items definitely shifted mid-flight during the vag births and I just am not that comfortable thinking about using a cup!
August 30th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I had no idea so many of my friends (and relatives) used the Diva Cup! Wow. Maybe I’ll just go out and buy one, home tampon stash be damned. This is fascinating. I don’t know why I didn’t consider a small bottle of WATER as a solution. I’m so excited to become a Diva.
August 30th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I considered getting one when my friend Nic told me how great it was about 6 months ago. I decided to wait, hoping that I would stop getting my pd for the same reason you haven’t had yours…still hoping that will happen soon (this month?? I hope???), so then I can get the post-childbirth size later instead of getting the smaller one now and maybe not being able to use it for more than a month or two (or zero? I hope!). But I checked with Nic, and she still “LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE”s it, also the Diva Cup I believe. So there you go. Please let me know how you like it! I will most probably make the switch post-childbirth.
I’m surprised at everyone who piped up too! I mentioned it to my girlfriends once, and they had never heard of it before and all thought it sounded unimaginably gross, so we didn’t talk about it much.
August 30th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I used the pre-childbirth Diva cup after my c-section, but I know I will need to get the other one after the vbac… which I hopefully won’t need to do for a long while. I had to completely wean to get mine back last time.
Oh and I just never went anywhere long enough to use a public bathroom, it scared me too.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
clearly you have more than one friend named P
August 31st, 2010 at 9:45 am
P, wasn’t that you who told me the story about the suction? just kidding! I have several P friends.
September 1st, 2010 at 12:09 am
I know the title is a joke, but I think it’s sad that in this day and age, it’s still a pretty safe assumption that period talk will squick guys out. That said: I know many more people who love their divacups than who didn’t.
September 1st, 2010 at 1:07 pm
I stumbled across this post and just wanted to let you know that there are TONS of different kinds of cups out there. I tried a Keeper and couldn’t get it to work for me (and then switched to cloth pads for a while), but then decided to try again, and now I’m happily using a Lunette. I found this great site for info, which also includes some great info on sizing and which one to buy: http://menstrualcupinfo.wordpress.com/menstrual-cup-brands/
When I have to change it in a public stall (which is rare, because its capacity is so much higher than a tampon that there’s only one day of my period that I have to change it more than once a day!!), I dump it out into the toilet and use a baby wipe to clean it off and clean my hands if needed.
Good luck! Reusable products are fantastic!
September 1st, 2010 at 1:27 pm
I can’t wait for the day when a woman can talk about her period without having to apologize. Anyone who is alienated by the subject is put in that position by their own ignorance about and prejudices against women.
@ Val, Tampons are NOT Sterile. That is a myth. Tampons and disposable “sanitary” napkins are just bleached white.
As far as reducing the amount of bleeding: I didn’t believe it either, but since I quit using tampons my period has gone from 5 days to 3 days. I can’t explain and I’m not going to speculate about possible reasons but there it is.
@ Katy, one of the great features of the cup is that it offers protection for as long as 12 hours. You can time it so you won’t have EVER to change in a public restroom.
I have been enjoying reusable cloth pads for 7 months now. I am looking forward to getting a cup. I suppose I will use the cup with the pads at first until I get the “learning curve” down.
Thanks for this article. People need to get over the “squick” factor and realize that nearly half the adult population of this world shed their uterine lining about once a month.
Communication, facts and knowledge = power and freedom. Fear, myth and shame = oppression and death.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Katy if you get one I’m sure Ryan would be more than happy to have your tampon stash:)
September 11th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Katy,
I’ve been using the diva cup for three years and I love it. There are a ton of different cups out there and websites reviewing the advantages/disadvantages of the different ones. It makes life so much easier, no more not having a tampon in your purse and having to awkwardly ask around for one
. Public restrooms aren’t so bad once you have some practice with your cup. It may take a little practice at first to get the fit right and a good seal. So if you have a little leakage, don’t worry it can be fixed. There are lots of websites dedicated to them with trouble shooting tips. Also, I like to boil my diva cup for a minute or so when I’m done with it because it helps to keep it clean and keeps it from turning an icky color.
September 28th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Did you try the cup yet? I got mine and OMG, I can’t begin to tell you. Any doubt I had has been removed. I’d love to hear your experience, Katy.
September 29th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
[...] after my post about periods, I became inspired by my commenters to go out and get myself a Diva Cup. Obtaining one proved [...]