Fourth Day (Jan. 26).

Moon: Waxing Gibbous

Flow/Texture: a few teaspoons, reddish brown liquid, brown chunky bits

Mood:  bouncy

Symptoms: a little cramping

Mucus:

Looks like I’m just about done for this month.  Tomorrow, unless things are seriously changing, I’ll have bits and pieces or remnant.  This one went quicker, though that first day, was no stroll through squishy beach sand.  Oy.

The scent was normal–I suppose I’ll attribute the odor to protein overload:  I ate and drank a lot.

Just a note:  I discovered while I was really, really away that baking soda and Dial hand soap are awesome like wonder twins for cleaning a less-than-perfect Diva Cup.  My eyes boggled at how clean & clear it got–Yeah, I’ve become somewhat lazy on that front.

Now, I’ve been thinking about the Lunapads again and how much I’d like them on days like this.  Yet, I’m considering the loss of tangible fluid and having to wear pads again.  Neither makes me happy. I like seeing my period in its liquid state and not to mention the texturific bits.  Nonetheless, the convenience–I want.

The pantyliners are the best fit, but the mini pads come with liners that I can change throughout the day.  Also, with the latter I’ll have the option to simply wear a pad instead of a cup on one of my lighter, yet still bleeding days.  It’s settled.

Cup and Lunapad Thoughts.

Rationalization Alert:

I prefer getting my body accustomed to the Diva Cup before buying Lunapads:  Establish how my flow works with the cup:  when and how often I should empty it, leakage concerns and accidents, insertion methods and depth, cleaning.

As far as information goes, I found a Live Journal community on menstrual cups.  It includes some great pictures on folding techniques for easier insertion. That second set includes several, detailed pictures on folding the Keeper, the chocolate latex version of the US Moon Cup.

This Dutch site contains pictures of those same folds.  Nothing drastically different, I just find them more aesthetically pleasing than the others.

The folds as following:

• The C-fold
• The Seven-fold
• The Push/Punch down-fold
• The Origami-fold

I have no idea which I’ll use as everything depends on the size of the cup.  Still, I think I like the Push/Punch down for the apparent simplicity of the fold and the resulting shrinkage of the cup.

I also found a cleaning tip for the sealing holes.  Apparently, they not only get stained, but are difficult to clean.  Some use tooth picks, toothbrush bristles, earrings, and needles to clean them.

However, there’s another technique I’ll call the palm method.  Fill the cup with water (in the shower to avoid a mess), cover the top with your palm, flip the cup, then press it down against your palm.  This apparently forces the water and menstrual fluid through the holes.

It’s important maintain clean holes because dirty, clogged holes make breaking the cup’s seal to remove it quite difficult.  Unfortunately, I can imagine the excruciating vacuum action courtesy of those clogged holes.  Yowser.

I plan to boil mine before and after each period to remove the bacteria.  During, I see no problem with simply rinsing out and maybe using a little soap.  I’m reading, though, that some use tea tree oil, a wiki skimming of that little piece of plunder is really promising, vinegar, and peroxide.

Including lots of information on several, different menstrual cups, Ecomenses, has more tips on using the cup.  She also has, if you’re curious, some pictures on what a filled cup looks like after describing the first day of her experience with the Lunette.

Lunapads and the Diva Cup.

I’ve decided to buy the Pads & Pantyliners Intro Kit.  I weighed it against the more expensive Starter Kit and found the latter lacking.

The primary reason being the lack of transition pads.  The starter kit contains only two types:  (2 Maxi Pads, 2 Maxi Liners, 2 Maxi Wing Liners, 2 Mini Pads, 2 Mini Liners and 2 Mini Wing Liners).

Granted, it comes with eight supplementary liners.  Nonetheless, the two-option kit won’t fly with my period.  I have maybe two heavy days then I slip to medium then virtually nonexistent (brown) days.  The Starter Kit seem geared toward women using pads only, not as backups for the Diva Cup.

The Pads & Pantyliners Intro Kit contains 1 Maxi Pad, 1 Maxi Liner, 1 Maxi Wing Liner, 1 Mini Pad, 1 Mini Liner, 1 Mini Wing Liner, 1 Mini Pantyliner, and 1 Teeny Pantyliner.

I imagine using the maxi pads for the first two days with or without the cup, depending on how good they are.  During the medium and light days, I would use the mini pad or the Diva Cup, then finish off with the mini pantyliner or teeny pantyliner on the brown days.

I have more options with this kit and a better sampling of the Lunapads products.

Now, I’m trying to decide whether to buy the Amazon Diva Cup or the Lunapads one.  Amazon’s is cheaper and requires no shipping and handling charges.

The Lunapads version is $3.09 more plus shipping charges.  However, I like the idea of my pads and cup arriving in the same package.

I like the Amazon option best.  Besides, I might find more stuff from Luna to buy, or I decide against pads altogether–I might not need them.  I doubt that, but you never know.

Before Period–Day 19.

Moon: Waxing Crescent

Flow/Texture: None

Mood: ok

Symptoms: feeling weak, a little jittery

Mucus: normal scent, white, dry, like warm glue again

Didn’t get enough sleep last night–thinking worst case thoughts about my grandma.  Slept for maybe four hours.

I wish my mucus would cream up.  Maybe I missed the creamy, sticky part.  Oh well.

I’m getting increasingly gleeful about jumping on this natural period kick.  Visited the Lunapads site for a bit, then the Moon Cups and others.  I’m ready for these.  Some of the accessories for the Lunapads are just too adorable.

I’ll probably start with my next period following this one.  By then, I should know and have what I want.  I’m still drooling over the fabric choices.

The Diva Cup is looking more and more like the top candidate.  On the Lunapads site, it comes in a kit with some practice pantiliners.

I’ll probably have to buy cute period panties to match the Lunapads.

Information Binge.

I’ve been reading up this morning on menstrual cups and Lunapads, and, consequently, found myself at a website on a woman who tracked her complete cycle with wonderfully graphic pictures–had me craving a speculum, a camera, and a helpful friend.

I’ve searched out information on menstrual cups before–even picked out a brand–but due to confusion about sizing and the whole having-to-adjust thing,  my interest fell off.

Yet now because I’ve decided to delve into my cycle, I’ve cultivated a sincere interest in obtaining one.  (I’m thinking especially of the awesomeness of seeing the fluid in its unabsorbed state).

I came back to menstrual cups by reading about Lunapads.  Suddenly, these are a wonderful idea.

Despite being a grownup, I like the pads’ bright, girly colors.  They would definitely lift the spirits during those bleeding days, perhaps eventually sloughing off the doom and gloom attitude.  And maybe cramps will follow–one can always hope.

During this information binge, I realized my shameful lack of knowledge of on my own lady parts and workings.  The cervix (obligatory wiki link) in particular.

I’d come to fear the cervix, associating it only with excruciating pain should a penis touch it.  I still cringe at the thought.

Now, I’ve always seen pictures, or should I say drawings–like the wiki link–of the cervix as a short tube above the vagina, but they never translated into anything meaningful.

I’m learning, thanks to a blog on cups, that the cervix moves around during all the menstrual phases, to either block(low position) or facilitate (high or up position) pregnancy.

The pictures of the menses seeping from the cervix [warning: oh yes, it's graphic] were spectacular.  I’ve always had this ignorantly abstract image of the blood coming merely from the vagina–forgetting about the uterus and how the lining exits.

I’ve read of women actual pushing the cervix out of the way should it fall too low in order to put in their menstrual cups.

That’s crazy stuff, but it heightened my curiosity about my own cervix.  I’m still afraid to touch it, but not as much.