Reusable Cloth Menstrual Pads

Okay, let's start this off with a WARNING. This post will be about menstruation, periods, "that time of the month", Aunt Flow, what have you. I will be discussing MY period and my plan to use reusable "mama" cloth.




Okay...So you've stuck around. Thanks.

Liv will be a year old in 2 weeks (OH MY GOODNESS) and I have had a post partum period yet. My periods prior to children were HORRIBLE!!!!! Seriously, curled up in a ball, crying while shoving my face full of chocolate and Midol and clutching a warm water bottle to abdomen. Besides the horrible pain, I also bled like a stuck pig and it lasted FOREVER. Maybe not forever but long enough that I had to take iron supplements, generally 7-10 days.
After Doodle I got the Mirena IUD. My periods weren't AS bad but still pretty uncomfortable. About a year after I had the Mirena placed I started getting ovarian cysts. One ruptured (OUCH) and my doctor and I decided to remove it.
Once I got the Mirena removed my periods were irregular for a few months but very manageable. It was the first time my body was able to do what came naturally since I was 13, without the influence of hormones or foreign objects. Yes I had cramping but not the doubling over, crying and not being able to move kind, more like a dull ache.
ANYWAY!!!!
I figure, since I cloth diaper, I might as well use cloth pads. I am all for saving money, not having to purchase over and over again just to throw things away, and really, how uncomfortable are disposable pads?!? I know that with tampons I get even more crampy and disposable pads are

• itchy
• cause chafing on the girly bits
• hot and sweaty
• bulky
• expensive

So..I'm going to give cloth pads a try. Benefits of cloth pads:

• Cute (yes I admit it may be my number one reason)
• Saving money (a "stash" of pads lasts roughly 5 years!)
• Breathable yet leakproof
• Better for the environment
• Better for you (Do you really want all those chemicals all up/on your girly bits?)
• There are some claims that cloth pads can decrease your flow, cramping, and liklihood of yeat infections. 

So, I've placed a couple orders since I figure my period is due sooner rather than later. I ordered a sample panty liner from Party in my Pants (PIMP).  I ordered 10 regular pads from Bunnyfeet Boutique and 6 Heavy/3 Regular from GEM Cloth. I haven't received my orders yet but I'm really excited.