| Author |
Here's to Your Health:  Homemade Menstrual pads  |
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 16 2006 : 5:31:27 PM
|
Nope!! I think they are much easier on the skin actually! The flannel is soft and stays soft and no odor at all.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
 |
|
|
Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
|
|
Bridge
True Blue Farmgirl
814 Posts
Bridgette
Southern
Indiana
USA
814 Posts |
|
|
KitchenWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
98 Posts
Kristina
Santa Fe
New Mexico
USA
98 Posts |
Posted - Dec 18 2006 : 3:35:54 PM
|
There is also a book called "Hygeia: A Woman's Herbal" that includes a pattern and more info on the subject. Just for the record, there are some other things in the book I don't agree with--still, the chapter on homemade menstrual pads was invaluable to me once upon a time...
Kate, many women report feeling better about their period when they stop using mass-rpoduced feminine hygiene products. Whether it's fewer chemicals or just a new attitude about our own body that makes the change, either way, it's good! =)
Live joyfully, deliberately, simply, abundantly. |
|
|
|
GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Dec 18 2006 : 3:47:24 PM
|
I love them so much. I truly do. I cannot see using something else ever again. Over Thanksgiving I had a bit of an emergency. I knew my period was coming and so I packed my pads along for our trip. I forgot to pack extra panties though and I didn't have any to wear with me(I am not too big of a fan of panties...just me) so I had to use tampons for a day and a half....let me tel you, I had such horrifying cramps....the minute I got home I put panties and pads on and i felt sooooo much better.
In the Winter time, I just water houseplants with the water.
I have also found that those made from flannel tend to dry nicely when you hang dry them and aren't uncomfortable, just FYI.
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://frugalwitch.wordpress.com |
|
|
|
CountryGirl85
True Blue Farmgirl
225 Posts
Laura
Oswego
IL
USA
225 Posts |
Posted - Dec 19 2006 : 12:56:18 PM
|
I have wanted to try cloth pads for quite some time and hadn't even thought about making them! I am fed up with commercial feminine products. I use mainly pads, the thin Always ones, but they don't "always" absorb very well and I end up leaking off the back! And after a few days, I get itchy! I've tried tampons, but I leak with them, too. And they give me cramps. I think it's time I do myself, the earth, and all of womankind a favor and rid myself of these inferior products! Thanks for bringing up this topic!
Laura
http://thecraftycatgirl.blogspot.com
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Anne Frank |
|
|
|
GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
|
|
CountryGirl85
True Blue Farmgirl
225 Posts
Laura
Oswego
IL
USA
225 Posts |
Posted - Dec 19 2006 : 2:18:07 PM
|
Oh my gosh! I totally need to get the lunablanket on the lunapad website! Or make one like it! What a great idea! And all the cute designs...my period has never gotten me this excited before! hehe!
http://thecraftycatgirl.blogspot.com
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Anne Frank |
|
|
|
Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Dec 19 2006 : 11:22:48 PM
|
I know! I just love the lunapads site - I ALMOST asked for some for Christmas, but we open presents in front of my husbands very large family, and, well, I just don't think he'd go for it...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
|
|
|
BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2006 : 1:14:53 PM
|
Oh, Libbie! I wouldn't have gone for that...with my family the teasing would have been endless! They would be reminding me of that particular Christmas long after I had forgotten what it was like to cycle.
On a more serious note, I am going to make some in that dull spot between New Year and Valentine's Day. I have a bunch of flannel scraps and remnints (they are so cheap and soft I pick them up evertime they are available). I like the idea of using a no-leak bottom liner and I have a waterproof matterice (I can never spell that word) in the closet that nobody will sleep on...they say it makes them sweat. I'll let you all know how they turn out.
Trina
'
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Proverbs 27:23 |
|
|
|
Cindy Lee
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Cindy
Sparks
Nevada
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2006 : 5:46:43 PM
|
I really am thinking about making some pads, the idea is a great one. I have a pretty good "supply" right now and plan on using them up but I have already broken the news to my husband (he didn't bat an eye) and when I told my 21 year old daughter she made the comment that it's easy for me to use washable pads because (as she put it) "you're almost at the end of your menstating career!"
If life gives you scraps, make quilts! |
|
|
|
rosebud74a
True Blue Farmgirl
109 Posts
Stacy
Maryland
NY
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2007 : 4:03:31 PM
|
I have the mooncup, although it was pricey ($25) still worth it in the long run. I LOVE IT!! It makes me feel like I am really doing something to help myself and the enviroment. I am trying to get all my friends to use one. I have used it for three months now and I getting more and more comfortable with it all the time. I was concerned about BV (bacterial vaginitis), but as long as you clean it with a vinager solution between cycles the risk should be grealty reduced. I am so pleased with, I wish there was more inforamtion about it out there for girls who are just starting thier menses, but I guess it makes sense how would the huge comapnies make money if everyone was using a product that was not dispaosble ......
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 'This Is My Story,' 1937
|
|
|
|
BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2007 : 08:53:33 AM
|
I made a set of cloth pads a couple days ago...for the first time I cannot wait for my cycle to begin! I used scrap flannel for the covers and some diaper flannel I had on hand for the liners. Now, I have to dig up a waterproof mattrice pad for the bottom liner...the one I had dissapeared. I must have bagged it up in my donation bag at some point. I made 12 covers (4 a day for a 3 day cycle) and about 20 liners. Thanks to all of you who have done this and encouraged me to do the same. I'll let you all know how it goes.
Trina
'
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Proverbs 27:23 |
|
|
|
GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2007 : 09:04:35 AM
|
for those of you making your pads now, i really recommend using PUL for a bottom layer instead of mattress pad. matress pads are nice, but they can be bulky when they get moisture in them. the PUL will not let fluid get to your panties and will aid the flannel in wicking moisture away from your skin. It is wonderful!!
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://frugalwitch.wordpress.com |
|
|
|
MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2007 : 12:01:56 PM
|
I recycled a waterproof crib pad for a bottom liner for mine. It's relatively thin and light weight.
Sarah |
|
|
|
greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 2:51:25 PM
|
oh my goodness - I am SO GLAD that I stopped in here today. What an amazing topic, I have always hated using commercial products but I only knew that women "back when" used a rag, and well, I hate pads to start with. But the sponge or the diva cup, and a couple soft little flannel pads? Heck YES!
And the thing about adding potassium to the products does not surprise me. Nothing does any more, anything to make a dollar. Our health and well-being come second - after the pharmaceutical industry's 600% profits, after the crap added to our processed food, how our animals are treated, after how our water is treated... I'll stop there but I am SO HAPPY to have seen this today! |
|
|
|
faithymom
True Blue Farmgirl
360 Posts
Faith
Sandpoint
ID
USA
360 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2007 : 11:31:58 AM
|
GaiasRose,
What is PUL?
I may try this. I have one brand of pad that I buy and nothing else.
I tried the Instead and it didn't work for me a bit. I read one post that talked of the other cups brands having 'sizes' ...brilliant!...I'm certainly looking those up.
I don't know if I'll switch over completely...I tried the cloth dipe thing and that didn't last, but I'm open to it.
I'll wait, however, until we get our washer and dryer!
"All television is educational television. The only question is, what is it teaching?"-Fmr. FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson |
|
|
|
GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
|
|
faithymom
True Blue Farmgirl
360 Posts
Faith
Sandpoint
ID
USA
360 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2007 : 12:10:25 PM
|
Thanks!
"All television is educational television. The only question is, what is it teaching?"-Fmr. FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson |
|
|
|
emma.birdwhistle
True Blue Farmgirl
187 Posts
Elizabeth Ann
Ontario
Canada
187 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2007 : 4:32:35 PM
|
I just wanted to add that I use GladRags (www.gladrags.com) and I have been very happy with them. I would certainly recommend them to anyone who wants to get away from wasteful, plastic-y conventional pads. Also, my ordering experiences from their website have been great, with very friendly customer service.
I think it's a wonderful idea to make your own at home, too. But I like GladRags because I can get them in organic undyed cotton flannel, which I haven't been able to find around here.
Either way, I don't find homemade pads at all inconvenient in terms of soaking and washing, and I also find they turn out just fine when air-dried, as I don't use a dryer. I think they're just all-around better!
- Elizabeth Ann
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. - Thoreau |
|
|
|
FlipFlopFarmer
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Carla
Molalla
Oregon
198 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2007 : 09:33:49 AM
|
I ordered mine from Many Moons and make my own as well. I don't have a serger so I've found it a little tough to sew the pad with wings and get a nice clean edge. The flannel is so soft.
I can't think of one con to them at all. Better for your body, the planet...etc.
I have a book called "Her Blood is Gold" by Lara Owen that is a great read. Especially for those that were brought up to think that their period was icky or something that isn't to be spoken about.
 Carla
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly. |
|
|
|
ashcordes
True Blue Farmgirl
197 Posts
Ashley
Roann
IN
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2007 : 09:40:23 AM
|
| For those of you using the cloth pads...do you skip out on the softner? I know you're not supposed to use softner when you wash cloth diapers because of the absorbency factor. Anyone with any info on this? |
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2007 : 09:52:43 AM
|
I never use fabric softener on them...like you said..they would be less absorbent.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2007 : 11:48:00 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by MustangSuzie
Most of the time I use a natural rubber cup. You can find info about it at www.thekeeper.com .
Sarah
Sarah, I found out about the rubber cups kind of late in my menstruating life, and wish I'd known sooner. If you're not squeamish about your own body, and you really shouldn't be, they're a snap to use, easy to clean and reuse, and ever so much friendlier to the environment than even home-made cloth pads. I had one of those perimenopausal eras that was characterized by flooding bordering on something out of a horror movie. The cup didn't quite handle that all by itself, but it was way better tham even the super-est of super tampons. Check it out, girls. |
|
|
|
Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2007 : 11:49:35 AM
|
[quote]Originally posted by Aunt Jenny
I never use fabric softener on them...like you said..they would be less absorbent.
Same is true for towels. Towels treated with fabric softener can also make you break out something awful. |
Edited by - Rosemary on Jan 23 2007 11:50:47 AM |
|
|
|
Here's to Your Health: Homemade Menstrual pads |
|
Homemade Menstrual pads
