Oh yes, it’s as weird as you might imagine. I vlogged about a menstruation cup.
It’s a poorly lit video because the only time of day I can find to do this is when everyone else is sleeping. It’s also the only time of day I can be sure my 3 year old won’t ask me what it is, try to take it and turn it into a snack trap.
Sure, I could have just written about it, but then you wouldn’t get the full effect. I wanted you to feel what it’s like to be one of my girlfriends, face to face, as I talk about the cup I shove into my vagina in the middle of my period. Really, you should feel special.
Do not be afraid. I didn’t actually demonstrate anything.
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56 comments
You have crossed into another hippie universe/dimension, my friend.
I can imagine the suction noise in a public restroom. “Oooh, don’t worry, that was just my menstruation cup. Totally normal!”
I think the evolution of hippy-ness goes: reusable bags, composting, cloth diapers, diva cup… no deodorant? I don’t think I’ll ever get to that last level.
Then you have people who use cloth toilet paper and wash their own. I stopped at cloth diapers. For some reason I’m more okay with my son’s poop than my own?
Me, too!
The furthest level I know of is people who don’t shower at all AND don’t use deodorant because they believe it’s a waste of water. They go to my church. They’re called the “crusties.”
oh, me too. Cloth wipes for baby? Yes. Cloth wipes for my husband? No thanks.
So is it similar to disposable diapers, where you only buy them once but instead of throwing it out and replacing with a new/clean one, you have to manually clean them, right?
i.e. is the point of it to be “green”, and to save a little $$? Or is there another “point” that I’m not getting?
Those two reasons, plus it’s supposedly better for you than tampons, less risk of Toxic Shock. The savings are pretty significant too.
Oh, definitely a lot of other reasons, including convenience and safety. There are so many studies linking the chemicals in tampons to TSS (and not just from leaving them in too long). Here’s a great website: http://you-are-loved.org/
See I don’t do tampons anyway. Always hated having to stick something up there. I’m 100% pads all the way.
The sink thing is the only reason I’m holding back on getting one! I was thinking I probably could get away with not changing it for 8 hours while I’m at work, but my bathroom at home has the sink outside the door also so I’d be advertising vagina-cup-rinsing to my husband and son too. Ugh.
Yeah, I usually use the kid’s bathroom when I need to wash it out since the toilet is right next to the sink.
You don’t have to empty it in a sink. If you are stuck in a public place, just wash your hands properly before going in, remove your cup, dump the content in the toilet, wipe it with a wet wipe or toilet paper, reinsert it and wash your hands when you are done. I have done it a 100 times, it’s not a problem. You can clean it properly when you get home. If you are at home then it’s even easier. technically you dont need to go to the toilet to change your cup. you can do it in your bathroom next to your sink.
I LOVE my diva cup! Sparkle heart love. HOWEVER, my husband calls it “that cup thing” and sings that stupid Red Solo Cup song EVERY SINGLE TIME I say I have to go to the bathroom, lol. So there’s that…
Okay, this gave me a good 10 minute laugh. LOL.
I’ve been on the fence about the Diva Cup for about a year now. Just when I’ve convinced myself to purchase it, I hear a horror story. I read that hilariously scary Amazon review for it and it put me off it for months.
Am I the only one who empties in the shower? It’s much cleaner and easier.
I empty/rinse in shower too!
Do you switch to tampons at night?
Nope. No need.
“Keep your nails short.”
Bahahahahaha
I’ve been very interested in using one of these since having my daughter. My periods are freakishly heavy as well & for some reason tampons are just not working out well since giving birth either. Wearing a pad is ok but w/ the summer coming it is not so good. So do they really work well for heavy flows? Do you wear a panty liner with it as well? Or just the cup? Thanks for sharing all this. It’s nice to get first hand experience.
I just had my first pp period and it was reallly heavy. Mind you my kids 2.5yo andi havent had it because of breastfeeding, so its really been a long time. I had to change the tampon every hour or so, until i ran out of them. I still had my size 1 diva cup (for women pre pregnancy/childbirth, or under 30yo) and it worked perfectly. No panyliner needed. I emptied it every few hours, probably cause i was tramatized from the tampon overflow, but i didnt really need to empty it that often. I might buy a few cloth pantyliners for when i go out with it, just in case, but its probably unnecessary. Nighttime is good too, no leaks. Hope this helped.
I just converted this past week… finally got my PP period and had read a ton about the cup during my maternity leave… I was running through a super tampon every 2 hours and freaking out… switched to the Diva Cup and it was magnificent… No worries and I was fine to leave it in for 4 hours or more the first couple of days (the heaviest) and then 8-12 hours the rest of the time.. I’m not doing it to be green or save money.. I’m doing it for convenience and because my tampons feel uncomfortable after 2 kids.. being green and saving money is just an added benefit.
This is still one of those things I’m super hesitant about but I know the second I succumb to my inner cheapskate I’ll be saying “why didn’t I do this before???”.
Hahahahahaha. You are hilarious;. And also, hilarious. That’s right, I had to write it twice. Because you are that hilarious.
Also, um, I’m not going to do that.
I LOVE my diva cup! I have to warn my husband when I’m on my period because it does make a mess and sometimes I don’t see all the mess…. its best to warn him then to have him ask me “why is there blood on the underside of the toilet seat?”
Still trying to figure out how to explain it to my 4 1/2 year old. He thinks the blood comes from hard poopies and saw a mess yesterday and went on and on about how he has that sometimes and it’s ok mommy. Pretty sure he’s not ready to hear about how us ladies have a monthly visitor…
I am SUPPER happy you did this vlog!! My sister-inlaw was telling me about menstrual cups at our winter vacation this year (our husbands loved us). She unfortunately didn’t have hers with so I was interested in seeing what they look like… bigger then I thought ,lol!
You crack me up. Way to be all awkward topic on video. I loved it! I heard some girls say they bring that bottle they give you after birth to clean their cup (while in the stall) when they are on the go. I already use a diaphragm so maybe I will make the switch. They arent much different.
I love the idea of the diva cup. I bought one and I was so excited to use it, but I could never get it in comfortably- I don’t know if I was doing it wrong, but it didn’t feel right- as in I could still feel it, and then I got pregnant. I’m hoping that after I give birth to my child and have my first pp period that I can use the size 1 because I spent money on it and never got to you use it. Did you have problems figuring out the ‘mechanics’?
Bwhahahaha @ manicure ruiner.
You lost me at suction noise. I’ve entertained the idea, but I just can’t go there.
Thanks for the vlog! For the cleaning of the cup in public restrooms or when you aren’t conveniently close to a sink, a bottle of water in your handbag or somewhere handy can help =) I’m yet to try the cup and have been sitting on the fence myself for around a year! I think I might just get one before my next cycle starts!
Just got mine last month. It’s not terribly comfortable yet but I hope I’ll get used to it.
And for me it was reusable bags>composting>cloth diapers>divacup>nopoo I’m sure I will eventually try no deodorant too, by which point I will be REALLY glad I blog since I probably won’t have IRL friends left..
So, I totally feel special. More Vlogs, totally!! You totally seem like the type of person I’d hang out with IRL. Heck, we seem to have synced our periods! Okay. Sorry, Totally done being creepy now.
But, I’m sorry. I don’t think I could EVER use one of those… I am just… So pro-tampon? Tampons are messy, but they’re the least messy of all the options, I think. Great post, though!
If I thought people wouldn’t get sick of my yapping, I’d vlog every post. SO much easier than the stringing together coherent sentences thing.
I am giggling like a maniac right now. Flashbacks of the Mario Lopez Period Party at BlogHer11 are floating through my head. In all honesty, I have been toying with the idea of trying this out, but quite frankly, it scares the crap outta me. Maybe I’ll give it a go….
Periods are so funny. Mario Lopez promoting period products is… weird… but funny.
Okay question: Does it overflow? Ever? Can you tell when it’s getting full? Intrigue . . .
Thanks for the info to you and all the commenters!
It does overflow. Mine leaked really bad one night in my sleep, but it was one of those nights I would have been up changing a super plus tampon every 3 hours, you know? So, it’s like, I can only ask so much of the damn cup. It’s not like it can hold a gallon. And you can tell because, well, like with tampons… it gets wet and gross down there. So, on super heavy days or at night, I’d say wear a backup pad just in case.
Gotcha. That’s the grossest feeling ever when tampons get saturated/heavy/leaky. ack. The DC sounds like something I should try! It fits right into my hippie evolution. Oh and my couponing cheapness too. The name is dumb though. From what it sounds like, there’s nothing diva about the process!
OMG, I hate the name.
I prefer that name to “Mama Cloth” which I refuse to use simply because of the name.
Besides being green, cheaper and healthier, I find it way more comfortable. After kids the fibers of a tampon really irritated me.
Oh and I’ve dared to clean in a public restroom at work. I dump it the can descretely wash it quickly and go back to a stall.
I mentioned this on Facebook but the only caution I’d give is that if someone has a tilted cervix (like mine), it won’t work. It’s really unfortunate, I was so excited about using it after I had baby #2. So I guess all I am able to do is reusable bags, compost, cloth diaper, and not use antiperspirant. *sigh* They are going to take away my eco-card.
Major bummer!
I also have a tilted cervix like Jenny and it is true they jus aren’t comfortable.
On another note Jill everytime I tried to watch this Ian was all like what’s that.
I love my Diva Cup and find it so much more comfortable and leak-proof than tampons. I lost my squeamishness about all that stuff when I started checking cervical mucus. After I’d crossed that line… I’ve actually kind of missed my Diva Cup over the last year when I’ve been pregnant or BFing. But, yeah, the sucking sound. Luckily, my periods aren’t heaviness so I don’t need to take it out when I’m outside my house too often.
I definitely think “family” cloth is the last frontier in hippiness. It’s what I threaten my husband with when he mocks me for buying yet another cloth diaper. I could never actually go there, baby poop is one thing, grown man poop is a whole different kettle of fish.
Love your blog.
How long before you got used to it?
I had a lot of trouble putting it in correctly! Maybe I just needed to do more kegals. It would leak or ride up so high, I would pretty much have to birth it out! Half the time I just couldn’t get it in right!
I hate tampons. My period is usually so light, that I just can’t wear them. I use cloth pads now and wash them just as I would my child’s cloth diapers.
“Just like my children, who have also been there, and you all find adorable, so…”
OMG you crack me up. I fully admit to being scared to try the Diva Cup. But I’m also afraid of tampons for the most part. And I’ve only had like 4 periods since 2009 since I keep having babies and nursing. Maybe I’ll try it after I have this kiddo. Maybe.
[…] a woman, a mother, a lady fully okay with her lady parts and all the natural things they do. I’m not squeamish about periods, and I don’t think young girls should be ashamed of them. I get that there’s something to […]
Uh… just don’t leave it out where your cat can get to it. My cat ate through my first one before I even had the chance to use it. Tiny teeth holes render it quite useless!
It’s taken me a couple of weeks to watch this because my husband would have freaked out so I kept waiting until I had 10 quiet minutes to myself. I want to try this, but your saying that it’s messy has convinced me that it’s probably not for me. You seem quite coordinated, and I am anything but…if you make a mess, I’d probably end up making the bathroom look like someone had been murdered in there. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Favorite line: just like my children, which have also been there, and you find them adorable. LOL! Loved it!
Don’t let it scare you away! It’s really not *that* bad, and part of my problem is my crazy super heavy periods that I’m having right now. I have to say, I think, overall, it’s a much less… gross option than tampons, honestly.
Hello, I invite you to have a look at my website to read more about how and why use a menstrual cups. You’ll find an illustrated user guide, FAQ, comparison of all cups available today and much more. Don’t hesitate if you have any questions!
[…] and need to switch it out more often watch this video from Jill Krause over at BabyRabies.com with her review of the DivaCup and some of her […]