Mama Cloth. Yes, I Went There.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 8:23PM
I realize that this post may destroy any amount of sex appeal I once had on the Internet but for the sake of posterity, I am about to "go there."
I used to have a reputation as someone who was sexy and knowledgeable about technology. I still do some of that but I am also a mommy blogger. As such, I am exposed to things that are less desireably spoken of like cloth diapers and mama cloth. That's right, I said mama cloth.
Mama cloth is the cloth diaper equivalent for a woman's monthly menstrual needs. If you are a man who once thought I had sex appeal, kindly close out of this post right now and perhaps I can preserve a little bit of that perception.
So ladies, reusable period pads. I am just crazy enough to try them and I did!
Charlie Banana, the brand of cloth diapers I use the most, launched a line of mama cloth products called Feminie Secrets. Jennifer emailed us MommyBetas a link to these and expressed disgust with the idea, knowing that the hippy Natali and Nathalee would probably be crazy enough to give it a go. So I took the challenge. I wrote to my friend who represents Charlie Banana and inquired about samples.
Allow me to explain why I would do something like this. I can afford $10 per month for a box of Tampax and I have never suffered from any adverse affects from the use of tampons. But as a mother, I use cloth diapers because I care about the environment and I care about limiting synthetic products in our lives. I also care about teaching my son to reject modern conveniences when there is a chance to make responsible choices.
Based on those priorities, I figured that a little more bodily fluid in my cloth wash cycles couldn't really hurt. Besides, the average woman only bleeds 2 tablespoons per cycle. How bad could it be to wash that much out per month?
My mama cloth arrived last week and the next day, so did Aunt Flo. Tee hee hee. I said Aunt Flo. Am I in the 7th grade?
These are really not that bad! They fold up in the size of a small coin purse. To wear, you snap them around your panties. When you leave the house, you carry a small cloth purse to dispose of previously worn pads. When you are ready to wash, you throw the entire bag in the rinse cycle, rinse, and then do a wash cycle after separating the pads from the bag. I never had to scrub my own menstruation off of the pads.
Are these things bulky? Yeah. I'll be straight with you. They are. And there is no adhesive to keep them in place so if I had a marathon to run (as if!) I wouldn't use them. The lack of adhesive means they move around a little and that can feel odd.
I do like the idea of saving money though. It annoys me to spend $10 per month on a feminine products that I am not thrilled to be using anyway. The Charlie Banana mama cloth cost about $18 for a pack of 3 so if you were to start using these, you'd have to drop some bucks initially but they'd pay themselves off quickly.
So will I stick with these? I think I will for the foreseeable future. I have pretty manageable periods and I don't run marathons so they don't cramp my style all that much. Would I use them 100 percent of the time? Probably not. If I do want to go to the gym during Aunt Flo (tee hee hee), I will probably use a tampon. But I like the idea of saving cash, the environment, and limiting my exposure to synthetic cotton, especially in such an intimate area!
My mom thought I was crazy when I told her about these and my husband has pretty much ignored this experiment. Which is just as well. Maybe to him I can preserve some of that sex appeal after all.
Reader Comments (19)
Since I also cloth diaper I decided to check out Mama Cloth too and LOVE it! I went through a few different brands before I found one that was thin, comfy and absorbent. I fell in love with Randumosity because Jami, the owner makes them with bamboo velour....sooo comfy! My husband laughs at my collection of panty liners, pads and nursing pads because I'm just as addicted to them as I am to cloth diapers. I still use tampons sometimes and haven't gotten around to trying out other non-disposable feminine products but it's really just a matter if time probably. I'm so glad that you post about things like this because you are a woman and, like it or not guys, this is a part if it ;)
Charlie BANANA feminine hygiene product???. Tee hee hee.
I think I am going to have to give this idea some thought. While I try to make choices that are less harmful to the environment, I don't think I am ready to go here yet.
I don't do mama cloth, but I use a divacup. (FYI I hate the name, love the product!) I was skeptical for sure, but I really wish I would have done it sooner. It inserts like a tampon, just fold it up and put it in, and you don't feel it, just like a tampon. When you remove it there is a bit of what I would describe as pulling (no different then a tampon though) The differences are, 1.) you don't need to change it as often, so I don't have any more public restroom changing, 2.) I can see how much I bleed, so there's no guessing as to how much is in a pad or tampon, 3.) I wash it in the shower and have it out while in the shower so noone else even sees it.
My initial investment was $40, and a cup can last about 10 years or so since they are made from medical grade silicone. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask, I'm happy to share my TMI stories!
I am all for reducing environmental waste and saving money, which is why I converted to the Diva cup three years ago. It has completely changed my life, and I've never looked back! You can leave them in for 12 hours, and they are super easy to care for. I almost completely forget about my period when I get it. I'd love to read a comparison of the two products on here. It's $25 on Amazon.
I totally second (third?) the Diva Cup! I bought it on a deal-a-day website on earth day this year, and I've already told my mom and sister. It really is that awesome. I would like to get some mama cloth to use at the beginning and end of my cycle - you should convince CB to do a giveaway! We love our CB diapers!
I got into mama cloth right after my daughter was born because I wanted to cloth diaper and couldn't because I didn't have the laundry facilities, but could manage the cloth pads. I have 3 different brands at this point. I LOVE them. They're SO comfortable. I generally use pads over tampons, and cloth feels WAY nicer down there than plastic, even the nicest softest brands of plastic. I love getting to bleed on neon monkeys and red skulls and crossbones instead of plain white. And I love having one less thing to buy and then throw away.
I wash them in my regular laundry - mostly in a lingerie bag, but i'll leave the bulkier nighttime ones loose if the bag is very full. Now that i've started CDing, i can always toss them in the diaper wash too.
I will say that if I were a tampon user as opposed to pads, I'd have probably gotten into the Diva Cup, as others have mentioned, with mama cloth as a backup.
I knew there was something else I forgot to add. I had horrendous cramps with my cycle, but now I have had nothing. I don't know if it's the change to DivaCup, or something else but I can't think of any other recent changes. I too like the other diva user completely forget about being on my period. It's amazing!
If you've been comfortable using tampons you should try a menstrual cup! I use a Moon cup. I've been using it for almost 3 years and I would never switch back to anything else! I may be crazy, but I swear when I use it my cramps are lessened!
I went there too! It only seemed natural after CDing my baby -- plus I've never been a tampon girl and always HATED spending money on pads and liners every month. (BTW, if you're totally grossed out by switching for your period, at least switch for those days when you just need a liner.) The brands I've found that are totally my favorite (and way less bulky than the Charlie Bananas and Fuzzibunz, by the looks of them), are from an etsy seller (http://www.etsy.com/shop/effiethepixie). I love her pads and liners. And even thinner (but pricier) are the "Party in My Pants" pads (yes, really), available online at http://www.partypantspads.com/ and in some Whole Foods stores.
Never thought I'd share THAT online. :o)
I was surprised at how soft they were! You should try the Diva Cup next - you'll be even more in love!!!
Interesting idea for a product but I can't get past the name. Why are they called Mama Cloths? Did you make that up or is that really their name?? Women of all ages get their period, not just mothers. Maybe I'm just being over-sensitive because I'm a 30-something non-mother, but inferring that something that happens to all women only happens to mothers is pretty offensive to me.
I love mamma cloth, mama pads, resueable pads, what ever you want to call them and have been using them for over a year, I also introduced my tween and teen daughter to them and they love them too. I cloth diaper my little one and it went right along with that. We love the cute designs and have fun, yup I said it "fun" shopping for new ones to try. I would LOVE to be able to try these too! Thanks for te wonderful giveaway!
Jennifer - I've normally just heard them called cloth pads =)
I have been thinking about trying something like this. I recently converted to reusable nursing pads and I am glad I did.
I just started trying the Diva Cup for 29 Diapers (they recommend trying it for a few months so you get the hang of it before writing about it) and I have to add a caveat to these other comments that if you have a small scar from having a baby (not perineal, just a micro-tear inside) the Diva Cup may not be for you. I DEFINITELY feel it. I'll try it again next month, but I'm thinking mama cloth might be my next stop before I give up on an eco-friendly period. Something no one here has mentioned is that you also skip the sodium polyacrylate that is in both menstrual pads and disposable diapers by switching to cloth.
I have been planning to try these for awhile now. The timing just hasn't been right and now I'm pretty much done with CDing. I did run out of pads and tampons on vacation once and used my son's prefolds. My husband was horrified at the idea. And @Jennifer I think they're called mama cloth because a lot of woman discover them after they start using cloth diapers. The cloth diaper websites call them mama cloth as a way of saying they are for the mamas, not the babies, since most if not all of their clientele are moms.
Even as a cloth diapering mama, I don't think anyone or anything can convince me to use mama cloth for menstration because I cannot stand the idea of washing all that blood in my washer. (Fun enough though, I have no problem washing poop...?? Ha!) However, I do use cloth pantyliners for the non-menstrating days (brand: luna pads). I use pantyliners everyday and when I discovered these cloth liners, it saved me a fortune!!! I simply wash mine with the rest of my laundry. These liners are bulkier than the disposable ones but they are not as bad as the menstration ones. I really like them and I am glad I switched.
I use the Diva Cup all the way! Who needs the hassle of changing a tampon every couple hours when you can leave the Diva in for up to 12 hours! I'll never go back!