It's about that time of the month, when I'm reminded that again, no daughter is growing in my tummy. As far back as age 12, I've had a name of a daughter and ached for one especially at different times -- in the baby dresses section of stores, while reading Raising a Son, by Don and Jeanne Ellium and while reading about menstruation rituals to initiate young women of the tribe
http://www.sentienttimes.com/04/aug_sept_04/sacred.htmlMenarche, that special time of the first flow, has been honored in women-only rituals in different societies while it is treated in ours as the start of the curse. Is it to be cursed because it is a signal of non-fertilization? Or because it is such a drag - can't go swimming, afraid of stains and your partner really has to be into it if you wanna shag.
Besides having read about the rituals, which I want to do someday for a daughter, I am also a keen advocate of reusable pads. That's right, pasador. Would have gone with handsewn had I not been introduced first to a product called Gladrags
http://www.gladrags.com/ -- prohibitively expensive for Pinoys but heaven-sent! Never again cast about or ask your man to buy you a packet of sanitary pads, my gladrags are always handy. Never again feel the need to scratch - nochlorine bleaches, gels or other unnamable synthetic chemicals ever again to irritate my majora and menora. Never again have to face the dilemma of which segregated bin to place the red/brown-soaked, plastic lined, bunched-up (eeewww) pad.
But then I chanced upon a "tip-of-the-day" service for green consumers in which two ladies recommended organic, chlorine free disposable pads, because they say reusables are icky. They were bombarded in the blog with adherents who swear by reusables and who felt betrayed that reusables was not the tip-of-the-day. No, these women were not into reusable pads but CUPS.
Yes, latex bell-shaped inserts that catch the flow up to an ounce that you have to pull out, empty into the toilet, reinsert and wash during your shower. www.keepers.com has a three-cycle money-back guarantee -- now that's belief in customer satisfaction, I just hope they don't resell the returns. But they've been in business 18 years and like Mac users, their customer base is beguilingly rabid. But of course, they expect no repeat customers, unless it punctures and leaks. They claim the product will last ten years. It's pricey at $35, but money back guarantee? The other brand, www.divacup.com has a transparent color, made of silicone for those allergic to rubber, more attractive packaging and options to buy at $20 from betterlife.com.
Wow. Unfortunately, betterlife.com doesn't ship to the Philippines so you'll have to ask the relative in the US to bring it back next time they come home. No 3-month guarantee, but a full year's buy-back guarantee. Will let you know how that goes when it arrives.
If you're in a fighting mood, trying to deal with PMS or otherwise just feeling like a mother hen, here is the activist site
http://bloodsisters.org/bloodsisters/index.html , with call-outs like Ax Tampax or
They have the pattern for sewing your own. My tip: You need at least 5 of these babies, and make nighttime ones that fan out in the back and front. Absolutely no nighttime leaks, believe me.
Trust me. For reusable pads at least, never mind eco-friendly. These just make sense.
