More period ... period!

WARNING: Contains explicit and gross information regarding feminine hygiene product. (And I just like to be gross.)

You have been warned:

Last month I wrote about the taboo and forbidden topic of the monthly bleed (see here: Freedom Acres: I'm talking about it ... period. A reader suggested that I use the Diva Cup. And so I did. This is that story!)

So today is day three of my new adventure using The DivaCup, an innovative menstrual cup the best alternative to Tampons and Pads ... and it's going ... OK.

Not great.

Sometimes it seems to go in and work, and then other times I can't get it right and it leaks. Either way I am wearing a pad and I am under the understanding that this is normal; that it takes a few cycles before you become comfortable with it.

While I am no fan of tampons, I do like that when you insert one that is it. This cup deal seems to involve quite a bit more intimacy with ones' self. As in, I am getting as much action as your average gynecologist! I feel like I am birthing a calf sometimes I have to go in so deep. (I have actually birthed a calf and because I was young and had such small hands, I was chosen to go into the birth canal, grab the leg, and pull. There are a lot of similarities here.)

I presume that it is not normal to do this, but it appears to be part of the learning process! I would like both Hallie and Maddie to use one -- because it has to be better than putting a chemical-coated tootsie roll into your innards -- but I am not so sure either of them would be as, umm, willing to be as down and dirty as I am.

And why is that? I mean, they were raised with a mother who clearly has no problem discussing periods, that is for sure!

So, now today is day five, and it is strange; I did not have a HUGELY successful first time experience with the little cup, but I am still quite sure that it is the way to go. I can see why it takes time, because with each insertion I start to get more of a feel for it. I now understand that the suction part is VERY important. It takes time to stop feeling as though you are putting in a tampon, but instead inserting something else in a completely different direction.

What I really, really, really like is that there is no waste. And with each passing day I became much more experienced at how not to turn it into a bloody chore (literally). I also used a public restroom on several occasions, with no problems, and with the exception of having dry hands from so much washing, it's been all good.

But I can also see why you can't just say to someone, okay, do this and it should work fine. Because until you actually understand that it is the suction that stops the leaking, it just seems as though it is "in there," at first. Then you leak, and you know something is wrong, but what? You have to turn it, and that creates the suction, but it's hard to turn it. I found a little tip where you put it in halfway, turn it, then push it in. That worked for a bit, but then I just got better at it. And it's only been the first time.

So I HIGHLY recommend it, and not because it is so much easier, less messier, etc. but because I did not have ONE blow-out, not even close -- and because it just felt right. I am so sorry that I didn't discover them a hundred years ago. Seriously. In fact, I remember a friend in high school telling me that she used a sponge, and I thought instantly ... GROSS. And I know I've heard mention of a menstrual cup over the years; but I know that I also thought to myself that it wasn't necessary. But that was the pre-blow-out days. Those were the days, my friends, we thought would never end.

But they did.

So, now it is time to fix a problem, and I think I have!

Now with that said, I can see how someone would try it once and give up. It's a commitment. It's something new and it takes time and patience to figure it out. I have no problem with that aspect of it at all, and I am determined to convince my daughters that it is the way to go.

So go for it. I dare you!