Meluna Shorty (review)

A long time ago, in a galaxy… no, wait… between pregnancies with my children, I got my cycle back. I had prepared for this by lots of reading, as I knew I couldn’t go back to disposables for an option. I didn’t have very many cycles between my children, only 3, so I never got into the swing of things with my cup. I got really good at placement, but I figured I must be doing something wrong.

The cups worked for me, but I had issues with them sticking out a bit. I thought maybe it was because I had short fingers or something, or maybe I just didn’t have in right… despite it working perfectly.

When my cycle finally returned after having Squiggle (27 months postpartum! I know, I got lucky!!!), I grabbed my Diva Cup. I just wasn’t feeling it (haha), so I grabbed some Luna Pads. The next day I tried my Lunette. I wore it that day, but didn’t bother the next. I went right back to my Luna Pads. 

I’d like to take this opportunity to say that I hate pads. Luna Pads are super comfortable for pads, and worlds more comfortable than disposable pads, but pads just are not for me. (If you do like pads, however, I highly recommend Luna Pads!) I’d also like to add that both Diva Cup and Lunette are really good cups. I do like them, and I recommend them both to anyone interested in cups… but they just weren’t what I needed. Something just felt off. I complained about this a bit amongst a group of friends (all moms), and someone mentioned MeLuna.

I’ve always been tiny… everywhere. Maybe I really just needed a shorter cup? Someone recommended MeLuna because they offer various sizes and styles. They have different end styles (a stem, a ball, a ring), they offer different firmness for the cup, and they even offer a “shorty”.

I looked at the MeLuna Classic and at the MeLuna Sport, but decided that the classic style was best for me. The sport is firmer and for women that use their core muscles a lot. I'm not someone you would describe as "fit"... or even "someone who exercises". Yeah, yeah... I've been meaning to change that. Either way it goes, I don't need the firmer cup.

I looked up measurements on the cups I had and compared it to the shorty. The Diva Cup (size 2) is 70mm long including the stem (57mm without the stem), the Lunette Cup (size 2) measures 72mm long with the stem (52mm long without), and the MeLuna shorty (size M) measures 51mm long with the stem (38mm long without). I consulted the MeLuna chart and decided a shorty in size medium would work best. I ordered a shorty that night. 

(If you have a different size/brand of cup, check out this amazing menstrual cup measurement chart that I found at menstrualcups.wordpress.com!)

Left to right: MeLuna Shorty (M), Lunette (sz2), Diva Cup (sz2)

No need to freak about about the size, though! Even though it's the biggest of the 3, the Diva sz. 2 still isn't that big!

As you can see, I selected the Amethyst shorty with a stem. I contemplated going with a ball or ring, but figured that if I wanted to trim it off, it would be easiest with a stem. It was only $24.95, and shipping was very inexpensive. I think it was about $3. It also arrived super quickly! Of course, the day it arrived was the day I stopped needing it, so I waited. 

When I finally prepped it and placed it, it fit great! It didn’t stick out at all! I didn’t have any leaks, and everything held fine for me. If you are a heavier bleeder, I could see you needing to empty it a couple times a day versus once a day with the larger cups, but it’s still totally doable.

If you are sold on the idea of cups, but have had fit issues with them, I highly recommend trying the MeLuna Shorty. They just might be the perfect cup for you!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. MeLuna did not sponsor this post, and the product was purchased by me. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.

LunaPads Review

I was very excited to be offered LunaPads for review from BePreparedPeriod.com. For those of you who don't know about BePreparedPeriod.com, they are a fantastic website with all sorts of options for you in regards to that time of the month. You can purchase any sort of cycle items you need (including disposables, should you choose to go that route), and you can have the products delivered right to your house! They offer mama cloth, menstrual cups (my favorite!), and more. Take a peek to see how they can help you out!

 

So, as excited as I was to partner up with BePreparedPeriod.com and review LunaPads for them, I was confused as to how I should go about reviewing them. You readers all know I am expecting Squiggle this summer, and many of you are well aware that I will never use disposables on myself again. Still, trying to figure out how to review the LunaPads wasn't a simple task for a pregnant woman... right?

Well, I was wrong. I figured I'd try them out just to see how they fit for comfort, and then later, postpartum, write another review for you to read on how well they handled. What I didn't expect was a lovely side-effect of pregnancy that I never experienced the first time around: leaking.

My lovely little Squiggle has been head-down for a while, and also looooooves moving around a lot. Hands hitting me in the bladder, head pushing against my bladder... and, of course, my muscles are already a wee bit weaker from having Bobble a couple years ago. Still, nothing prepared me for leaking. Seriously, nothing.

A couple droplets here or there. Nothing horrible, right? Surely that's not that big of a deal. Well, when the end of the workday arrives and you find yourself wondering if that smell (the smell of a wet bed) is YOU... it becomes a big deal. How embarrassing! Not enough to ever worry about your pants even getting wet, but enough to let you know it's happening... and maybe even letting coworkers know it's happening too.

HORRIFYING!

So, I figured it was a great time to try out the LunaPads. After all, if they can hold up to a period, surely they can hold up to a bit of urine leakage, right?

I got to thinking: What is it about periods (and items used with them) that women complain about most? Comfort, absorbency, easy of use, and odor control... right?

Many of you may remember my DivaCup review last summer. I'm a cup girl. When I used disposables, I was a tampon girl (you may remember my story from You ARE Loved a couple years or so back, too). I hated pads. They are just sooooo uncomfortable to me! Well, postpartum mommies don't have much of a choice. It's pad or nothing! I grabbed one of the cute LunaPad prints I was sent to try out (I had already prepped them, which was super easy.... one wash!), and snapped it on. They have very simple instructions, too, so I couldn't get confused if I tried!





After the initial "ugh, I'm wearing a pad!" feeling faded away (about 2 minutes), I couldn't feel the LunaPad! I was very thankful for this, because, as previously established, I was NOT a fan of pads! I was surprised at how comfortable they were once I got used to the feeling of having something there. You just snap them around your underwear and you're good to go!






LunaPads come in many different sizes, and have insert options to help customize the absorbency  too.  I tried them with and without an insert, thinking that maybe the cute little ribbon that holds the insert in place might be uncomfortable directly against my skin. Again, didn't notice it. What a relief that was! The inserts are easily put in and taken out, so adding absorbency is a breeze. How nice that it is so easy to customize! I was sent a couple for review, and actually had a few (never used since I got them while I was pregnant) from before, so you will get to see a whole array of prints and sizes in this review! The largest one (with the fold-out absorbent layer [pink]) is the postpartum pad.












While I cannot, yet, attest to how well LunaPads hold up to a cycle, I can say that they are good for what I tried them out for. My underwear were constantly slightly damp (which sucked, by the way) from the pressure of this baby's head, but the LunaPads kept ME dry. Nothing leaked through (though, as I said, I wasn't leaking a lot), and nothing felt like it was damp. What a lovely feeling to feel dry again! If you needed extra absorbency, adding to the pad is a breeze. You just slide the extra layer under the ribbon on either end, and you're set!

Storing used LunaPads was a breeze, too. You can use a small wetbag for storage, and you can just snap the LunaPads together when they are dirty. (See below)

Not only did the LunaPads keep me dry, but the days I would wear them were the only days I came home without being able to notice the smell of urine on myself. Might I add how embarrassing that is, again? Seriously. Sitting at work for 10 hours a day and feeling like others must notice it. After all, if I could smell it, they could, right? Even showering immediately before work didn't help any. I didn't think the LunaPads would really make a difference with smell... after all, it's still just fabric in the end, right? Well, they made a world of difference. No hint of smell at all. NONE AT ALL. If they are that great with urine, I can only but imagine that they will work the same for a cycle and odor.

These far surpassed my expectations for reusable mama cloth, and I will write again when I know how they hold up to my soon-to-be-tested postpartum wear.

If you'd like to check out LunaPads for yourself, head on over to BePreparedPeriod.com and look at their recently expanded mama cloth options! While the adorable prints may not matter in the grand scheme of things, it's nice seeing something cutesy like flowers or elephants. I think it's the same as wearing cute underwear when you know nobody else will see them anyway... it makes you feel better.



Disclosure: The product mentioned above was sent to me by the company in exchange for a review. This did not influence my opinion of the product in any way. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.