For Women Only
Seriously. The following post is for women only. Men, you have been warned. If you continue reading, just know, you. have. been. warned.
Ok, ladies. Let's get down to the business side of this post. Abundance is a merge of A Mother's Rewards and Living Large on Less, two former blogs from our home. After blog contributors narrowed down to one, the blogs joined forces. As a result, we publish a wide variety of posts. Our former, frugal-living, money-saving, thrifty-nifty blog, Living Large on Less, was devoted to living large while using less of our financial resources. Today's post is in that exact money-saving, health-promoting vein.
Please, please, please, do not click out of here in disgust when you read today's money-saving, better health topic. Do, however, be forewarned that it is not your average, run of the mill conversation we will be having. This is a "delicate" topic for some. Others may find it something not to be discussed among strangers. I feel that for the sake of our health and our pocketbooks, it is worthy of at least a casual mention.
Cloth diapering, not the topic, is in the middle of a revival among those with little ones. Yes, I am joining in with the crowd and saving money while protecting my soon-to-come wee one from nasty chemicals. Mostly though, I'm saving approx. $1,500 of my husband's hard-earned income. Honesty. It's about honesty. Anyone who has visited any websites to read more on the subject of cloth diapering has most likely noticed another product that has women leaving behind still more disposable products filled with nasty chemicals. I am talking about the cloth menstrual pad, sometimes referred to as a mama pad.
Here is the part you stay with me and don't leave with a disgusted grunt. Five years ago when my youngest child was born, I read some articles concerning cloth menstrual pads. I clicked out with a yuckiedy, yuck, yuck, that is just too out there gross for me. This time around I couldn't help but notice that there is a lot more information available and that more women than ever are switching to them. What's up with this? Once more curiosity got the better of me; I was looking up and reading more. After all, I had to know why women would even consider this. I mean, really?
After reading more testimonials than I really had time to read, I have discovered that not only are women more comfortable, there are numerous health benefits being experienced by a LOT of women. Noticable, life-changing results. Lighter, pain-free monthly cycles are literally changing the lifes of hundreds of women, for the better. The only thing they have done is switch from using disposable protection each month to using cloth. That is it!
For some women, the switch is all about the financial savings. Just like using cloth diapers is for me. Yet for hundreds, if not more, it is about being able to function all month long every month. This is something many haven't been able to do since their teenage years when their cycles first began. We're not talking about women with slight cramps here. These are women who were previously disabled for days each month, in bed, writhing in pain. Women who, like I, had doubts about using a product so far outside of the popular box. Wanting to be certain it was truly something as simple as the use of a cloth menstrual pad, a number of these women switched back to disposable just to see what happened. Almost immediately, they were once again in tremendous pain, unable to sleep. As soon as the disposable pad was replaced with cloth, the pain was gone and their flow once more lightened.
Cleanliness is a huge concern for most, if not all, users. Not a problem at all. In fact, it was testified to be very similar to caring for cloth diapers. As with diapers, the specifics vary from user to user, but all say they were pleasantly surprised at how non-gross using and caring for cloth pads is. I'll let everyone who is interested look more fully into further details of use and care for themselves. An internet search will turn up a wide variety of sources, patterns, and information from an even wider variety of sources. Hopefully, this information will be a source of encouragement and enlightenment for women, like me, who needed to know that there is an alternative. By the way, there are more alternatives to disposable products than cloth menstrual pads available. An internet search will assist in researching these alternatives as well.
Whether the purpose is saving money or improving health, every women needs to be aware that no one must be bound to what every other woman is doing. Each of us possesses the freedom to explore all of our options and choose the one best suited to our personal lifestyle. Every woman has the freedom to make changes to improve her health and/or spend her financial resources as she chooses. Oh yes, before I forget, cloth menstrual pads can be purchased or easily made one's self. To use or not to use, that is a question to be decided individually. May each of our decisions be well-informed, intentional ones.
Note: This post is strictly informative in nature. It is not meant to influence or sway readers one way or the other. Personal decisions are just that, personal. Abundance blog respects the individual freedom of its readers to make individual choices and in no way desires to interfere with that freedom.
Ok, ladies. Let's get down to the business side of this post. Abundance is a merge of A Mother's Rewards and Living Large on Less, two former blogs from our home. After blog contributors narrowed down to one, the blogs joined forces. As a result, we publish a wide variety of posts. Our former, frugal-living, money-saving, thrifty-nifty blog, Living Large on Less, was devoted to living large while using less of our financial resources. Today's post is in that exact money-saving, health-promoting vein.
Please, please, please, do not click out of here in disgust when you read today's money-saving, better health topic. Do, however, be forewarned that it is not your average, run of the mill conversation we will be having. This is a "delicate" topic for some. Others may find it something not to be discussed among strangers. I feel that for the sake of our health and our pocketbooks, it is worthy of at least a casual mention.
Cloth diapering, not the topic, is in the middle of a revival among those with little ones. Yes, I am joining in with the crowd and saving money while protecting my soon-to-come wee one from nasty chemicals. Mostly though, I'm saving approx. $1,500 of my husband's hard-earned income. Honesty. It's about honesty. Anyone who has visited any websites to read more on the subject of cloth diapering has most likely noticed another product that has women leaving behind still more disposable products filled with nasty chemicals. I am talking about the cloth menstrual pad, sometimes referred to as a mama pad.
Here is the part you stay with me and don't leave with a disgusted grunt. Five years ago when my youngest child was born, I read some articles concerning cloth menstrual pads. I clicked out with a yuckiedy, yuck, yuck, that is just too out there gross for me. This time around I couldn't help but notice that there is a lot more information available and that more women than ever are switching to them. What's up with this? Once more curiosity got the better of me; I was looking up and reading more. After all, I had to know why women would even consider this. I mean, really?
After reading more testimonials than I really had time to read, I have discovered that not only are women more comfortable, there are numerous health benefits being experienced by a LOT of women. Noticable, life-changing results. Lighter, pain-free monthly cycles are literally changing the lifes of hundreds of women, for the better. The only thing they have done is switch from using disposable protection each month to using cloth. That is it!
For some women, the switch is all about the financial savings. Just like using cloth diapers is for me. Yet for hundreds, if not more, it is about being able to function all month long every month. This is something many haven't been able to do since their teenage years when their cycles first began. We're not talking about women with slight cramps here. These are women who were previously disabled for days each month, in bed, writhing in pain. Women who, like I, had doubts about using a product so far outside of the popular box. Wanting to be certain it was truly something as simple as the use of a cloth menstrual pad, a number of these women switched back to disposable just to see what happened. Almost immediately, they were once again in tremendous pain, unable to sleep. As soon as the disposable pad was replaced with cloth, the pain was gone and their flow once more lightened.
Cleanliness is a huge concern for most, if not all, users. Not a problem at all. In fact, it was testified to be very similar to caring for cloth diapers. As with diapers, the specifics vary from user to user, but all say they were pleasantly surprised at how non-gross using and caring for cloth pads is. I'll let everyone who is interested look more fully into further details of use and care for themselves. An internet search will turn up a wide variety of sources, patterns, and information from an even wider variety of sources. Hopefully, this information will be a source of encouragement and enlightenment for women, like me, who needed to know that there is an alternative. By the way, there are more alternatives to disposable products than cloth menstrual pads available. An internet search will assist in researching these alternatives as well.
Whether the purpose is saving money or improving health, every women needs to be aware that no one must be bound to what every other woman is doing. Each of us possesses the freedom to explore all of our options and choose the one best suited to our personal lifestyle. Every woman has the freedom to make changes to improve her health and/or spend her financial resources as she chooses. Oh yes, before I forget, cloth menstrual pads can be purchased or easily made one's self. To use or not to use, that is a question to be decided individually. May each of our decisions be well-informed, intentional ones.
Note: This post is strictly informative in nature. It is not meant to influence or sway readers one way or the other. Personal decisions are just that, personal. Abundance blog respects the individual freedom of its readers to make individual choices and in no way desires to interfere with that freedom.