Lunapads Blog

Hey all of you Luna-Mamas out there! Menstruation is a daily topic around our office and a big part of that for many women is pregnancy and birthin’ babies. Many of our first time customers come to us looking for an alternative to those icky hospital-issue postpartum pads for their postpartum bleeding. As a Doula who recently attended several births, I thought I would share some postnatal tips with y’all.

When I first begin working with a family as a Doula, I find many first time moms experience fears around birth mostly because they just don’t know what to expect and they are basing their perceptions on friends and families’ birth stories which may or may not be pleasant.  With so much concern about making it through childbirth gracefully with a healthy baby, breastfeeding and all of the other new calls of motherhood, many women are not aware of what their own needs will be postnatal or how their body will change.

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We have teamed up with Hot Mama Gowns to offer you a double-giveaway! Enter below for your chance to win your very own Hot Mama Gown and/or 1 of 3 Lunapads Sampler Packs. Log in with your Facebook account, or enter using your name and email address. Contest ends first thing Friday, December 30th at 12:01am EST.

Hi everyone, Lisa here! I had the pleasure to work with Deidrea Haysel of Hot Mama Gowns recently, and thought some of you might be interested to learn more about this firecracker entrepreneur and her innovative organic cotton maternity gowns. What better way to spread the love than to host a joint giveaway!

Here’s some information about Deidrea and why she started Hot Mama Gowns, plus 2 (count ‘em, 2!) giveaways that you can enter below. Read on or Visit our Facebook Page for more info!

Hey!  My name is Deidrea and I am the self-proclaimed “Hot Mama” behind Hot Mama Gowns.

The idea for Hot Mama Gowns was born at the same time our daughter was born in May of 2006. After having an awesome pregnancy and a pretty swift, uncomplicated delivery; I had the clarity to really evaluate my surroundings. Namely the itchy, chemical smelling, faded hospital gown I was wearing.

The standard hospital gown was far from stylish, comfortable, or functional. The gown got in the way of skin to skin contact and breastfeeding, two things that were very important to me. I couldn’t wait to change into something that was comfy and allowed me to bond with my baby girl. Pajamas weren’t really an option right after delivery, so I started to brainstorm about the ideal maternity gown that would make me feel good (and look good).

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As regular readers will be aware, over the past decade Lunapads has been developing the Pads4Girls program to bring reusable feminine hygiene supply kits to thousands of girls and women in need in over 15 countries. Pads4Girls seeks to address an often-overlooked problem that hundreds of millions of girls and women in developing nations face: missing school or work for several days every month because they lack adequate menstrual hygiene supplies. You can learn more about the issue and its impact on our site here, and in the Pads4Girls section of our blog.

Trying to determine how to make a bigger impact with Pads4Girls from a distance only goes so far, and we feel called to learn more and go deeper. In January 2012 Suzanne and I will be traveling to Uganda with Shanti Uganda, a Vancouver-based charity that improves infant and maternal health, provides safe women-centered care and supports the well-being of birthing mothers and women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

We are appealing to the Lunapads community to raise funds to enroll 300 teenage girls in Shanti Uganda’s At Risk Girls Program, a health and wellness program focused on inspiring futures for girls and teen mothers in Kasana Town Uganda. As part of the workshop, each girl will receive AFRIpads (Ugandan-made cloth pads based on Lunapads, see below for more information about them) and a health education manual.

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Shanti Uganda is a fantastic organization that improves infant and maternal health, provides safe women-centered care and supports the well-being of birthing mothers and women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. In addition to that, they havebeen a Pads4Girls distribution partner for years now, providing cloth pads to girls through their Holisitic Health programmes and to new mothers at the Shanti Uganda Birth House & Learning Centre. Natalie Angell, co-founder and Executive Director of  The Shanti Uganda Society shares her personal experience with Lunapads while building a Birth House in rural Uganda, after childbirth and also distributing reusable pads to women and teens in Uganda. Natalie is an incredible Vancouver woman whose vision and mission we at the Lunapads office are big fans of.

Shanti Uganda Giveaway!
Natalie has graciously shared some crafts from the women’s sustainable income generating group for us to give away. Leave a note here about your travels with reusables or experience in activism to win a yoga mat bag, banana bag and some hand rolled, paper beaded jewelry! Webale (thank-you in Lugandan) Natalie!

I started using Lunapads during my first trip to Uganda in 2007.  At the time I was using organic cotton, chlorine free disposable pads and tampons and had long given up my relationship with tampax (and the impending fever, cramps and sweat that they caused after about 15 minutes).

In 2007, I founded The Shanti Uganda Society and shared my time between Uganda and Canada.  In Uganda, there was no option to purchase my less toxic menstrual products and filling a suitcase with a few months supply of chlorine free menstrual products seemed like a silly way to pack. Making the switch to Lunapads took up far less room in my suitcase and I could easily hand wash and dry them. I also loved how soft and comfy they were – much better than plastic lined pads in the hot climate!

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I am all for Modern Art and think MoMa’s current exhibit, Talk to Me, on how our fast changing world is always in communication with us is brilliant.  As much as I am one of those who need to get out of the city every couple of weeks to recharge in nature, I love and value technology too.

My response to Ms. Magazine’s post about one of the pieces in this show, the Menstruation Machine, was a feeling in my belly much worse than your average period cramps.  The piece itself is extremely intelligently built, designed to dispense blood and stimulate the lower abdomen in a way that would feel something like menstrual cramping.  The artist, Sputniko, wants to allow men and anyone else (children or post menopausal women) to be able to experience menstruation and point out to all of us who are still bleeding for 3-7 days every month that this is an outdated and unnecessary part of being a woman.  “It’s 2011, so why are humans still menstruating?”

I am all for modern art and design but let’s not neglect the greatest designer there is, nature.  In case you missed Biology 101, women are designed with an incredible ability and purpose to birth babies.  Even if you choose not to experience childbirth or motherhood directly this time around, there is a place where we need to remember and acknowledge the creative power that comes with that gift.  To quote one of the greatest midwives of our time, Ina May Gaskin, “There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ, they would brag about it. So should we.”  Sputniko has another piece called Child Producing Machine, a song for girls who would rather become a cyborg than to cope with menstruation pain.  “If I have to suffer with my biology – I’d rather be a Cyborg than a goddess.”

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Lunapanties Giveaway!
How does your partner feel about you using Lunapads?
Are they supportive? Not so much? Post a comment about your own experience and you could win a pair of  Lunapanties in the style of your choice!

We had someone post on our Facebook Wall asking to hear from Lunapads users about how our partners feel about Lunapads. I felt compelled to reply because my hubby is for sure a LunaGuy!

With a gaggle of girls in the house, we had a huge negative impact on the landfill & a lot of bathroom garbage. So many used pads! I’m not sure many enjoy dealing with used disposable pads. Mind you, our dogs love them! My husband is an environmentalist – the kind of guy who recycles the wrappers on straws. He is also a Poly Sci major, animal lover and would go out and buy pads for us in an emergency! (he is a sweetie)

When our family discovered Lunapads, he was on board before my teenagers were, because:

• No more bathroom garbage!
• We’ll save money!
• He never has to go buy pads for us!

It was a no-brainer for him. In our house, he is the one who does our laundry. His opinion on washing Lunapads: ”It is no big deal. I toss them in with the rest of the clothes, they are not gross (the girls pre-rinse them), much nicer than the disposable garbage for sure, and kinda cute.” He also thinks that the Lunapanties Hipsters are sexy.

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I heard about Make Stuff Together through the marvelous Sarah Juliusson, a longtime Lunapads supporter whose resume in the natural birth/parenting/lifestyle/business department is too long to begin to list here. Suffice to say that when she asked if I’d like to review a book about crafting with kids I jumped at the chance.

Many of you will be familiar with coauthor Bernatte Noll as a cofounder of Slow Family Living and Mothering magazine contributor, or her coauthor Kathie Server via her work having been featured in Handmade Nation. What they have created is a warm, thoughtful and accessible guide to a unique collection of mostly textile-based crafts.

As a lifelong sewer, I was immediately drawn to the project ideas and media – fabric is such an inherently kid-friendly material, and it’s so easy to come by: everyone has a collection of old clothes, buttons and linens around the house. That said, a sewing machine would be an asset for many of these projects, as well as some experience with sewing, knitting etc. on behalf of the parent.

Even using just hand-sewing or for newbie machine operators, the instructions and photos are excellent, so I would also recommend the book as a way for parents and kids to learn together. The authors also provide great tips for thinking things through before you start, as well as knowing when (and how) to help without undermining the child’s sense of creative freedom or accomplishment.

My 6 year old daughter is particularly enjoying embroidering pieces of burlap, a suggestion that I picked up from the book.

The authors’ thoughtfulness, experience and values permeate the work. For example, I have seen the usual pot holders and aprons beginner sewing project ideas a hundred times. But have you ever heard of a Blessing and Sharing Pouch, Anticipation Calendar or Appreciation Banner? Neither had I. Not only are these intriguing projects great ways to learn to sew and be creative, they are moreover tools for mindfulness, gratitude and family connection. I was also thrilled to see projects that were specifically outdoors-oriented, encouraging activity and connection with Nature.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have the good fortune to be able to give away one copy of the book. To enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment below about how you imagine using craft to deepen your family connection beofore July 31, 2011. Oh, and don’t forget to “like” the Make Stuff Together Facebook page while you’re at it. Good luck and happy crafting!

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Once again, our good friends at the Birth Lounge are hosting what is now their 5th annual BirthFest event and Lunapads is proud to be a community sponsor.

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It was just only last week that I was reminded by Lisa that I had a draft blog post about Mothering Magazine that still needed to be published. Long overdue (I started it 2 years ago!) I rationalized that I would finish it next month upon returning from the Natural Products Trade Show because I expected to see Peggy O’Mara, editor of Mothering Magazine at the event.

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Many of you have probably already heard of Chris Guillebeau and his wonderful book, the Art of Non-conformity: Set your own rules, Live the life you want and Change the world. For those of you who know of him and are also Lunapads and DivaCup fans, it will come as no surprise that I find Chris’s work to be singularly validating and inspiring: it also reminds me a lot of you, our amazing customers and community.

His message is essentially this: “Psst – you don’t actually have to do things the “right” way, or even necessarily do them at all: there are ways to imagine and live your life in a unique way, in accordance with what really matters to you, that will provide a rich and rewarding legacy if you are up for it.” Basically, it’s a heart-centered crash course in big picture creative thinking: I devoured it.

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