Lunapads Blog

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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We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest Lunarevolution sister, Kim Anami. Kim is a life coach who specializes in sex and intimacy, and has some powerful things to say about the connection between our intimate lives, wellbeing and sense of personal power. Stay tuned for some video interviews looking at the intersection of sex and periods, and in the meantime please enjoy this insightful guest blog post about natural birth control and fertility awareness. Those of you in the Vancouver area can attend her upcoming workshop on this topic February 15th.

Question: What is the sexiest, easiest and safest form of birth control?

Answer: Your finger.

I’m often shocked at how many people haven’t heard of this method. It’s is also called the Billings or cervical mucous method, having been discovered by Australian husband and wife team, Dr. John and Evelyn Billings. It’s a simple, fast, body-safe and even sexy way to diagnose fertility.

It makes sense that since every other female on the planet of other species gives clear signs of fertility, that humans ought to as well.

We do.

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Last week Suzanne and I attended a talk given by legendary women’s health pioneer Dr. Christiane Northrup.  While I fully expected to hear something very inspiring, her talk exceeded my expectations and she absolutely rocked the house. She was funny, personal, knowledgeable, totally in her power and perhaps most importantly got all 500+ of us in the audience to move and get into our hips.

True story: she and her gorgeous pole dancer daughter Kate led us all in a raucous booty-swaggering exercise (to “Fire” from the Pointer Sisters, no less!) to wake up our female mojo, which according to the good doctor is the locus of our wellness, wisdom and creativity as women. It was awesome.

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Sarah Juliusson is one of our most valued friends and colleagues here at Lunapads. She is the mother of two boys, and founder of Mama Renew, offering community and inspiration for new and seasoned mothers. She also mentors Birthing From Within prenatal classes in Vancouver & Victoria, BC.

New motherhood…we envision the sweetness of a newborn, a baby’s fresh and pure gaze, blissful breastfeeding, and the joy of getting to know our child. Three days postpartum most new mothers dissolve into something resembling a puddle. Exhausted, emotional, overwhelmed…not to mention bleeding, soreness, swelling, and a belly that still looks about five months pregnant. The first days and weeks after the birth of your baby are indeed a beautiful time, and there is much sweetness to celebrate. North American culture, however, is lacking in supportive postpartum traditions and rituals. The intensity of the postpartum period is neither discussed nor honoured, and too many women feel a sense of isolation when they should be feeling nourished and supported. Without a strong set of cultural guidelines to go by, we have the opportunity to create something new.

Here are some ideas to support a healthy unfolding into motherhood:

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Photo ©Sandra Vander Schaaf, with permission

This blog post is way overdue, since my “baby” is turning 4 years old this summer! My older son Aiden (4 years old at the time this was taken), is pictured here caressing his new sibling who arrived only a week after this photo was taken (by the very talented photographer Sandra Vander Schaaf of www.theartofseeing.ca). When I learned that a super hip website called Offbeat Mama had blogged about “Post partum period woes” and garnered 100 comments (one of their most popular blog posts ever!) it kicked me into gear in posting my own story about “Going with the Flow” pre- and post baby.

Being pregnant and giving birth are among the most impactful and unique life experiences I have ever had. I feel particularly blessed to have been there twice, with both births being remarkable events I will never forget.  I recognize this isn’t necessarily the case for all women (having experienced 3 heartbreaking miscarriages, not to mention having had the privilege of multiple safe birthing options available to me), so I am mindful when approaching the subject of pregnancy and birth. That said, when I sense that the listener is receptive to hearing my perspective, I become an enthusiastic advocate of birth choices, and describe my experiences and passion for the different ways women can use Lunapads and Lunapanties to support themselves during pregnancy, labour and postpartum.

Here goes!

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DivaCup month

has come and gone (to judge by our sales, many of you fence sitters are well on your way to Divadom; let us know how it goes!), but have no fear… we are kicking off June with a silicone cup giveaway nevertheless. In this case, they’re awesome food storage containers for kids that are good for everything from freezers to microwaves, and free of nasty BPAs, phthalates and lead. They’re soft, cute, and would be a handy addition to your kitchen!

They’ve been donated by local Mompreneur Sue Sinclair, founder of Raspberry Kids, a hand-picked collection of “fresh, healthy and fun” things for kids – think top quality toys, clothing, books and accessories. I love Sue’s story of how and why she started the business – it’s amazing how often necessity becomes the proverbial “Mother of Invention” in the case of entrepreneurs I know. Want to stock up on stuff for your kids, or gifts for design-savvy pals? Use  promo code “lunapads15″ at the Raspberry Kids site during checkout to receive 15% off orders. Valid on all items except electronic gift cards, sale items and the Vapur bundle.

We’ve noticed that many of our customers “make the switch” to Lunapads and the DivaCup when they have kids, which brings me to how you can have a chance to win this wonderful product. Moms, how did having a baby precipitate greener lifestyle changes for you? What changes do you feel made the biggest difference? The winner will be announced in our July newsletter – good luck!

Oh – and one more thing: for those of you on Facebook, Sue is co-hosting (along with New & Green Diaper‘s Karen Randall) an awesome event this Thursday June 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30pm PST. Check out the “Must Haves for New Moms” event for great conversation, tips and prizes (we’re feeling generous too, hint) – see you there, we hope!

Organic Bikini Lunapanties

Welcome to our next installment of our International Women’s Month celebration! This time it’s for Moms-to-be.

Here’s lovely photo of one of our longest-term (pun intended!) collaborators, the lovely Emira Mears of Raised Eyebrow and The Boss of You, taken mere hours before the arrival of lovely little Lena at our recent Lunapanties photoshoot.

We have 3 sets of 2 Organic Mini Pantyliners, so anyone out there who is currently expecting, comment below to tell us where you are, how many weeks you’re at, and what your favorite thing about being pregnant to be entered. Winners will be announced in our April newsletter.

Organic Mini Pantyliner

While I’m here, check out the blog of one of my favorite pregnant gals: the one and only Chloe Jo Berman of the fabulously green Girlie Girl Army. If you’re expecting and wondering about eco positive diapering choices, I have just written a guest blog post for GGA about cloth diapering and more – check it out!

 Good luck, and don’t forget to smile at a pregnant gal today!

I recently attended the ABC Kids trade show in Las Vegas and had a fantastic time. I know that Vegas isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (and to be honest, I wasn’t sure it was going to be mine), but I made so many great discoveries and connected with so many fabulous people that the craziness didn’t bother me a bit and I am already looking forward to going back next year.

In case you’re planning a Vegas adventure, a few tips for you: the Springs Preserve is (literally) an oasis of sanity. Encompassing hiking trails, a botanical garden, historical site, desert education center and wonderful restaurant, it was a great way to start our trip and remind us of the desert’s history and ecology.  While we were there we had the good fortune to attend a yoga class, which led us to an eclectic yoga studio (it doubles as an art gallery) near our hotel where we were able to attend more classes. The studio is housed in a fascinating rabbit warren of art studios and galleries, next door to an awesome vintage and vintage-style clothing store. Thanks Corey and Shelley for the workouts!

As for the show, I am always impressed by the tenacity and ingenuity of entrepreneurs, and there was no shortage of them to spend time with there. There was a strong Vancouver contingent, and I loved having the opportunity to spend time with former fashionista days colleague turned Mompreneur Wendy from Pumpease (a hands-free pumping support she invented), Diane from Moboleez (an ingenious baby hat/nursing privacy accessory), and Sandy from LeDuck distributors.  Other esteemed colleagues I connected with included Rachel, Jeff, Jenn and Amy from Bumgenius cloth diapers, Kim from GDiapers, Sarah from the online natural parenting resource Mindful Mama, and superstar Mom bloggers Sommer from Green and Clean Mom and Jennifer from the Smart Mama.  Thanks for the cupcakes, Mommy needs a cocktail (home of the best Twitter line of the show: “Abusing hashtags since 1996″)!

Hard to believe you can pack even more into a mere 4 days, but I also found time for a highly “wow” tour of Zappos.com (see photo (click to enlarge): let’s just say that I’m no longer worried about having a messy desk!) a gorgeous Cirque du Soleil show, and quality girlfriend time with one of my all-time BFFs – woo hoo!